Reputation Management

By Paul Bergeron

There’s a good side and bad side to most every apartment property action, and research and resident reviews expert Mindy Price of J Turner Research shared trending topics in the Covid-19 era as part of a Speedy Session webinar hosted the Southern California Rental Housing Association.

Residents are paying attention to how you are addressing your handling of Covid-19 processes such as cleaning and social distancing.

Communities that describe and demonstrate the precautionary steps they are taking due to Covid-19 to prospective residents before and after the self-guided on in-person virtual tour and what they’ll be doing prior to move-in are making a really strong and positive impression. By Paul Bergeron

Doing this will make many residents think about how seriously the other apartments they are considering are doing in response. If those others did not convey a detailed plan and sincere message of cleanliness and precautionary measures they are taking, they possibly will be crossed off the list.

Gratitude and Attitude

Residents are complimenting staff by name when those staff members show concern for health and safety of the residents. That’s a good thing. But they are also calling out a lack of action – or bad actions -- by name.

Residents are thankful for any rent deferment or fee-waiving you offer. But some have noted that there’s been some lack of sensitivity from apartment staff, complaining that all the property cares about is money.

We know you have a business to run, but onsite staff need to put themselves in their residents’ shoes. They are suffering. Conveying that, “We’re all in this together” is a winning message.

To address online reviews, make sure you have someone assigned to continually monitor review comments and respond. Have basic response language in place, but make sure it’s not a cut-andpaste response. It needs to be customized. And it’s important to post a comment that not only addresses the resident, but also reads like something that would resonate with a prospective resident, because these public message boards will be seen by them as well. July 2020 socalrha.org | 7

Creating Value

Smart apartment communities have had their creative juices working overtime to generate ideas on how to create and communicate value for their residents.

Some have been so good at it -- they’ve put in place things that aren’t going to go away, even when the recovery is at hand. And we’re talking more than just virtual bingo.

Virtual Paint and Sip allows residents to show off their brushstrokes and … have a glass of wine

Encourage Cooking from Home by providing a recipe book of Covid Cuisine

Rent or buy some Remote-Control Miniature Race Cars and have Give residents subscriptions to

Disney+, Netflix or HBO

Promote a Facebook online Book Club—these were popular even before stay-at-home policies

There are daily calendars themed with 31 Days of Organizing Tips

Host a resident participation

Virtual Talent Show

Does your community offer outstanding Internet speeds? This is a good time to remind them.

Hire a Taco Food Truck to come by and toast margaritas.

Host a Margarita Rocks virtual event – hire a bartender who can either share a video or run a Facebook Live event to show cool tricks to make their own margaritas.

Encourage residents to share their margarita pictures on social media and tag your community. The picture with the most “likes” wins a prize.

Amenities

If your amenities or services were out of order before, and they are still out of order -- because you haven’t had the chance to fix them -- they will note that in your reviews.

Residents are commenting about how well you’ve kept the amenities clean and: That they are open!

If they aren’t open, they are commenting that they are paying the same rent, but don't have access to them.

You have residents who love to grill, and who love to use the common area’s grilling station. But it’s closed now. How about giving them a grill similar to a George Foreman grill just to show that you are thinking of them?

If your fitness room is closed, buy some dumbbells and resistance bands (Note: Many online retailers have sold out) and either give them to residents or make them available to share/borrow.

Peloton bikes are great, but expensive. So, offer a threemonth subscription to the Peloton app, which is loaded with great exercise tools and videos. Cost is only $12.99 per month, but you get one month free. Keep It Local: Try to partner with

Maintenance

Residents who needed duties from their move-in checklist might have had that work delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Make sure you are communicating with them on the status of these fixes. If possible, send them a DIY video or FaceTime with them on how to take care of things.

We’re seeing noise and pet waste complaints going up during this work-from-home environment because so many people are spending much more time in their apartments.

At the end of the day, communication is key. The how’s and why’s need to be clearly explained to residents. Use the 3Cs – Communication, Consistency,

About the Author: Paul Bergeron is a freelance reporter who covers the property management industry.

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