Published on February 9, 2021 by: Adrian
Under:
ArticlesNews
A Road Map is a necessity for any startup but not a core competency of Real Estate, right? Wrong. Scalability is a hallmark of any 21st century operation and that means tech integration, even when it comes to human processes like communicating with and managing tenants – especially in the commercial sector.
In 2020, the CRE workforce was forced to go remote and invest in tech and data security, puting in the effort to transform business models overnight in a traditionally ‘old school’ industry. Still, less than 50% of polled CRE professionals consider transactions like digital tenant experiences a core need.
Tenant expectations rings like the last item of a checklist when considering digital applications and ways to streamline. The reality is that the tenant experience is a direct bridge between the retail business of a property and the commercial management of that property. Let’s dissect this:
In order to get data you have to give data. So ask yourself what types of data are you making easily available to your tenants. Do you offer an easy payment platform? Connect with regular engagement? Have multi-channel communication options?
Consider sharing things like:
To get the most out of your data, and to provide the best experience, let’s break down the lifecycle of your tenant relationships.
The pre development phase is ultimately a discussion of end-goals that begins by attracting a tenant via marketing. The data needed here is territorial and demographic, facts to back up the potential success of the listing – but prior to that, information about the territory itself. This requires information from external networks and databases to help you do the leg work of researching zones and values.
After you’ve sorted your own pre-development needs and attracted some potential clients, you need even more access to research and data on companies and leads occupying the market, their contact information, and even preferred deal methods.
So far, all your investigation has been pre-engagement. When the timing is right – meaning when you’re prepared and informed – you need a platform that funnels your measurable insights into a campaign format to maximize your reach. This is the step in pre-development where you use your well-sourced market knowledge to highlight how a potential tenant may achieve their end goals; be they prime retail or residential.
The development phase is all about the deal. From an end-user experience perspective, the development phase is about individual attention. We mentioned that real estate is an ‘old school’ industry, meaning an industry built on personal relationships and contacts, hesitant to go totally digital. Dedicated space is one way you keep your properties and your relationships personal.
A dedicated digital space can mean a specific website or page for each of your properties, and the site can double as a platform to facilitate a deal and support document transfer and communication via secure file sharing. The key is to structure your dedicated pages with a stand-alone appearance but a connected support network. Using a singular platform that manages multiple pages conveniently through a centralized dashboard or portal is a clean way of making this happen.
The other major angle of development is multi-channel communication. Platforms like Slack, as well as texting and email are used interchangeably, especially by Millenials who not only currently make up the bulk of the National buyer’s market but at roughly 31,000 individuals, make South Florida the 5th most popular destination for millennial millionaires and growing due to the popularity of Florida relocations due to the pandemic.
Dash Tip: By 2025 Millennials will make up 75% of the workforce, and technology is their top industry. Get ahead and meet them on their platform.
Accessibility equals trust. To make accessibility sustainable a team effort is needed among yourself and your employees, and for that you need a secure hub to communicate with your team on assets, reporting, and organization of tasks.
We conclude our three phases with management and assume that you’ve used your platform connected team, multi-channel client communications, arsenal of research and analytics, and map of data points to bring home a juicy deal. Now what?
Management is about managing, sure that’s obvious. Payment portals, document management, maintenance, updates, all of these things need to be easily actionable with a few taps on a screen. Remember though, the management phase is centered around continuation. Continuing communication and increasing engagement with your tenants digitally has a few benefits:
When diving into digital, tenants expect a complete experience, accessibility across devices and platforms, and a useful suite of tools that connects them to the documents and agents they need. Additionally, if the commercial property is a retail shopping center, using marketing tools like RetailFlorida are key to building a mutually beneficial long-term relationship with tenants. In a dynamic marketplace relationships remain at the center of decision-making, and supply the data needed to scale your business.
Reach out to us today for a demo and explore how a digital platform can enhance your property experiences.
