Property Management Consulting Blog

Welcome to another Innovation Spotlight! Throughout this series, we hope to connect you to the latest trends, innovations, and some of the biggest thought-leaders in the property management industry.

Today, we're excited to share our conversation with James Alderson of MyWalkThru. He is the founder and creator of this app that replaces the inventory and condition form used by tenants to document the condition of your rental property after move-in. Our Senior Consultant Blais Case began working with James about seven years ago through a company called OnSight PROS, where he first became involved in property management.

Our conversation today focuses on how MyWalkThru is saving time and money for property managers while also giving tenants better peace of mind.  

The backlink is one of the best ways to improve your website's SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking. Backlinks help your site become visible to a broader audience. They help generate more organic traffic to your website. 

Guess what? There's a strategy for generating useful backlinks to improve your website's traffic. 

Backlinks are a critical component of your inbound marketing strategy. Here's our guide to consistently generating the right kinds of backlinks for your property management website. 

Have you ever considered giving your website a grade? Just like in school. 

Does it earn an "A" for "above average," or an "F" for "failure to function." 

It can be challenging to take an honest look at your website. However, you might not realize that you're losing traffic and potential customers because your website annoys users!

If your website isn't generating traffic and providing leads for your property management business, it's time to conduct an audit and give your site a grade.

Your website is no longer merely a place for visitors to learn the basics of what you do and how to reach you. Today's websites are the inbound marketing voice for businesses. 

Let's look at a few areas to review and grade your website. 

Your inbound marketing program is generating fresh, new leads. Congrats! 

Now, what do you do with them? It's time to qualify those leads to maximize your efforts in cultivating the best leads into your best new customers.

We've talked about how your inbound program will help generate more leads, more doors, and more profit. You need a plan for your leads to make that happen. 

Here's a quick guide to help you get to know your leads and qualify them for the next steps with your business. 

Without a good CTA (Call to Action), your blog post could fall flat. 

Excellent writing and a compelling story help make any blog post an interesting read for your website visitors. However, don't drop the ball when it comes to directing your readers with an action.

After all, the point of your blog post is to inform and direct action. Blogs are more than just an entertaining read! They are a critical part of your inbound marketing plan.

When creating new content or performing a content audit on your website, take a hard look at your CTAs. Inbound marketing doesn't work if you don't use your Call-to-Action in strategic ways to encourage consumers to take the next step. 

Here's what you need to know about the CTA for your blog posts. 

Businesses need clients to stay operational. That’s obvious, but what isn’t obvious is what to do when clients cost more resources than they bring in, or what to do if a client is so challenging to work with that you’re not confident they’re worth the money they bring in..

When you have a client that takes up more time than your other clients, demands more work than what was agreed upon for no extra pay, or isn’t living up to their responsibilities but blame you for poor performance, it’s time to consider letting them go.

You must make sure you can legally do so, or you might end up paying fees for breach of contract. If you don’t have a contract, it’s easier to fire them, but if you want their business, a contract will prevent murky situations and is highly recommended.

There’s also a chance they’ll negatively affect your reputation, costing you more business in the long run. Here are some tips to mitigate the damage, or even end your business relationship amicably.

You’re about to launch your new business venture. You’ve got staff, a killer idea to differentiate you from the competitors, and now you’re just waiting for the customers to start your services or buy your products. While potential customers are deciding if they want your services, they need somewhere to go to learn about what makes you unique.

Your website is the first touchpoint for customers. Make sure it’s a good first impression. Websites have come a long way since the mid-nineties, and so have people’s expectations. No longer content to scroll through looping gifs of dancing hamsters while low-quality tunes loop in the background, people expect to get the information they came for right away. They also don’t like clutter.

An effective business website must have a clear message, get attention, and lead the potential customer somewhere. Your site must be easy to navigate, load quickly, and have plenty of content to keep them invested.

That sounds obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to execute. Luckily, there are strategies and tools available to help.

Property management is a business built on partnership: with property owners, contractors, real estate agents, and tenants. Each of these relationships needs trust to thrive, but a traditional approach to marketing doesn’t trust the customer to know what they need.

HubSpot’s approach, however, starts with honesty by presenting the services you provide with your ideal customer in mind. The marketing technique utilized by HubSpot is called “inbound marketing,” and it can help grow your business outside of the traditional model.

With HubSpot, property management companies can stop wasting their efforts on people who have no need for their services and focus on those who seek their counsel. By outlining the basics of inbound marketing and highlighting the various tools and services provided, it will be clear how HubSpot is an excellent investment for your property management group.

So you're considering managing properties, either through your investments or as a service for other property owners. Property management is an exciting path full of potential. Your work will be different every day, you get a nice mix of desk work and getting out of the office, and the money can be excellent if you play your cards right.

Welcome to another Innovation Spotlight! Throughout this series, we hope to connect you to the latest trends, innovations, and some of the biggest thought-leaders in our industry.

This week, we feature Jennifer Stoops, senior vice president of Park Avenue Properties. Three years ago, our Senior Consultant Blais Case began talking with Jennifer about automation. Since then, she has implemented automation into Park Avenue's daily routine with great success. 

Today we pick Jennifer's brain about how to plug different automations into your property management process to make it mainstream, faster, and automated. Jennifer shares how automation has improved her office's efficiency, and how this helps them serve their customers better.