There are likely some tenants or renters who have been on your property for a long time, and you probably know some of them in an at least friendly way. As a property manager, you must realize the value of loyalty among these people who regularly pay you to use your space. As a result, you would be remiss to not employ some renter appreciation strategies into your regular interactions with these individuals.
Always Show Your Renter Appreciation
Loyalty is very crucial quality in a tenant or renter. If someone doesn’t care at all about the building or its management, then they are more likely to not take very good care of the unit and then to move to another place, likely for less money. However, if you can offer some kind of reward or reinforcement for those whose business you appreciate, then that relationship with be strengthened. Also, it will serve as a positive encouragement for others on the property.
For example, consider hosting some kind of event for those in the building. “Bringing tenants together is both fun and fosters a sense of community, making them feel +more comfortable and connected to their residence.” What better way to express renter appreciation than by providing them with a fun and stress-free environment in which they can see you as the benefactor? The goal here is to retain those treasured tenants, to make them feel looked after, to show them that you deeply appreciate their business.
How else can you demonstrate that you consider them to be valuable? An easy answer is to make sure that the property at large is both updated and well-maintained. This means getting to repairs immediately and installing upgrades before things are direly out of date. For example, giving your lobby or entrance way a new coat of paint, some new decor, or something similar will impress people as soon as they walk in the door. People want to feel as if they live somewhere that is of high quality, and if you maintain at least the appearance of this standard, they will thank you and feel more satisfied with their choice to rent from you.
Everyone loves to receive a gift. You don’t have to leave a fruit basket at each door every month of the year, but a holiday card in their mailbox is a nice touch. If you can afford it, a small token on birthdays would make them feel special and grateful. Even just leaving a note with a handwritten ‘thank-you’ on the anniversary of their move-in date will help to “let them know you care.”
Something else that’s easy to do to show renter appreciation is to keep in regular contact. You may want to consider writing a newsletter, or simply sending out weekly e-mails, if you aren’t doing either of those things already. This is a great and easy way for you to keep in touch with your tenants or renters by letting them know any and all changes or updates to the property. It can also help you to make announcements, such as event dates or possible issues. People don’t want to be overwhelmed with messages from you, but once a week, or once every other week, is fine.
Would you say that you’ve done a good job of collecting and responding to tenant feedback? Do you have some kind of survey in place to gather this information? If your feedback system is outdated, or if it doesn’t exist at all, then this should be an immediate focus. There has to be a place where they can go to let you know how they feel, whether positive or negative. If it’s the former, then you can thank them for their positive words, and if it’s the latter, you can still thank them for opening up to you and assure them that you’ll find a way to address their concerns.
Don’t let those on your property go unheard. Make sure that if you receive feedback, you not only respond to it, but take what they say to heart. Ensure that you’re available either electronically or in person for whenever they have questions or concerns. Something that can help you to be the best property manager you can be is SKYLINE Property Management and Accounting Software, which provides everything you need in one easy-to-us system. SKYLINE exceeds your tenants’ expectations so that you can retain their loyalty and make them happy year after year.