Guest Blog: Leading the Pack: Technology Trends that Give Multifamily Executives the Modern Edge
By Nat Kunes, Vice President of Product, AppFolio Property Manager In today’s competitive market, multifamily professionals need to bring their “A” game. While the market ebbs and flows, finding the best team to run your business and making the most cost-effective decisions are always going to be essential components of a strong business strategy. Making sure…
By Nat Kunes, Vice President of Product, AppFolio Property Manager
In today’s competitive market, multifamily professionals need to bring their “A” game. While the market ebbs and flows, finding the best team to run your business and making the most cost-effective decisions are always going to be essential components of a strong business strategy. Making sure you have the most modern tech tools to keep an edge is essential. Don’t let your current management practices prevent you from saving time and money, and adding more value to your properties.
We recently commissioned SurveyMonkey to uncover the success secrets among the nation’s real estate professionals. The results were clear: technology is the real estate professional’s secret weapon and greatest competitive advantage. Compared to a year ago, about a third of real estate professionals will be investing in technology. And they express confidence that the investment will give them a measurable lead over their competition.
So what does this mean for you? Based on the findings, we’ve put together four simple tips to follow to take your business to the next level.
Tip: Modernize your software. While technology is easily the best way to combat business inefficiencies, obsolete versions can keep you in the Stone Age. Highly intuitive, yet easy-to-use modern software includes all the features needed to run your business (i.e. bookkeeping, accounting, marketing, payments) into one easily accessible solution. The survey data revealed that 38 percent of professional property managers are adopting software solutions as a key component in their strategy toward success.
Tip: Move over Gen X, Millennials are here. Update your business to fit their needs. Nearly 80 million new renters will enter the market in the near future (that’s 25 percent of the population). Millennials are looking for technologically savvy services to fit their lifestyle. Take a cue from 39 percent of respondents who say they are issuing email/SMS notifications, 25 percent say they are marketing vacancies on social networks and 14 percent say they are offering online rent payment options to attract Millennial renters.
Tip: Get smarter with your mobile device. Your customers have adopted mobile into their daily lives. Have you? According to the data, a third of real estate professionals are extremely reliant on their mobile devices to run their business. An additional 20 percent are likely to increase their reliance in the coming year. If you’re still relying on your desktop top to get most of your work done, you’re falling behind. Update your workflow and adopt technology optimized for mobile.
Tip: Your website is your first impression. Would you ever have a client meet you in a cluttered and disorganized office? (Of course not!) Most people go to the Web as a first instinct before making any decision. Your website is their first meeting with you. Take a cue from 35 percent of execs and prioritize website development or enhancement to ensure you put your best foot forward.
Regardless of the success of your business, you should never stop working to make it even better. When turned into actions, these four simple technology tips can solve business issues you may not have released. By zeroing in on what’s important—being efficient, modern and productive—your business’s profits and customer’s happiness will reach new highs. So stop reading and take flight!
Nat Kunes, vice president of product, is responsible for setting the product strategy for AppFolio Property Manager. He spends his time listening to customers and working closely with the engineering team to define the business problems AppFolio’s products will solve. In his free time, Nat spends time with his family on the beach or golfing, and loves trying new outdoor sports (currently you’ll find him stand up paddle boarding).