Assetsoft - Blog #analytics

What Should You Look For in A Property Management CRM?

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:00:00 -0500

Property management can be a constant cycle of managing existing tenants and finding new leads. Customer Relationship Management software can help property managers organize their leads. While they handle other management processes, CRM software can help with sales and customer data management.

Choosing the right CRM software can make all the difference in lead management. More than 32% of real estate companies are unsure about their choice of CRM. If you want to make the best choice, here are some questions that can help you decide which software suits your requirements better.

What are your main goals for using CRM software?

How does the software improve your current property management process?

What features should you look for?

What are your main goals for using CRM software?

Have a clear idea of your expectations from CRM. Whether it is better marketing or improved customer experience, here are all the possibilities of CRM software.

Improve your customer service

As a property manager, you will have several prospects with different requirements and financial situations. Even if they are interested in the same property, sending the same response to everyone doesn’t make the best impression.

Instead, with a property management software, you can understand the unique details of each prospect and send tailored responses to them. This shows your leads that they are valued, improving your chances of retaining them.

Increase the number of leads

CRM software can handle your advertising and sales smartly. By collecting data from various platforms, you get valuable insights to target the right audience. For example, certain platforms can have a larger number of people interested in renting two-bedroom houses.

Through CRM software, you can yield any such benefits for focusing on the right group and increasing your leads.

Automate lead follow-ups

You can gather information about your leads from different sources like social media or property agents. Simplify lead follow-up by sending automated emails and texts or allow you to send one quickly through its dashboard.

It can also organize and store all the lead data in a centralized database, so you can quickly access lead information when contacting them.

How does the software improve your current property management process?

As a property manager, you want to make sure that your investment in technology is worth it. A CRM software can be helpful only if it makes your existing property management processes more manageable.

You need to choose a software that helps with:

Better lead retention

Manual input using spreadsheets can be erroneous and inefficient. Through CRM, you can not only capture leads but also analyze and retain them smartly. The software collects data through various digital platforms, identifies better-performing campaigns, and schedules lead follow-ups. It also creates an integrated database of prospects, so you can easily access this information.

Increased productivity

Your sales team already works hard enough for lead conversion. Between various meetings and new strategies, focusing on customer relationships can be difficult.

Real estate CRM makes your team more efficient by improving sales productivity by 34% and sales accuracy by 42%. CRM enables your sales team to focus on other essential tasks by automating lead identification and management.

Higher sales

Most property managers focus on advertising and website lead generation while forgetting the most important thing--referrals. Existing customers and referrals drive 75% of real estate business. Yet, most companies fail to get a referral simply because they don’t ask.

CRM can take care of this by sending follow-up emails asking clients to refer you to other prospects. It can increase your sales and help you close deals faster.

Overall workflow

Customer relationship management can include several aspects, such as lead assignments and site visits. CRM software streamlines all the processes on a single platform. You can easily track the various elements and make plans accordingly. It also makes it easier to review and reassess the completed work through the database.

Accurate data analysis

Tracking your lead origin and response is important to know your best marketing channels. CRM software can help you collect such relevant data and provide accurate analysis so that you can modify your marketing strategy.

Multiple channel integration

If you have automated other aspects of your property management process, CRM can work seamlessly with them. By integrating all your tools into a single software through Assetsoft, you can streamline workflow between them.

For example, the data gathered by your CRM can be utilized by the forecasting software. This can only work if all your tools use a single database, which we can build for you.

What features should you look for?

Integrated ILS services

The first step to marketing your property is to ensure visibility. Several online platforms provide property listings, where clients can browse and select among different properties. CRMs having connections with many internet listing services (ILS) can give you more exposure to clients and drive occupancy.

You can also use them to keep your listings updated and attractive while marketing them across all available channels.

Email and text management systems

While effective marketing can bring in leads, it is constant communication that keeps them interested. A good CRM will include automated email and text message systems, whether follow-ups, offers, or answers to lead queries.

Timely replies to client emails can show that they are a priority to you. This will not only move them further down the sales funnel but also better your reputation.

AI-Powered chatbots

Chatbots are great for keeping your lead engaged by answering questions and collecting information. But unlike usual chatbots that rely on templated responses, AI-powered chatbots engage better.

They use Natural Language Processing to make the user experience more human-like. This means unique bot-generated replies to every question by the user, rather than limited pre-typed answers.

You can also use these bots for guided self-tours, scheduling visits, and forwarding queries when actual human engagement is needed.

Lead assignment

Every lead has different requirements. While your team may have experts in various areas, it doesn’t help if a maintenance query is assigned to a salesperson. Using CRM, you can ensure that each question is analyzed and forwarded to the right person who can solve it through his expertise. This makes the process easier and more efficient.

Dashboards

As a property manager, you will need to focus on various tasks within the CRM platform. The software which includes a dashboard can help you see all your activities in a single place. You can choose which one you want to work on while scheduling others for later. You can also review any completed tasks and modify them if needed.

If you have a team, you can easily assign them tasks through the dashboard. This can improve team productivity and ensure that your work is organized.

Alerts and notifications

What about the times when you are not viewing your CRM dashboard? Alerts and notifications can be a savior, especially if it is a high-priority task. If you have forwarded an assignment to one of your team members, the software can send email and text alerts for the query to be resolved. It can also remind you of any deadlines or tasks that have been incomplete for days.

Marketing features

One of the most important aspects of CRM is marketing. Whether it is collecting data through social media or placing ads for the target audience, CRM software can do it all. It can also collect data on the lead origin and analyze your best-performing platforms.

Compatibility with other platforms

As a property manager, you will be using several tools and software other than your CRM. If you want to utilize the data from one software on the other, you need to ensure that your CRM is compatible with all your tools. This creates a centralized database and eliminates duplicate data from all your tools.

Recommended CRM Software

RENTCafé CRM

This software by Yardi is ideal for your customer relationship needs. The simple user interface helps you convert more leads and get a better ROI on marketing. The features include lead notifications and follow-ups, activity dashboards, reporting, and data analysis.

Zoho CRM

A popular CRM software, it helps you streamline your lead nurturing process. It comes with several features like an AI-powered sales assistant, marketing automation, and a simple user interface.

Customer 360

Customer 360 is a software by Salesforce. The platform integrates several CRM essentials such as sales, IT, and analysis to make your experience smoother. The features include analytics, AI, sales, services, and much more.

Choose the right CRM through Assetsoft

Even with many options, you need CRM software that satisfies your unique requirements. It also needs to be compatible with all other software you use. At Assetsoft, we can help you choose the right CRM by integrating different tools. We can help you choose the right ERP and software, whether you are looking at MRI, Zoho, UiPath, Salesforce, or Yardi.

Through our technology selection advisory, you can understand how each feature makes your customer management better. No matter the size and type of your company, we can find the right software solutions for you.

The Top Property Management Analytics You Need To Follow

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:36:20 -0500

The financial health and growth of the company are priorities to every property manager. As the industry has begun adapting technology, property management analytics are also changing. Whether it is tenancy, lead generation, or marketing, you can understand it all through modern data analytics. In real estate, data evaluation helps improve business performance and forecast financial growth.

Some metrics provide better evaluation of your company’s growth. With technology, identifying and using key analytics has become easier. We provide you with a list of top property management analytics that you can use to evaluate your business performance.

Why use property management analytics?

Real estate data analysis reveals a lot about consumer behavior. Analytics can change the way you build your business model, manage human resources and plan expenditures. For example, you can refine your marketing strategy by analyzing the lead origin rate from different platforms.

In 2019, more than 35% of real estate professionals planned to invest in predictive analysis. If you want to be ahead of competitors, you need to up your game using property management analytics.

You can use several metrics to evaluate the performance of your company, staff, and agents.

The top property management analytics that you need to know

Your business performance does not solely depend on profit. Other metrics can give you more information on the future performance of your company. They also provide scope for improvement by identifying problem areas. Choosing the right metrics depends on the size and type of your business. Some metrics can provide insights into your company’s overall performance. Others focus on a single area or group such as your leasing agents.

These analytics either compare with your past performance or your competitors. Here are the top analytics you can use to evaluate and improve business performance:

Tenant turnover

Analyzing tenant turnover can tell you a lot about your apartment management process. According to Resident Rated, the average tenancy duration in the US is 27.5 months. Usually, the turnover rate is higher for smaller apartments, as tenants look for more space. It is also higher in urban areas than in rural areas. If your tenant turnover is above average, it can be due to many reasons. Infrequent maintenance, outdated amenities, and high rent can make tenants leave. By evaluating the turnover rate, you can improve your property management strategy. You can also ask for feedback from residents that are leaving. This can give you a tenant’s perspective on how well you perform.

Occupancy rates

The occupancy of your properties drives your profits. Every property manager should know their occupancy and vacancy rates. While a 90% occupancy rate looks good, it can improve if the area average is 97%. Understanding what drives occupancy in your area can identify problem areas.

But having higher than average occupancy rates also indicates inefficiency in business. You may be charging lower rent or providing better facilities at lower costs. Though this looks attractive, it could affect your ROI.

Number of calls answered

Most real estate prospects communicate through calls. According to Leasehawk, leasing offices miss 49% of the total calls they receive. Tracking your calls can help you evaluate your communication strategies. If you miss out on too many leads, you can use software to automate your calls and emails. Property management software like Yardi and MRI have inbuilt tools to handle lead communication.

Outstanding debt

Outstanding debt owed to you is an excellent metric to analyze the company's cash flow. Having a high number of arrears indicates inefficiency in rent collection. You need to look into any situation where the rent is consistently late. You can manage rent payments through property management software. One way to reduce arrears is to provide digital payment options to tenants. They are quicker and more secure with financial data.

Lead conversion rates

Even if you have a high lead generation rate, the real metric you need to analyze is lead conversion. A low lead conversion rate means that you are not doing enough to move the lead through the sales funnel. Most sales are achieved after multiple follow-ups. But 44% of salespeople do not continue lead nurturing after a single follow-up attempt.

Improving your lead nurturing strategy can increase conversion rates. You can follow up through phone calls, emails, or even text messages. Make sure that your communication includes information that piques the lead’s interests.

Average days-to-lease

Rental properties can take some time to get occupied. The longer it stays vacant, the more rent you miss out on. You can compare your average days-to-lease by the area average to know if you are lagging. If your days-to-lease is below average, it could be due to several reasons. Are you advertising enough? Are you marketing on the right platform? Is your lead nurturing plan effective? These are some questions you can consider to decrease your apartment vacancy durations.

Tenant satisfaction

Measuring tenant satisfaction is a great way to know about your property management processes. You can understand your tenants' needs as well as get feedback. The best way to measure tenant satisfaction is through periodic surveys. Improving tenant satisfaction can have a positive long-term impact on the company’s revenue. It can also control the turnover rate and increase tenant retention.

Inventory of properties

As a property manager, your business keeps running on the inventory you have. Keeping track of the number of properties gained and lost can help increase inventory.

You can evaluate the effective strategies that led you to gain many properties. You can reduce client turnover by implementing similar plans. Similarly, you can identify mistakes that led you to lose properties. Rectifying your marketing strategy can go a long way in increasing your inventory.

Repair and maintenance costs

Most property managers do not keep track of repair costs, especially if they are minor ones. But these can add up over time to show as a significant expense. Evaluation of maintenance costs poses several questions.

Are most of these repairs actually required? Do you compare market prices to understand the cost of a repair, such as pipework changes? Often, you could be overspending on repairs without even realizing it. This can be revealed if you keep track of all your major and minor maintenance costs.

Property management fees

As a property manager, you may charge variable rates for different services. But if you have been losing clients or not getting many in the first place, it's time to look into what others are charging. Do you charge too much? Are you providing good services for your mentioned fees?

Conversely, you might be charging too little, especially if you are a beginner. This can get you many clients but limit your profits. Compare your fees with other property management services in your area. Also, compare your services to know if you have to increase or decrease your charges.

Rent-ready costs

Tenant turnovers are inevitable. When a tenant vacates a unit, you incur additional expenses to make the property rent-ready. Many property managers follow a standard procedure for making the apartments ready for renting again. This can involve repainting, renovations, and repairs.

Many of these expenses can be unnecessary. If a tenant has left the property in a good condition, you may not need to paint it again. Calculate the average costs to make each apartment rent-ready and identify expenses that can be avoided. Make sure that you do not compromise on the quality to decrease costs.

Revenue growth

Revenue growth sums up all other metrics to show you the overall performance of your company. Unlike most analytics, revenue growth is easier to understand. Many digital tools analyze revenue to provide easy-to-understand visual reports. A simple look at them can tell you about the well-performing areas. It can also show you what areas you can improve on.

If you find a change in revenue, you can utilize other metrics to determine the problem area. Similarly, you can use the metric to identify effective strategies to improve property management.

Use technology for better analysis

Most analytics depend on the evaluation of huge amounts of data. Property management software makes it easier to organize and analyze data to generate useful reports. The manual analysis takes a lot of time and can also be inaccurate. With digital tools, reports are more accurate and quick.

According to a McKinsey report, 85% of the participants have digitized their companies post-pandemic. If you automate your data analysis process, it puts you at an advantage over your competitors. Property management software also provides better data security. Investing in good software can not only help with analysis but also other real estate processes.

Automate your property management analytics with Assetsoft

Want to improve business performance through data analysis? We can help you!

At Assetsoft, we use the best software such as Yardi, MRI, and UiPath to provide complete property management solutions. We integrate the required tools according to your needs. Our services include software implementation, training, and technological selection. We utilize AI-based tools for data analysis.

You can get accurate reports and also customize your input through AI software. Apart from that, Assetsoft can automate all your real estate processes. Through RPA, voice integration, and IoT, we can simplify your whole property management strategy.

For more information, book a consultation with Assetsoft!