Property Managers – be different from your competition
As a property manager you know how difficult the business is. The number of property managers out there is growing every day. You know who is good and who is bad, but often times, the consumers do not. So you struggle to complete against all these other companies. Does the following scenario sound familiar?
Chances are the above scenario sounds pretty familiar. This is very common for property management firms to offer a standard set of services and compete against each other on service, reputation and more often then not, price.
Differentiate yourself
One of the key questions any firm needs to ask itself is ‘how they are different from the competition?’ Regardless of the industry, you want to offer something different and (hopefully) better than the competition. Property management is no different.
Let face it, in property management it is hard to differentiate yourself. You offer better service, online reports and payment option, 24x7 service…. All good stuff, but is it really different from your competition?
You want to offer your customers a management solution that they are not getting anywhere else. Assisted Property Management (APM) does just that.
Assisted Property Management
The APM solution allows property managers to completely customize their service offering to meet the needs of the property. Some properties want a full service manager, others want to self-manage, and others want some combination of the two. An APM solution allows you to offer that level of customization to meet each property’s needs.
An APM Solution works for both you, the property manager, and for the property owner. As a Property Manager you:
A property owner gets:
Property Management is a tough, competitive business. You need to work hard every day to simply maintain your portfolio of properties as your competition will do all they can do to ‘steal’ a property. Be different form the competition; offer an Assisted Property Management Solution.
- Management fees between 5-10% rent
- Struggle to keep up with the day-to-day activities
- Some ‘easy’ properties, some ‘high-maintenance’ properties
- Not sure if you are making a profit on all your properties
- Looking to expand your ‘other’ services offered (cleaning, maintenance, accounting……)
- Fighting every day to grow your business
Chances are the above scenario sounds pretty familiar. This is very common for property management firms to offer a standard set of services and compete against each other on service, reputation and more often then not, price.
Differentiate yourself
One of the key questions any firm needs to ask itself is ‘how they are different from the competition?’ Regardless of the industry, you want to offer something different and (hopefully) better than the competition. Property management is no different.
Let face it, in property management it is hard to differentiate yourself. You offer better service, online reports and payment option, 24x7 service…. All good stuff, but is it really different from your competition?
You want to offer your customers a management solution that they are not getting anywhere else. Assisted Property Management (APM) does just that.
Assisted Property Management
The APM solution allows property managers to completely customize their service offering to meet the needs of the property. Some properties want a full service manager, others want to self-manage, and others want some combination of the two. An APM solution allows you to offer that level of customization to meet each property’s needs.
An APM Solution works for both you, the property manager, and for the property owner. As a Property Manager you:
- Get access to a new set of properties that would not / could not pay full service fees. ‘Access’ includes the cleaning, landscaping, maintenance services on an A La Carte basis
- Shift the management risk from you to the property owners. You get away from the day-to-day responsibilities of the property
- Have a full suite of services to offer customers – from your larger full service business down to smaller properties more interested in saving money
A property owner gets:
- A fully customize property website that includes a property calendar, document storage, contacts, vendors, events and more
- Access to the best practices and expertise of experience property managers without paying the full service fees
- Greater ability to control costs and clear visibility into the management of the property
Property Management is a tough, competitive business. You need to work hard every day to simply maintain your portfolio of properties as your competition will do all they can do to ‘steal’ a property. Be different form the competition; offer an Assisted Property Management Solution.
Comment
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Comment by Nate Burnes on October 28, 2010 at 10:05am -
I suspect everyone wants to engage at a different level. Some want to just go about their business and not be bothered, others want to engage and get to know neighbors and local businesses. Having the option is good - I think more will want to engage that not want to.
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Comment by Steve Ballantyne on October 27, 2010 at 7:45am -
Yep, I agree with your last point.
Engagement is our #1 challenge and focus. The fact that our virtual community exists as a physical community helps. We use the elevators, lobby, and our print newsletter to promote the facebook community. This has been producing decent engagement from the residents so far.
I'm banking on relevancy to produce engagement Neighbourhood Buzz believe people want to engage with their neighbors, PM's, and local businesses because it has 'real' world relevancy in their lives.
Nate - do they? I think so, I've been wrong before though :)
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Comment by Nate Burnes on October 27, 2010 at 6:12am
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Steve - from those that i deal with some love social media and some are not there yet (and may never get there). The worry I have is that with too many accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LTPM....) it becomes too much of a burden to keep up with them all. That said, I believe the online forums / communities are a great way to connect people - the trick is getting people to use them.......
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Comment by Steve Ballantyne on October 25, 2010 at 8:09am
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Some good points Nate, it is all about differentiation.
How's this for separating yourself from the competition. We offer PM's building specific digital and print communication solutions which includes a moderated community facebook page.
We improve retention, give prospects a place to check out the building, and develop community on this page.
Would that set you apart from the competition? Or are owners afraid of social media?
Interested in your thoughts.
Steve Ballantyne
www.neighbourhoodbuzz.com
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