Washbourne says the art of the text is best achieved as a teaser. “You want to give them enough information to entice them to come in, but not so much that they feel like they can drive on by,” she explains. “Tell them to call for today’s specials, but don’t tell them what those specials are.”
Be sure to use finesse when selling to a text lead, too. This may require that you train onsite personnel on how to appropriately respond to texting prospects. For instance, Washbourne says Apartment Home Living’s system can e-mail property managers a prospect’s cell number as soon as they respond to a short code. “You can call them right then and try to entice them by saying, ‘I saw you just sent us a text, and I wanted to let you know about the special we’re running that ends tomorrow,’” Washbourne says, but warns that these leads are only good for a short time. “That lead is very, very hot right then, but you wouldn’t want to call them on their cell three days later.”
E-MAIL IS DEAD While texting has already arrived for prospecting, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a vital resident communication tool, too. While today’s property managers rely on e-mail, resident portals, on-site bulletin boards, and even snail mail to disseminate information in a community, that may soon change.
“For resident communications, texting is something that has been a long time in coming,” says industry consultant Lisa Trosien of ApartmentExpert.com. “I haven’t seen an effective texting platform for residents to date, but we need to start going in that direction.” Using texts for communications has its own issues, though. For instance, regulations prohibit unsolicited communications to cell phones, which means residents need to opt in to be reached via text message.
And while cell phones seem ubiquitous, they’re actually not. At Daytona Beach, Fla.-based technology provider Infinisys, CEO Richard Holtz says when a client asked for a texting platform for residents, the company interfaced it to in-unit thermostats, because everybody had one. “You would think you’d have 100 percent penetration by now, but a small number of people still don’t have cell phones,” Holtz says. “We started looking at the most common interface within each apartment, and that actually turned out to be the thermostat.”
The bottom line for the apartment industry, though, is that texting is here to stay. Using it as a communication platform isn’t a matter of if, but when. “Already, when a resident moves in, you ask them how they’d like to communicate, via phone, e-mail, snail mail, whatever,” Trosien says. “Well, people are already starting to say, ‘E-mail’s dead—I just want to text.’”
Joe Bousquin is a freelance writer in Auburn, Calif.
ACTION ITEMS
AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
