Property Solutions has created thousands of community websites for apartment management companies across the U.S. As our customers implement online solutions for residents, we’ve been able to observe patterns in resident adoption. While some communities see great enrollment and participation rates with their resident portal, reaping the benefits in time savings and increased convenience, others seem to struggle to get residents to use their websites at all.
We’ve observed a few common practices in properties that really make a difference in participation rates. We’re excited to share these findings with you, and in future months we’ll release several case studies that examine some of these practices in more detail. In the meantime, take a little time to review the attached list. The ideas aren’t earth shattering… but you’d be surprised how much benefit your property can get out of a few simple changes.
- Start Early. Properties who take the time to help residents enroll in the ResidentPortal during lease signing or renewal have better participation rates. Makes sense. Spend three minutes with the resident in the beginning and save a lot of time in the future.
- Advertise. Use the marketing materials provided by Property Solutions to advertise your portal’s features to residents. Buy inexpensive frames to hang signs in common areas, post your URL in the leasing office or front desk, include enrollment instructions in the leasing packet, and place an ad in your own property newsletter. Don’t give residents a chance to forget their online options.
- Pay the Fee. Properties that choose to absorb the nominal transaction fees for E-Checks get higher participation rates. Period. Online rent payments are almost always more convenient for residents. If a free option is available, residents will be much more inclined to take advantage of the service.
- Email. Do you collect your residents’ email address? If not, start today! Utilize the scheduled emails feature in Resident Works to send monthly rent reminder emails to your residents. This is an easy, automatic way to remind your residents that they can pay their rent online through your website.
- Call. Utilize the scheduled phone call feature in Resident Works to send monthly rent reminder phone calls to your residents. This tool can help you target all residents, or just those with a past-due balance and let them know that they can pay their rent online.
- Reward Participants. Offer incentives to residents to pay their rent online. For example, hold a monthly drawing for all those who have recurring payments set up. Reward the winner of the drawing with a gift card or some other prize.
Simple, right? Encouraging residents to use the ResidentPortal for rent payments and maintenance requests not only adds convenience, it adds a level of service that won’t be forgotten at lease renewal time. The best part for you is, you save time and money each time residents pay rent online. Have questions or want to discuss these ideas more? Contact your Property Solutions Account Manager. Have you found other ideas that are working in your communities? Let us know about those, too. We’d love to hear from you.
