Multifamily Tech Gurus

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they discuss meeting the expectations of the modern renter by providing self-service tools, such as resident portals, to enable renters to communicate and transact business with your community at their convenience.

In this episode, they delve into the popularity of self-service platforms across various industries and the fact that over 90% of consumers expect to be offered a digital option for their communication and transactional needs. Their discussion touches on what features renters are really using in a resident portal and how certain services and information that many providers typically place behind a login should not be.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "The backbone of a resident portal is to collect rent, reduce the need for in-person visits or calls, and open the lines of communication with residents. Providing the right tools will have a dual benefit, as it will improve the living experience for residents while offering property managers tools to operate more efficiently and effectively."

Resources: Modern Conveniences for Modern Renters

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they discuss the pros and cons of building your own website versus subscribing to an industry-specific platform for apartment community-level marketing.

In this episode, they delve into how custom websites can give a property a unique look by tailoring every aspect to fit your brand. Still, they may have significant drawbacks in meeting technical requirements for integrations, accessibility, and ongoing updates for security. Their discussion touches on how the best providers in the industry are able to perfect search engine optimization and accessibility compliance and enable complex integration functions by maintaining smart infrastructure that allows for mass updates.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Marketing managers often have a vision they want to execute to maintain brand consistency, which requires a lot of customization. The one thing to weigh out is whether we are leaving behind the ability to scale and ultimately drive more leads through building custom sites or whether a provider that can deliver websites with beauty and brains serves the property better through enhanced digital presence and lead flow."

Resources: Power Up Your Marketing Without Increasing Costs

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they broadcast live from the tradeshow floor at the National Apartment Association's Apartmentalize Conference in the City of Brotherly Love - Philadelphia.

Joined by special guest, multifamily industry changemaker Mike Brewer, Founder and CEO of The Multifamily Collective, they delve into the dynamics of conference sessions and the unique atmosphere created by vendors across the tradeshow floor. Their conversation focuses on the operational challenges currently confronting the multifamily sector, with escalating costs in key areas such as insurance and property taxes, and the delicate balance of reducing expenses.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "In a world filled with Zoom meetings, attending in-person conferences is invaluable for connecting with industry peers; it's an opportunity to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and build relationships that drive innovation and growth within the industry."

Resources: Leverage The Power of an AI-Powered Marketing & Leasing Platform

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they deep dive into how website popups can interrupt the flow of navigation and content consumption, leading to frustration and a poor user experience.

In this episode, they delve into the excessive use of website popups by marketing managers in the multifamily housing space, which are potentially effective for capturing user attention, but often come with significant drawbacks that can negatively impact the user experience and overall website performance. Their discussion touches on how search engines like Google have penalized websites that use intrusive popups that obstruct content, and many users employ ad blockers, which render the popup ineffective.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Popups can be problematic for users with disabilities, making it harder for them to navigate the site. This can violate accessibility standards and alienate a segment of your audience. We highly recommend implementing notification bars at the top of the screen that convey important messages without blocking content."

Resources: Utilize Apartment Marketing Websites Built to Reduce Risk

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they deep dive into how artificial intelligence can be strategically aligned with marketing and unit inventory to stay in front of high vacancy rates.

In this episode, they delve into some of the controversies surrounding revenue management and explore how daily inventory analysis against on-notice units is a viable option to enhance revenue when coupled with an actionable marketing strategy. Their discussion touches on the nuances of balancing supply and demand in various market conditions to maximize occupancy, which, in their view, is the new frontier of optimization models.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Having a dynamic approach to analyzing daily unit inventory against multiple variables can significantly impact revenue, especially when it is aligned with highly integrated marketing efforts to ensure that potential renters are aware of available units and any promotional offers."

Resources: Reinvent Operational Models to Accelerate Revenue

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they bring their extensive expertise and insightful perspectives to the table, examining the latest trends and technological advancements of the role of chatbots in the multifamily housing sector.

In this episode, they delve into a critical analysis of whether chatbots truly provide a competitive advantage or if they merely serve as a distraction that disrupts the overall user experience on property marketing websites. Their discussion dissects the complexities of chatbot implementation, pricing models, and response types being utilized in the industry.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Chatbots can enhance the renter journey through automating conversations with rich interactions that simplify user workflows. They can handle a multitude of inquiries, from simple questions about amenities to more complex tasks such as tour scheduling. When added to a wider stack of marketing and engagement tools, we feel they have value."

Resources: Provide Immediate Answers to Prosects Around The Clock

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they explore how AI is unleashing a new wave of human creativity and productivity, while delivering a significant competitive advantage for businesses of all types, including reinventing operating models in the multifamily housing industry.

In this episode, Kerry and Jimmy discuss the efficiency artificial intelligence brings to the table with its ability to streamline operations and transform service offerings to meet the expectations of today's renters. They delve into how AI can forecast demand, answer reviews, market available units, build leases, and collect onboarding fees.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "AI isn't just about efficiency; it's about empowerment. Empowering individuals to find their ideal homes, empowering businesses to thrive in an ever-competitive market, and ultimately, empowering communities to flourish in spaces where technology meets humanity."

Resources: Search to Sofa Solutions for Today's Renters

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they explore the necessity for income verification to qualify applicants and the challenges of multi-faceted systems that attempt to automate the process.

In this episode, Kerry and Jimmy discuss how income verification remains as the pivotal gatekeeper in determining who advances to resident status, even if they pass credit and background checks. The podcast delves into how the process can create friction in the rental process, particularly for renters with non-traditional income sources or limited access to documentation.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "While income verification provides insight into a person's current earnings, credit scores offer a comprehensive view of their financial history and behavior. Unlike income, which can fluctuate and may not always accurately represent a person's financial stability, a credit score encapsulates a longer-term pattern of financial responsibility."

Resources: Simplifying The Renter Onboarding Journey

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they talk all things social media, and how property managers can monetize these platforms with a mix of content that not only markets vacant apartment units, but create validation inside the decision making process for today's renters.

In this episode, Kerry and Jimmy discuss what types of content should be posted at the property level, and how to elevate search positioning through keeping social media channels active with flowing with fresh content. The podcast delves into how artificial intelligence and automation can be leveraged to market upcoming inventory, while eliminating human intervention.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Social media is a three headed monster – it can build SEO, make your community look alive, and market your vacant units - if you use the right tools. Leveraging AI to take daily deep dives into vacant and on-notice apartment units, not only creates optimal marketing content, but exposes hidden revenue."

Resources: Building Digital Footprints with Social Media

Join Kerry W. Kirby and Jimmy Lancaster, the masterminds behind the Multifamily Tech Gurus Podcast Series, as they drive down the long road of converting leads to signed leases, and how the multifamily housing industry needs to rethink its outdated model to meet the expectations of today's renters.

In this episode, Kerry and Jimmy discuss how the building blocks of marketing should be designed to produce leads that ultimately convert to leases, and how to remove as much friction from the process as possible. The podcast delves into how they are leveraging a mix of artificial intelligence and automation to deliver leases, capture fees, and meet compliance regulations.

Kerry and Jimmy's Words of Wisdom: "Manually assembling leases is not only a waste of human ingenuity, but it has now officially gone the way of the pay phone. Delivering a lease within minutes of receiving approval, not only prevents lease loss, but it meets the demands of today's instant generation."

Resources: Automated Leasing for Multifamily Communities