Multifamily communities have their in-person tour strategy down. However, have you considered how your video leasing strategy can compliment those in-person tours?
Today’s prospects want the best possible leasing experience and that means one that is personalized to what they want and need – a leasing experience that works for them. For some, that’s 100% in person. For others, it’s 100% virtual – from virtual tours to fully virtual leasing. For most, it’s a hybrid approach.
Leasing teams need to be equipped to provide the touring and leasing experience that will work for each individual prospect. Here are a few of the benefits you’d get when you combine video leasing with your in-person touring and leasing strategies.
Speeds Up the Process
Everything needs to move faster these days – including the lead-to-lease process. The longer leasing an apartment gets dragged out, the more time there is for you to potentially lose your prospect to a competitor. So, anything you can do to make the process more seamless, efficient, and faster – the better. That’s where video leasing can definitely help.
Usually, prospects call or email a property when they’re interested. Then, leasing teams have to take time to schedule and take an in-person tour, all while using every opportunity to build a relationship with the prospect. With virtual leasing and video tours, you can start creating more of a sense of urgency and excitement by showing them sneak peeks they can’t see on the website. Maybe show them their potential exact unit. If a leasing team knows how to create a virtual tour, that can replace much of the back and forth involved in the process and it can start building that relationship quicker. And building that relationship is key.
Relationship Building
Instead of going back and forth with a prospect over email or on the phone, use video to start building that face-to-face connection and establishing that relationship faster. The moment people see your face, even through video, they relate to you and your team better.
People also retail more content that they consume via video than any other means of communication, 90% actually. Not only will they have a face to put with a name, but they’ll remember more of the information you’re sharing.
Plus, that face-to-face connection? That sort of relationship makes it harder for people to say no or skip an appointment. Think about it. If you’re already building rapport with someone, you’re much less likely to no-show for an appointment. This means fewer cancellations and no-shows that, ultimately, will help with your conversation rates
Video + In-person Tours Can Be More Effective
In-person touring is good, but video leasing can streamline the leasing process. Say a prospect comes out for an in-person tour. They don’t sign a leasing agreement on that first visit. Maybe they want to think about it or talk with their spouse or significant other who wasn’t there or do some comparison shopping.
People usually will end up returning for a second or third tour when making their rental decisions. You don’t need to make them come back out to the property if you use video leasing. A video tour or consultation can be a great substitute for that second visit. Talk them through their questions over a live video tour and help them find their exact unit in a specific building.
Maybe it’s the rental application they have questions about. Use video to walk them through the documents, how to fill them out and complete them, and answer any question in real-time. By not sitting down in person for an hour, you’re saving both of you time but still keeping the process moving along efficiently.
Using video is also a great way to engage in meaningful follow-up after an in-person tour. Show them something they were especially interested in but either didn’t have time to see or wanted to see more of. Or, just send a video reminding them of something they really liked or was meeting a specific need of theirs.
Data and Analytics
Speaking of follow-ups, using video leasing means you have all sorts of data and analytics available for you to use. Let’s say you’ve had a great in-person tour and you follow up to see how things are going and how you can help. But, you aren’t getting any response. If you incorporate video into those follow-ups, you’ll have a higher open and engagement rate that leads to higher conversion rates.
You’ll see the data around what the prospective renter is doing with that video. It may feel like you’re being ghosted. But, you can see that they watched the video or what parts they engaged with most. With just calls or plain email follow-up, you don’t have that insight. Those insights inform your leasing team what the next steps should be to convert that prospect.
While most of us have our in-person leasing strategy down, adding in video leasing can be a great compliment to those efforts. So, as we go into multifamily budget season, look at your video leasing capabilities. If they’re lacking or you aren’t using a platform custom-built for multifamily, it may be time to think about upgrading. It will keep the process moving efficiently, allow your team to build relationships faster, and can mean more effective, data-driven follow-ups.
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