A virtual apartment tour is a must have in today’s multifamily real estate world. And today’s prospects need more than the typical 3D apartment tour.
Now, before you start Googling “how to make a virtual tour of an apartment,” let us help you out.
To create the best experience for your prospective resident, here are five things to highlight during a virtual apartment tour.
1. General Flow
Seeing a rendering of a floor plan is helpful, but it’s definitely not enough. During a virtual apartment tour, prospective residents need to see the flow of the community and the unit itself. It’s more than what most 3d virtual tours can provide. What will a prospect see once they walk into the lobby? Is it quiet and traditional? Or more social and modern? The flow of the apartment community is also particularly important during the apartment virtual walk through.
When touring the unit itself, what is the flow of the unit? When they walk in, what do they first see? How does it feel? There is no wrong answer here. Everyone is different and wants different things. Even a smaller unit or a studio apartment virtual tour has a specific flow. So, be sure to show it! Knowing the flow of the community and unit is only going to help the prospect make the right decision but help the leasing team give them the accurate and right information.
2. Highlight the Highlights
Now, this may seem an obvious virtual apartment tour tip. But, sometimes when we’re seeing a space all the time, we forget the little (or big!) things that make it truly shine. Every virtual apartment tour should showcase what makes it special and different from the rest. Is there extra storage? Amazing views? Upgraded appliances? These are all worth spending some time showing a prospective resident. For example, 3d luxury apartment tours are great but do they show all the extra kitchen storage? Or how this particular unit has the most amazing lighting at sunset? Probably not. And you never know what’s going to be THE selling point for a prospect.
3. Amenities
Amenities can be the unsung hero in a community. But, they are often left out in a virtual apartment tour lists. Don’t make that mistake! Do you have a really beautiful pool and deck area? Or is your gym world-class? Do you have a safe playground where kids can spend hours running around and playing? All of these can be selling points for a prospect.
While modern apartment virtual tours are important, rarely does someone spend 100% of their time in their unit. It’s nice to show them where else in the community they can spend time. However, it’s really important to target what will be meaningful to them. If that prospect doesn’t have kids, that playground may not be the most compelling.
4. Next Steps
Here’s where many virtual apartment tours can go awry. At the end of your tour, it is imperative that you provide clear next steps for both sides. Be proactive and propose what the next steps are to sign a lease. Tell the prospect what you need from them and offer to follow up with any answers to questions they have. If it’s a prerecorded tour and they are not ready to sign a lease, offer a live virtual tour as a next step. Then, you can answer their questions and show the exact space in real time. Regardless of what the next steps may be, providing clear next steps builds trust that is critical to the leasing journey.
5. Show Them What They Want To See
One common theme running through all of these virtual apartment tour tips? Personalization. There are plenty of tips and tricks to create a stellar virtual apartment tour. But the best tip of them all? Show the prospect exactly what they want to see and when they want to see it. 3d apartment tour platforms simply fall short. With real estate virtual tour software that allows for personalized pre-recorded videos and live virtual videos and tours, you provide the necessary personalization. And you can do it easily from your mobile device. You can walk a prospect through the flow of the building and unit the way they will actually see it. You can show them the views and the dog park since they have a pup. That level of personalization is something a 3d apartment walk through will always lack.
While each of these tips is important, THE most important thing to highlight in a virtual apartment tour is whatever the prospect values. General videos of units, amenities, and floor plans are necessary and great tools to have. But, at the end of the day, personalization is king. Whether it is through a personalized playlist of prerecorded videos or a live tour, personalization shows the prospect that you are listening. It shows you care about what that prospect really wants and gives a differentiated level of service. And that difference signs leases.
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