Your mom probably told you that you can’t please everyone. But certain features of your multifamily property website can make it more likely that online apartment shoppers will show up to explore your residences in person.
A multifamily property’s website and online materials educate and entice potential new residents, but their clicks and research don’t always equal high occupancy rates. At the end of the day, most residents only lease once they’ve had a great apartment tour and seen the place they will call home. So how can you be sure apartment shoppers researching your digs online end up booking a property tour?
The answer lies in an interactive website. Using today’s most innovative web tools, you can implement a style that sets you apart; use research tools that help apartment shoppers get information easily; add calls to action that capture renter information and remembers them and the details they provided during their online visit; and provide special offers that incentivize tours. These tools only bring results when used strategically.
Give Apartment Shoppers a Reason to Book a Tour
Drawing apartment shoppers into your website means giving them a full look at the apartment itself, and the building as well. “On the website I try to make sure my pictures are really vibrant and colorful,” says Beth Roberts, property manager for Englert Management Corporation that oversees properties across the Midwest. “We have lots of inside pictures, and we do have a video tour.”
To translate online browsers into onsite visits, Roberts advises property managers to consider how their website is serving potential customers in each phase of exploring their residential options.
For those just learning about your brand, your website’s look and feel can attract them to your vibe or send them running for another option. As a result, your site must stand out among the maddening crowd.
Make Apartment Shoppers Feel at Home Online
Your leasing agents are, above all else, your best closers. They’re warm, inviting, and know exactly how to make a potential renter feel right at home.
Your website can have the best quality photos, dynamic floor plans, or even the most engaging content to keep a customer interested, but it’s unlikely they’ll be comfortable putting down a deposit without having a physical walkthrough of the property, especially because remote leases are more binding than those signed after a tour.
However, websites have the ability to act like leasing agents, as it can keep visitors engaged and focused on what you have to offer. Interactive features like 360° tours, assessment quizzes that help online shoppers choose a floor plan right for them, and videos help to inform apartment shoppers still doing research.
Even non-visual tools, like a prequalification check, online application, and tour scheduling will encourage visits, and they represent opportunities to share details like temporary discounts on application fees or the amenities at your property.
George McCabe — a renter in Denver, Colorado, who recently found a great apartment after first searching on the web and then taking a tour — agreed with this sentiment wholeheartedly. He most appreciated the websites that offered an in-depth preview of the real space and the building’s common areas. This allowed him to come to the tour ready to focus on details.
“I have a lot of musical equipment, so it’s important to know there’s enough electrical outlets to plug everything in.” McCabe says. Every resident will have similar unique needs, desires and concerns about their apartment, which is why tours are so essential. But if they don’t know much about the property from your website, they might forget to consider those small necessities, leading to unhappy tenants in the long-term.
Guide Online Apartment Shoppers with Interactive Tools
If you want your website to bring qualified leads through the leasing office door, it has to engage online apartment shoppers in exploring what life would be like at your multifamily property. Here are some helpful, interactive tools from PERQ to help guide visitors to a tour:
- New Customer Welcome: Welcomes new visitors to your property website and guides the consumer to the specific part of the website that they are interested in.
- Expense Calculator: Gives an estimated living expense for an apartment community. Displays amenities that are included, additional expenses like utilities, and can calculate add-ons, like parking, storage or pet fees.
- Right Community for Me: Collects consumer interests for activities. Yelp data is used to show activities and places unique to a city and a certain area within a city to help a renter choose the best community.
- Floor Plan Assessment: Gives consumers insight into which floor plan might be right for them at the property, while the property collects a valuable lead.
- Pre-Qualify Assessment: Allows a consumers to see if they pre-qualify before going through the application process. It asks a series of simple questions that guides either a result of “Yes, you pre-qualify” or “A leasing agent will be in touch with you to discuss you pre-qualification status.”
- Tour Scheduler: Lets consumers book a tour directly on your website. Has the ability to plug directly into leasing agents’ calendars and show only the times to consumers that they are available.
- Exit Intent: Provides a special offer to a consumer who have not yet converted to a lead before they leave the property’s website.
Each of the interactive experiences provides engagement and guidance for your property website’s visitors in a unique way and helps you get online apartment shopper lead information that makes your leasing agents’ jobs easier, too. Make your website exciting and watch the rental waiting list grow.
Additional Multifamily Resources
- Discover what the multifamily industry has learned about the new way of leasing.
- Learn how your apartment website should make people feel.
