There’s no question that resident communications and retention are more important than ever. But the question is, “What is the most effective way to communicate with residents on their schedule?” Well, based on the fact that NMHC and others have found that 67% of residents prefer to be contacted online via email, it’s safe to assume that an online portal may be the best option for apartment communities that want to offer a communications hub for their residents.
A resident portal can be a very effective way to reach your residents on their schedule, providing better customer service and more emotional connections to the property. It can also become a marketing tool to attract prospective residents. Your ultimate goal should be to improve resident retention — a resident portal (that includes social networking) can be a very powerful tool, assuming that it provides utility and reasons for users to keep coming back.
The second question is, “What resident portal system should you use?” There are a number of portal solutions out there, from industry-specific portals to white-labeled social networking sites to open-source platforms that allow you to build your own site however you like.
The ideal resident portal would combine the communications tools of mainstream social networks with the specific functionality needed in the apartment industry. There are a lot of other considerations as well, such as hosting and maintenance, upgrades, security, Fair Housing, marketing and training for your onsite teams. It’s really just a matter of doing it yourself (or letting your web designer do it) versus finding experts to do it for you. I think the experts will ultimately win out in the end, but the industry-specific solutions have a ways to go before they offer the full suite of online communication tools that most properties need. Here is a quick overview of a few of the options that are currently available:
Option 1: DIY
This is the most customizable way, and it’s getting a lot easier as content management systems (CMS) become easier for non-techies to use. There are really two categories: CMS platforms and white-label social network providers. Customizable CMS platforms include Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. There are a number of white-label social networks available; the most popular right now are Ning and KickApps.
These are extremely flexible systems with the most powerful social networking tools, but they do not offer any apartment-specific functions (rent payment, maintenance requests, etc.), so those would have to build custom. That said, I’m a huge Ning fan and think it has serious potential in apartment communities. (Here’s more about them from Fast Company.) Cost: Ranges from free to as much as you are willing to spend on customization and design.
UPDATE: To see how one apartment company is using Ning, check out the Urbane Lobby from Urbane Apartments.
Option 2: Use an apartment-specific network
There are two players in this arena right now: AptConnect and LifeAt. The founders of AptConnect come out of the apartment world, so their site is much more focused on property staff-to-resident communications (with some social features), while LifeAt found early success with condos and HOAs, so their platform offers more in terms of resident-to-resident communications. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and both have great potential. For more on these sites, see the reviews (AptConnect, LifeAt) over at Multifamily Technology 360. Cost: Monthly subscription per property.
Option 3: Tie it into your property management system.
The big property managment systems like Yardi, RealPage and others have had portal options for a while, but these are quite limited in terms of social networking and resident-to-resident communications. Third-party services like BuildingLink and MyBuilding.org offer online maintenance requests and other tools, but generally lack the integration with any of the major PMS platforms. Cost: Monthly subscription per unit or per property.
Option 4: Tie it in with your property website.
Apartment website companies also have jumped into the portal mix. Resite, PropertySolutions, and SphereXX all have portal options, but again, these sites primarily focus on rent payment, maintenance requests and some basic community news. Cost: Usually monthly or annual subscription per property.
Option 5: Create groups on existing social networks.
Bypass all the mess above, and go straight to where your residents already are online. Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo! Groups, Google Groups … Take your pick: you won’t get the apartment-specific features, but these sites might be the best, most efficient way to engage the greatest number of residents. Find out which sites your residents use most, and make sure you have a presence there. Cost: Free.
Keep in mind, if you’re implementing any kind of resident portal, it needs to be easy to use and consistent with your brand. And, YOU NEED TO MARKET IT. Social networks only work when the users are engaged and have a reason to keep coming back (monthly rent payments don’t count…). I’ll have more thoughts on this in a future post.
So what do you think? Are you using a resident portal? Which one? If you could design the ideal communications tool for your community, what would it look like?
Companies/tools from this post:
Drupal
Joomla
WordPress
Ning
KickApps
AptConnect
LifeAt
Yardi
RealPage
BuildingLink
MyBuilding.org
Resite
PropertySolutions
SphereXX
Facebook
MySpace
Yahoo! Groups
Google Groups
Is there any demographic breakdown of the 67% that prefer email communication? I ask this question more from a conventional/market rate renter versus an affordable/subsidized apartment renter.
I am of the opinion, regardless of if the consumer has a home computer, most everyone has an email address & has a way to check communications daily via online access.
However, I would like to have specific facts that confirm or show otherwise.
Thanks for providing this information & the possible routes to explore!
Is there any demographic breakdown of the 67% that prefer email communication? I ask this question more from a conventional/market rate renter versus an affordable/subsidized apartment renter.
I am of the opinion, regardless of if the consumer has a home computer, most everyone has an email address & has a way to check communications daily via online access.
However, I would like to have specific facts that confirm or show otherwise.
Thanks for providing this information & the possible routes to explore!
Duke,
The study I referenced was conducted by research firm Ipsos for a company called Habeas, Inc. (They are an email marketing company, so take it with a grain of salt.) The respondents were a cross-section of all consumers, not just renters.
I do not have access to the full study to see the demographics, but the following statement was issued as part of the release that announced the study’s findings:
“65% of the demographic between the ages of 18 to 34, the age demographic most comfortable with IM, SMS and emerging communications methods, will favor email to communicate with businesses in five years.” there’s no mention of income ranges.
Generally, I think you are right that we need to consider the communication strategy for each community almost on an individual basis.
Here is a story about the study from MediaPost: http://tinyurl.com/5622kf
And here is a link to the release from Habeas: http://tinyurl.com/62nu7e
Duke,
The study I referenced was conducted by research firm Ipsos for a company called Habeas, Inc. (They are an email marketing company, so take it with a grain of salt.) The respondents were a cross-section of all consumers, not just renters.
I do not have access to the full study to see the demographics, but the following statement was issued as part of the release that announced the study’s findings:
“65% of the demographic between the ages of 18 to 34, the age demographic most comfortable with IM, SMS and emerging communications methods, will favor email to communicate with businesses in five years.” there’s no mention of income ranges.
Generally, I think you are right that we need to consider the communication strategy for each community almost on an individual basis.
Here is a story about the study from MediaPost: http://tinyurl.com/5622kf
And here is a link to the release from Habeas: http://tinyurl.com/62nu7e
If you are in the UK and Europe there is a residents portal called ResidentsHQ (www.residentshq.com). We have had great success in a number of residential developments. We allow residents to meet and chat to their neighbours online, set-up clubs and events, share experiences on local restaurants or trades people, sell items or discuss topics of mutual interest. Basically, many of the things that used to take place over the garden fence.
ResidentsHQ Team
If you are in the UK and Europe there is a residents portal called ResidentsHQ (www.residentshq.com). We have had great success in a number of residential developments. We allow residents to meet and chat to their neighbours online, set-up clubs and events, share experiences on local restaurants or trades people, sell items or discuss topics of mutual interest. Basically, many of the things that used to take place over the garden fence.
ResidentsHQ Team
Mike thank you for this informative, broad survey of online functionality and resident portals!
I just want to correct some mis-information. While most PMS companies don't often like to integrate we can, do and are integrating with companies like Yardi, MRI, BJMurrary, Topps, Timberline, IBS, etc. This is a one-way, automatic integration. We of course have the ability to do a two-way integration, but again…many PMS often drag their feet on data sharing.
We've recently just outlined the procedure for integration on our blog. (http://www.buildinglink.blogspot.com) We believe software integration should be a very simple process and we have an innovate solution to help property managers stay on top of their game, while simultaneously giving residents the most powerful resident portal available.
Feel free to contact me with any further questions,
Justin
Justin@buildinglink.com
Mike thank you for this informative, broad survey of online functionality and resident portals!
I just want to correct some mis-information. While most PMS companies don’t often like to integrate we can, do and are integrating with companies like Yardi, MRI, BJMurrary, Topps, Timberline, IBS, etc. This is a one-way, automatic integration. We of course have the ability to do a two-way integration, but again…many PMS often drag their feet on data sharing.
We’ve recently just outlined the procedure for integration on our blog. (www.buildinglink.blogspot.com) We believe software integration should be a very simple process and we have an innovate solution to help property managers stay on top of their game, while simultaneously giving residents the most powerful resident portal available.
Feel free to contact me with any further questions,
Justin
Justin@buildinglink.com
Thanks for the update, Justin.
I hope that more property management software platforms become more open with their data. That’s certainly the trend outside the industry, and it will allow companies like yours to keep innovating further. I still think the best option is going to be the solution that integrates the best features from the property management software, third-party services like yours and general social networking sites (possibly through Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect or similar).
I appreciate the insight. Keep me posted as you roll out new features.
Thanks for the update, Justin.
I hope that more property management software platforms become more open with their data. That's certainly the trend outside the industry, and it will allow companies like yours to keep innovating further. I still think the best option is going to be the solution that integrates the best features from the property management software, third-party services like yours and general social networking sites (possibly through Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect or similar).
I appreciate the insight. Keep me posted as you roll out new features.
Thanks for the update, Justin.
I hope that more property management software platforms become more open with their data. That's certainly the trend outside the industry, and it will allow companies like yours to keep innovating further. I still think the best option is going to be the solution that integrates the best features from the property management software, third-party services like yours and general social networking sites (possibly through Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect or similar).
I appreciate the insight. Keep me posted as you roll out new features.
Too bad I didn’t find this earlier. But, we ended up going with GeniePad at http://www.GeniePad.com. It is a very very simple to use portal. Has all the features that my condo building needs, and our residents simply love it! We have a vast age group in our building, and every body is comfortable with using it, it kind of surprised the condo board.
Check it out, great tool as well.
Too bad I didn't find this earlier. But, we ended up going with GeniePad at http://www.GeniePad.com. It is a very very simple to use portal. Has all the features that my condo building needs, and our residents simply love it! We have a vast age group in our building, and every body is comfortable with using it, it kind of surprised the condo board.
Check it out, great tool as well.