Right now, most major property markets are experiencing unprecedented rent growth. You better enjoy it now, because it’s not going to last. And when the growth stops and conversion investment ROI starts to shrink, you're going to need a great retention plan or risk losing significant NOI.
Famous developer Bobby Fijan makes a great point: “Over optimizing for prospect conversion at the expense of tenant retention is going to backfire over the long run.”
Given the adage "it's 10x cheaper to keep a customer than to convert a new one" this point seems self-evident. It’s the assumption is you can't change a tenant's mind once they've decided to leave. But you know what we say to that? BS.
So what can you do to keep them around? Create a resident engagement plan. Are you talking to your tenants at least once a quarter? Are you asking them how they feel about your building? Whether they would recommend it. This is a great opportunity to hear your tenants complaints AND compliments, giving you a chance to fix what’s not working and put more effort into the things they love.
You can also measure amenity usage. If an amenity isn't being used, think about repurposing based on what residents say when you communicate with them quarterly.
Finally, you can look at your Capex plan for 2022. What's allocated for tenant retention? Using what you learn from talking to tenants, think about allocating Capex to update 1 amenity space this year. Then measure its usage. If you see improved usage, then voila! You've significantly increased retention potential.
We get it. It’s a lot of work to communicate with tenants quarterly. Measuring amenity usage and analyzing your Capex plan is time-consuming, especially for a staff that’s already overworked and stretched thin. Enter: ResiDesk.
We can engage with your residents on your behalf to figure out what amenities they like best and what improvements they would like to see in the building. ResiDesk analyzes all of your interactions with a tenant (service requests, emails, google reviews) and can identify what tenants request the most. It’s like we can predict the future!
Ready to learn more about how ResiDesk can help you retain the residents you have? Get in touch today for a demo.
