Multifamily software buying made easier.

6 days ago

How Maintenance Tech Can Augment the Resident Experience

Our industry has made great strides around leasing centralization, where many have realized that new technologies, like self guided tours and virtual touring, were not created to replace human interaction - but to augment the customer experience.In the SatisFacts 2019 Online Renter Study, the perception of quality customer service was ranked #2 in importance regarding the leasing decision, which let us know that the elimination of leasing jobs wasn’t on the horizon. Self-guided tours have allowed us to better customize a prospects experience, ultimately complimenting the onsite team's quality customer service. Fast forward to 2023, and the massive importance of customer service has not changed.Moving forward, the evolution of maintenance is on the horizon. With COVID accelerating the pace of change in the multifamily world and beyond, residents have had to deal with a number of changes. Many now work from home. The need for exceptional customer service still stands as important - if not more important. With the new expectation of instant resolution, a preference for DIY, and work-from-home hours, how can the onsite maintenance teams handle these new resident expectations? Better yet, how can they handle the needs from residents alongside an astounding increase in open maintenance positions and staffing challenges across the industry? We continue to hear about maintenance centralization; will the evolution of maintenance become equally as important today as leasing was 5 years ago?When we think about "centralizing" anything, it doesn't mean removing current people from their positions. Perhaps we can look at centralization as an opportunity to focus more on the quality of our current employees, enhancing our processes, and investing in our people. Currently in our industry, we continue to see the average response time to a service request to be a standard 24/48 hour, or even 72 hour time frame. Most residents' service requests are easy fixes - garbage disposal, microwave filter, the switch in the electrical box or even a blind slat replacement. In order to increase or even maintain our residents’ expectations, we must look to innovative solutions that will allow our residents to be heard, and service them in a way that they prefer, despite these staffing challenges.In a recent Revyse Community poll, 78% of respondents said they were planning to increase the speed of their maintenance technology adoption in 2024.We know that when a resident is deciding whether or not to renew their lease, "quality of maintenance service provided” scored a 4.61 out of 5, on the SatisFacts Biennial Online Survey. This is the second highest factor impacting their renewal decision. This tells us that, just like the importance of providing options when leasing (touring in person, virtual or self guided), residents want more options for maintenance service. DIY, FaceTime service calls, and optimizing current maintenance techs time on each service request must become part of the future in multifamily. According to a 2020 Survey from Kingsley, The requirement for social distance, as well as continued focus on worker health and safety, will remain yet for some time. To help in communication and improving work, virtual technology should be a more widely used method of performing maintenance diagnostics and troubleshooting.When a resident reaches out for maintenance assistance within their home, we must look for opportunities to increase resident satisfaction, reduce the response times, and provide them with flexible choices in how we can service their requests. Video tutorials, FAQ guides for DIY fixes, and dispatching remote technicians, all help to optimize the current maintenance team while giving the resident the flexibility they want.My opinion 1,418 days ago still stands true. We must look at the traditional role of maintenance and view new solutions as an evolution - not as an elimination - to keep up with the changing expectations and preferences of our residents.

10 days ago

How to Gather B2B Software Reviews in Multifamily (and what to do with them)

We can say whatever we want about ourselves, but it can’t hold a candle to what our customers say. When I joined the Knock CRM team in 2021, my primary goal was to tell customer stories. Case studies are great, but I was looking for quality and quantity. Our customers were obsessed with us, and I wanted as many diverse voices as possible to sing our praises from the rooftops. In just a few short months, we went from 0 to 40+ G2 reviews at 4.9 out of 5 stars and earned seven badges, including High Performer, High Performer Small Business, Users Love Us, Easiest to Do Business With, and Best Support. We slapped those badges on our LinkedIn banner, in sales decks, email signatures, and so much more. If you’re selling anything in the multifamily industry, you know how vital relationships are. Reviews are how you build that relationship network at scale. In this guide, you will learn:How and who to ask for reviewsBuild a set-it-and-forget-it review-generating machine What to do with the reviews once they start pouring inAsking for Reviews“Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t kill their husbands!” - Elle Woods What else do happy people not do? Leave reviews. It’s unhappy people who are the quickest to the keyboard. What are happy people doing? Minding their business and using your product. You don’t get what you don’t ask for. So when you have a good experience with a customer, ask for that review. If you’re reading this, you might be a marketer who’s either been tasked with or feels strongly about building your reputation here on Revyse. In that case, your day-to-day interactions with customers might be limited, and this strategy is all about quantity, so let's talk about automation and scale first. Here’s what you’ll needA survey platform - Ask customers for their honest opinions.A marketing email software - I know you already have this, duh.A little baby budget - Your customer’s time is valuable. We have to sweeten the deal. Getting Your Survey Set UpThere are several tools out there that range in price and functionality. You can always go with old faithful Survey Monkey, but it is best if the survey can live in the email's body vs. a survey link. That way, you can capture their answer directly from the email, making it as easy for them to answer. Here are some platforms that have taken my review game to the next level.AskNicelyYour go-to for all things comprehensive. Seamlessly tie it with Salesforce, trigger surveys post-Quarterly Business Reviews, or after significant customer touch points. The beauty of branching logic? A stellar score could lead them to write a rave review, while anything less can be a discovery trail to unearth the ‘why.’ The cherry on top? Their real-time Slack alerts for CSMs. The intuitive dashboard, the direct email features, and the sleek design make it stand out. It's a bit of a splurge, but the value is undeniable.IterateFor those who love a swift setup without skimping on efficiency, Iterate is the jam. The team behind it is refreshingly hands-on—the founders answer the support chat. Craft your survey, embed it directly into your email platform, and you're golden. It’s intuitive, capturing the essence of each review.🧰 Pro tip: Wrestling with designing emails that pop? I've been there. When traditional tools leave you hanging, Beefree.io steps in like the unsung hero of the email design world. This user-friendly front-end builder is a breeze to navigate. Craft your design, then drop that HTML straight into your email tool of choice. And the sweetest part? It'll even play host to your images, so you’re not juggling uploads. Truly, a marketer's little secret! Making the AskOnce you've got a grasp on your current customers, slide them into a sequence nudging them toward your profile on Revyse. Here's a little trick from my playbook: dangle a $20 gift card their way. Consider offering a $20 gift card as a thank you. It acknowledges the value of their time, and it sweetens the deal. Don't believe me? Industry giants like G2 and Capterra are already playing this game, handling those gift card distributions themselves. See? You're in good company! 💅🏼Since our customers are busy, I like to give them plenty of opportunities to share their experience with your product, so I drop them into a four-email series and send the email out in this order:1st email: immediately after they’ve been added to your campaign.2nd email: 48 hours if no action was taken from email #13rd email: 5 days after no action was taken from email #24th email: 7 days after no action was taken on email #3👀 Looking for some email inspo? Check out my Promoter review solicitation email series [Template]Dishing Out Your RewardsEven though Bezos is an evil overlord, I like to use Amazon gift cards as a nominal incentive to reward users for their honest feedback because they’re easy to distribute in bulk. Because Revyse only allows verified buyers to leave a review, you can see which of your raving fans left a review. Then grab their emails and head over to Amazon’s eGiftcard page. I like to upload a branded gift card image and write a generic note like:Thanks for taking the time to share your [Your company] experience on Revyse! Hope you enjoy this gift card!What to Do with Your Reviews?There are a ton of benefits to having reviews on Revyse. Buyers may discover you there when they’re looking for a specific solution, or maybe they’ve heard of you but are looking for extra validation from a non-biased 3rd party review site. But what else are those reviews good for? I’m a huge advocate of social proof and letting your customers tell your stories. After all, I was among the first to give a free apartment to an influencer. If you're going the extra mile on Revyse, let’s make that content hustle on the side. Here are some ways to sprinkle that social proof magic into your marketing:Add badges to your LinkedIn banner or email signatures - This one’s a classic. We’ve seen it before, and it hits every time.Include a “customers love us” section on your website - Opt for genuine review snapshots or integrate a live feed. A shoutout from an independent third party always carries more clout than our words, however catchy they might be. Use those LinkedIn mentions, Facebook raves, tweets, and of course, your glowing Revyse reviews. Use a screenshot as a LinkedIn ad - This trend has been picking up steam on LinkedIn. Instead of using branded graphics for LinkedIn ads, they’ll screenshot a post or tweet from a customer talking about them and use that as the image. It gives, “Don’t take our word for it. Here’s the proof,” and I love that. Build a grabber quote repository for your sales team - Extract the best one-liners from your reviews and organize them by what sets your company’s unique value props. Your sales crew can then sprinkle them in emails and social shoutouts or casually drop them in chit-chats.Sprinkle them everywhere - Got your power quote collection ready? Now, plaster them everywhere:Demo decksAt events (think banners, booth design, flyers) Landing pagesLead nurture emailsTemplates for your Sales Development Reps (SDRs)In ClosingNavigating the multifamily landscape and standing out amongst the myriad software solutions is no easy feat. But there's a secret sauce – your customers. Their experiences, stories, and validation are pure gold, and if leveraged right, they can catapult your brand's credibility to unprecedented heights. Remember, in this digital age where word-of-mouth is online, every review is a narrative waiting to be amplified. So, tap into these stories, ensure they echo across all your marketing touchpoints, and let them build your brand. Because at the end of the day, no advertising is more powerful than a satisfied customer's voice.Stay authentic, keep your customers front and center, and keep the reviews rolling. To many more stars and badges in your multifamily journey! 🌟Cheers to building trust, one review at a time,💚 SydneyP.S. Do you have an idea of how to gather more reviews or where to use them that I might have missed? Drop it in the comments. I’d love to add it to the guide. Or better yet, create your own! IMO just like reviews, with great content, more is more. About the AuthorSydney Webber has a decade of multifamily experience, with the majority being in marketing on both the operator and vendor sides. She is passionate about telling customer stories and building scalable, repeatable playbooks empowering scrappy teams to do less with more. In 2022, her podcast, Renter Obsessed, won the Platinum DotComm award and was the first official Multifamily Social Media Summit podcast. Sydney has shared marketing strategies as a mainstage speaker at multiple AIM conferences and featured in Globe Street, Multifamily Insiders, and Multihousing News. All opinions expressed by Sydney Webber are her own and do not represent the opinions of her employer, Updater.

10 days ago

Reputation Management | Revyse Tech Buyer's Guide

If you're only viewing reputation management platforms as a way to keep an eye on your online reviews or to collect a few accolades, you're not seeing the full picture. Reputation management is a potent marketing tool that can accelerate your performance and positively impact your financial bottom line. Just like your website and that picture-perfect unit-level photography, reputation management should be a key cornerstone of your community’s leasing strategy.Handpicking the right reputation management partner and introducing new tech to your teams is no small feat; it's a decision with lasting effects. But make no mistake, the right platform can totally overhaul your programs and take resident satisfaction to soaring heights.In the multifamily industry, new software adoption is moving at warp speed, with best-in-class technologies accelerating the leasing process and creating new opportunities for portfolio growth. Modern reputation management solutions are like adding a boost to efficiency, tailor-made for operations of any size. However, venturing into the world of new vendors can feel like stepping into uncharted territory, even for seasoned industry experts.The good news is that the B2B software buying landscape has changed, putting multifamily software buyers in the driver's seat like never before. Self-service demos, genuine user reviews, and transparent vendor data are just a few of the tools that put you in control of the tech vendor selection journey.In this guide, we'll steer you through the crucial considerations when choosing a reputation management solution for your portfolio. From defining your requirements to sizing up features and evaluating vendors, we’ll help you make an informed decision that aligns with your portfolio goals, so that you can pave the way for your ideal tech stack.Where to Start : Define Your RequirementsDrafting a solid business case and outlining your needs in crystal-clear terms isn't just a fancy gesture—it's the secret to guaranteeing that your next technology evaluation is thorough and successful.Think of it like building a high-rise. You wouldn't just stack bricks haphazardly; you'd have a blueprint that outlines every detail. Similarly, when it comes to purchasing a new reputation management tool, nailing down your requirements isn't just step one, it's the cornerstone of a well-informed tech investment.💡 Deep Dive Into Requirements: For a deeper dive into the concept of technology requirements, what they are, and how to write them, take a look at this article from the team at Revyse. By identifying the specific requirements you have for your new reputation management software or service, and then writing them down, you can narrow down your search and focus on solutions that cater to your use case.Remember, not all requirements carry equal weight. Pinpoint the most critical ones and rank them based on their significance to your company and your project objectives. If there are some requirements that are non-negotiable, put those at the top. If there are others where you can be flexible, move them toward the bottom of your list.Now, let's walk through a few potential prerequisites for multifamily reputation management solutions. We'll explore how these requirements can act as your compass, leading you towards a well-informed decision when it comes to selecting the perfect technology partner. Example Requirements✅ - Our reputation management solution should help us manage reviews across Google, Facebook, and Apartments.com.Are you looking for a solution that helps you manage just one core platform, like Google Business Profiles, or do you need a tool that can aggregate your reputation scores across multiple industry-specific platforms to get a broader view of reputation? ✅ - Our goal is to be able to respond to all community reviews within 48 hours.Do you have specific goals or KPIs in mind when it comes to review responses? Are you willing to use canned or automated responses in order to be prompt, or are you willing to sacrifice speed for quality and leverage people-based services to take a human-based approach? ✅ - The reputation management solution should allow our corporate marketing team to solicit reviews across our entire portfolio, allowing our onsite teams to stay focused on community and resident needs.Do you need a tool that can help scale a small corporate marketing team, or are you looking for a solution that each Community Manager can access directly? Do you need automated review solicitation, or are you planning to ask for reviews by hand? Defining who and how tasks should be done will help you better evaluate your options.✅ - The reputation management platform should allow us to escalate negative reviews to our Regional Managers.Will onsite teams be handling all reviews, regardless of score, or will you need to escalate negative reviews to Regional Managers, ensuring that leadership is never out of the loop? ✅ - We need a review response solution that understands and adheres to legal requirements.How important is it that the reputation management technology or service allows for Fair Housing compliant review responses, and FTC guidelines on review solicitation, to ensure that your efforts don’t land you in legal hot water? Be sure to define the level of compliance required and any internal review processes that might need to be accounted for before you start your vendor evaluation process.Establishing the requirements for your reputation management software evaluation and writing them down ahead of time will help you stay focused during the research process.Researching Multifamily Reputation Management OptionsWith your requirements in mind, it's time to research the reputation management technologies available in the market and find a few potential tools that can address your company’s needs head on. Here are a few good places to start:Explore industry-specific product review sites and publications.Leverage search engines and vendor websites.Look for case studies and customer testimonials to leverage the experiences of other operators who have used the tools or technologies you are considering. Reach out to peers, colleagues, or industry experts for their insights and suggestions on the best solutions to address your specific problem. Online forums, communities, and professional associations can also be valuable sources of information.💡 Pro Tip: The multifamily industry is nuanced, so when you’re researching, look for reputation management software solutions that have specific industry experience and positive customer feedback from multifamily companies that share a similar size, investment strategy, submarket, or area of focus as you do.Keep a list of the reputation management solutions that catch your eye, as you'll dive deeper into evaluating these vendors and their product offerings in the next sections.Want a quick-and-easy way to understand your options? Check out the Reputation Management category page on revyse.com to discover multifamily reputation management products and read verified user reviews.Product DemosOnce you’ve developed a short-list of potential reputation management solutions, it's time to demo the platforms. These demos offer you a firsthand look at how each solution operates, allowing you to compare how each tool meets (or doesn’t meet) your requirements.Remember, these sales demos aren't just about appearances. Oftentimes, the vendor will walk you through real-life scenarios specific to the multifamily industry. Not only is it valuable to see the actual user interface (UI) and get a glimpse of how the solution works, you can also get an understanding of how the technology would be leveraged by your teams on a day-to-day basis.The good news is that more and more vendors are adopting modern sales tactics and offering transparent, self-service product demos, which allow buyers like yourself to tour their product on your own, at a time that is convenient for you, and without the need for a sales rep. Vendor discovery platforms like revyse.com also host self-service product demos and walkthroughs, so you can easily search by product name or category to find vendors that offer self-service demos ahead of time.💡 Pro Tip: Prioritize vendors that offer transparent pricing and hassle-free access to demos, letting you evaluate options without the sales pitch pressure. You’ll be able to take an objective approach, choosing what works best for your business needs, and won’t feel obligated to continue unproductive conversations out of kindness.If the vendor doesn't have a self-serve product demo available online or on their website, you can usually still contact them directly to schedule a demo with a sales representative. It may take more than one sales meeting to get access to a resource who can answer your deepest technical questions about product functionality and integrations (usually called a Sales Engineer or a Solutions Architect), so be patient and voice your intent. Honesty is the best policy here. Let your sales rep know early on that your goal is to gather technical info, and they can help you navigate the sales process much more quickly by bringing the right resources to the call.Evaluating Key FeaturesProduct demos are the perfect time to evaluate each reputation management solution's key features. But before you start the self-service demo or join the sales meeting, be sure to grab your list of requirements. As you walk through the product demo, compare the features and functionality of each solution against your requirements. And most importantly, always be transparent with the vendor about each of your requirements and make sure they understand your needs up front.💡 Pro Tip: During the evaluation process, create a checklist or a simple comparison table in Excel to assess each potential solution side-by-side, based on your requirements. When comparing products, look for solutions that not only address your immediate pain points, but also offer flexibility for future growth or changes in how your company operates. For example, if you know that you’ll be doubling your portfolio in the next 12 months, look for a product that can scale with you as you grow.Now, let’s get into the specifics. When you’re researching and demoing reputation management software, some of the critical features and functionalities to look out for are: 👉 Focused on Google-First: The most competitive reputation management strategies will be focused on improving your property’s Google Business Profile (GBP) review volume and ratings, with help from automated technology and review response services, since reviews have an outsized influence on local search ranking.Questions to ask: Does your platform prioritize Google reviews? Do you use the GBP API? When Google releases a new feature on GBP, how often do you build those new features into your platform’s offerings?✌️ Automated Review Solicitation: Leveraging automation to request reviews from happy residents across different stages of the resident lifecycle, such as tour, move-in, and lease renewal, can dramatically increase your overall ratings and reduce negative reviews.Questions to ask: Does your platform include review solicitation? Does it use automation triggers from a CRM or PMS integration to send review solicitation requests, or are they sent by hand? Tell me how your integration works. Can I decide which triggers are leveraged? Do you cap the number of solicitation requests that go out at one time? 💡 Pro Tip: When looking at product features that rely on integrations, it’s important to really dig in and understand how the integrations function. When it comes to reputation management integrations, ask “Who controls the automations? Is there any onsite team involvement needed to trigger these workflows?”🤟 SMS Capabilities: The ability to send review requests by SMS text messaging vs just by email can meaningfully increase your response rates and review scores.Questions to ask: Does your review solicitation have SMS capabilities, or do you only solicit reviews through email? What are your average SMS response rates for a PMC of a similar size or in a similar market? Do you require explicit opt-in for SMS text messaging? Will the phone numbers be a standard 10-digit number or a short code?✌️✌️ SEO-Optimized Review Responses: Ensuring that your review responses are optimized for local SEO can turn your reputation management tool into a performance marketing machine. Questions to ask: How does your review response product work? Do you include SEO optimized keywords in each review response? How does your tool/team determine which keywords to include? How are negative reviews handled? Are there strategic differences between responses to negative and positive reviews?🖐️ Review Sentiment Analysis: Understanding overall reputation scores is important, but being able to measure prospect and resident sentiment by topic or lifecycle stage is a complete game changer. Questions to ask: Does your platform allow me to measure review scores received by specific team members? Will it allow me to better understand which employees are delivering 5-star service? Can I see the overall sentiment of just those residents who have renewed their lease, or those who have just moved in?  Double-Click on FTC ComplianceAs a multifamily operator, you have a ton on your plate - leaving limited time to focus on becoming the authority on review solicitation compliance and legal best practices.  But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! When evaluating Reputation Management products and services, it's important to understand how the vendor approaches compliance with the Federal Trade Commission’s rules for online reviews.When a reputation management tool funnels prospects or residents with negative experiences to an internal feedback mechanism and only directs positive reviewers to leave a public review, that’s breaking the rules. This practice is commonly known as “review gating.” And there are real monetary consequences for these prohibited practices.In a recent press release, the FTC explained, “[We] charged the rental listing platform Roomster and its owners with duping consumers seeking affordable housing by paying for fake reviews. In January 2022, the FTC required online fashion retailer Fashion Nova to pay $4.2 million for suppressing negative customer reviews from being posted to its website.” In addition to fines, review sites are directed by the FTC to enforce fair practices. If an Operator is suspected of unfair review practices, Google and other review sites will simply delete your reviews without notifying you.Matt Murray, CEO at multifamily reputation management tech provider Widewail, touts the benefits (and boost!) to ratings when Operators fairly and equally solicit reviews from prospects and residents across key points in the customer journey.“To eliminate long-term risk you need to treat positive and negative content equally. Further, suppressing your residents’ feedback is a poor experience and is an unnecessary risk. We find that ratings, on average, jump up 0.3-stars when asking every resident and making the process easy.”Questions to ask: Do you follow the FTC’s rules for online reviews? Does your platform solicit reviews from all prospects and residents equally? How does your platform handle negative reviews? Are negative reviews ever suppressed or hidden, putting us out of compliance with the FTC?Assessing Vendor ReputationIn addition to evaluating reputation management software features, it's crucial to assess the reputation and credibility of the vendors behind these solutions. When exploring options, consider vendors with a solid track record in serving the multifamily industry. Look for testimonials or case studies highlighting their success stories in multifamily apartment management, and read user reviews to understand how their products perform in the real world.💡 Pro Tip: Vendor reviews are your secret weapon in the software shopping battle, saving you from unpleasant surprises down the road. Quickly understand how a new solution would fit into your existing tech stack by reading authentic reviews from industry users who have gone through implementation themselves. Be sure to check out software review sites like TrustRadius and G2 when shopping for generic SaaS solutions, or leverage Revyse for access to industry-specific user reviews for multifamily technologies and services.By choosing a reputable vendor, you can have confidence in the long-term reliability and support of the reputation management software solution you choose.Pilots and Trial PeriodsWhen weighing up your decision, consider taking advantage of any trial periods or pilot programs offered by your shortlist of reputation management software vendors. Trial periods are typically free and will give you hands-on experience with the software and a deeper understanding of its functionality, user-friendliness, and compatibility with your existing systems. Pilot programs can also help you measure the quantifiable impact of the product on property performance, without the commitment of a full portfolio implementation project. Pilot programs can be free or paid, and typically involve testing the live product for 90+ days on 3-5 active properties in your portfolio. The purpose of a pilot is to gather data on performance, so be sure you’ve outlined the critical KPIs before launching a new pilot program. During pilots or trial periods, be sure to involve relevant team members and end-users who will be working with the reputation management software on a daily basis. Gather their feedback and assess how well the solution aligns with their specific workflows, and make note of any new requirements that might surface.Considering Implementation and SupportUnderstanding the product implementation and onboarding processes for your new reputation management platform ahead of time can save you endless heartache and hours of tedious manual work, protecting your team from the dreaded “onboarding spreadsheet”. Be sure to ask the vendor what to expect during implementation and onboarding, such as:Implementation timelinesOnboarding processes Data integrationsProperty information transferTraining resourcesOngoing customer support Ticketing systems or portalsOn-demand knowledge basesEach of these areas can have a significant impact on the successful implementation of a new technology system, and can influence how well a new reputation tool is received by your internal teams. Making the Final DecisionSmart decision-makers know that getting more apartment reviews from prospects and residents will raise your property’s star rating, make you more visible to prospective residents on search engines, and boost your property performance.So, it's decision time! Put on your analyst hat and weigh each proposal and demo against your prioritized requirements. Think about factors like cost, the time it'll take to get the ball rolling, ongoing support, and any customizations or integration requirements you might have.And finally, take a deep breath and make your choice. Trust your research, your peers, and your instincts to select the perfect multifamily reputation management platform.Happy software shopping!⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Team Revyse

11 days ago

Websites | Revyse Tech Buyer's Guide

As a multifamily decision-maker, selecting the right website technology vendor and implementing a new platform is a critical task with long-lasting consequences. The right choices can truly revolutionize your marketing and improve the prospect experience.The multifamily industry is evolving at a rapid pace, with best-in-class website technologies and CMS platforms accelerating the leasing process and creating new opportunities for portfolio growth. These solutions can significantly enhance efficiency and boost profitability for any size operator, however, exploring a new website vendor can be challenging - even for the most experienced multifamily professionals. The good news is that the B2B software buying landscape has changed, putting multifamily software buyers in the driver's seat like never before. Self-service demos, access to product reviews, and transparent vendor and supplier data are just a few of the tools that empower operators to navigate the website vendor selection process with confidence.In this guide, we'll walk you through the key considerations when selecting a new website platform or CMS for the multifamily industry. From understanding your requirements to evaluating features and assessing vendors, this guide aims to help you make an informed decision that aligns with your portfolio goals, so that you can build an ideal marketing tech stack. Where to Start : Define Your RequirementsA well-thought-out business case and clearly written requirements can make all the difference in ensuring that your next website vendor evaluation is thorough - and successful. Understanding and defining your requirements for a new solution ahead of time is the foundation of every good decision when it comes to buying new tech.💡 Deep Dive Into Requirements: For a deeper dive into the concept of requirements, what they are, and how to write them, take a look at this article, Multifamily Software Buying 101: Nailing Requirements.By identifying the specific requirements you have for your new website platform, and then writing them down, you can narrow down your search and focus on solutions that cater to your use case.Remember, not all requirements carry equal weight. Pinpoint the most critical ones and rank them based on their significance to your company and your objectives. If there are some requirements that are non-negotiable, put those at the top. If there are others where you can be flexible, move them toward the bottom of your list.Now, let’s take a look at a few real-world examples of potential requirements for multifamily websites, and how they could help you make a more informed decision when selecting a new marketing vendor.Example Requirements:✅ - The vendor should be able to honor our request to un-publish a community website within 72 hours of notice to dispo.Do you acquire and dispose of properties frequently? You should understand how quickly a vendor’s customer support team will respond to your requests to create new sites or remove old ones. You may determine that your team needs to have self-service access to edit the CMS themselves. If you have a long-hold strategy, this requirement may not be relevant to your business model.✅ - The platform should support the use of our owned Google Analytics account.How do you track your website performance KPIs today? If you’re using a tool like Google Analytics, you’ll want to ask if you can continue using the same GA account, and how the vendor can support your tracking and analytics needs within that same analytics framework.✅ - Our new websites need to be live by November 15th.Do you have a specific deadline that you need to meet? Website implementation timelines can vary wildly. Start to finish, a full-portfolio build can take anywhere from 90 days to 9 months with a full-service templated website vendor, while branding agencies and custom development shops may quote somewhere between 5-12 months for a custom build. Conversely, a single website for a new development or recent acquisition should be much quicker, about 2-3 months on average.✅ - We want to work with a vendor who will lead the brand direction and creative on our behalf.Before kicking off your search, it’s important to understand how much control your team wants to have over the look and feel of your new website, or if you will be leaning on an expert to develop the brand. Directing the creative on a website project is a huge amount of work, so before signing up to lead the brand direction for your next project, be sure that you have the resources available (both headcount and time) for the entire length of the project. If you know resources are tight, look for a multifamily vendor who can lead the brand design as well as the technical build.✅ - We want to own our own website.Is it important that your company ‘owns’ the website and has complete ownership or control of that digital asset? When evaluating vendors, be sure to ask whether your investment in the design will be limited to their system, or if the website is capable of continuing to operate in the event that your relationship with the vendor were to end. This may be important to understand in the event of a property disposition.Establishing the requirements for your vendor evaluation and writing them down ahead of time will help you stay focused during the research process.Researching Multifamily Website VendorsWith your requirements in mind, it's time to research the options available in the market and find a few potential website platforms that can address your company’s needs head on. The multifamily industry is nuanced, so when you’re researching, look for vendors that have specific industry experience and positive customer feedback from multifamily companies that share a similar size, investment strategy, submarket, or area of focus as you do.Here are a few good places to start:Explore industry-specific product review sites and publications.Leverage search engines and visit vendor websites.Look for case studies and customer testimonials to leverage the experiences of other operators who have used the website platforms you are considering.Reach out to peers, colleagues, or industry experts for their insights and suggestions on the best solutions to address your needs.Online forums, communities, and professional associations can also be valuable sources of information about website vendors.Keep a record of the website vendors and products that catch your attention, as you'll dive deeper into evaluating them in the next sections.Product DemosOnce you’ve developed a short-list of potential website vendors and platforms, it's time for product demos. A product demo gives you first-hand experience of how the website platform or CMS works and helps you determine if it meets your needs. Not only is it valuable to see the actual user interface (UI) and get a glimpse of how the website technology works, product demos often walk you through specific industry use cases, so you can see how different build options could be leveraged in your marketing strategy. More and more vendors are embracing modern sales practices and offering transparent, self-service product demos, which allow buyers like yourself to tour their website or CMS platforms on your own, at a time that is convenient for you, and without the need for a sales rep. Vendor discovery platforms like revyse.com also host self-service product demos and walkthroughs, so you can easily search by product name or category to find website vendors that offer self-service demos ahead of time.💡 Hassle-Free Demos: Prioritize vendors that offer transparent pricing and hassle-free access to demos or examples of their work in the real-world, letting you evaluate options without the sales pitch pressure. You’ll be able to take an objective approach, choosing what works best for your business needs, and won’t feel obligated to continue unproductive conversations out of kindness.If the vendor doesn't have a self-serve product demo available online, you can usually still contact them directly to schedule a demo with a sales rep.It may take more than one sales call to get access to a resource who can answer your technical questions about functionality and integrations (usually called a Sales Engineer or a Solutions Architect), but being upfront with the sales rep about your intent to gather technical info can help you navigate the sales process more quickly.Evaluating Key FeaturesDemos are the ideal time to evaluate each potential website platform’s key features. Before you start the self-service demo or join the sales meeting, be sure to grab your list of requirements for your new website. As you walk through the platform, compare the features and functionality against your requirements, and take notes. And most importantly, be transparent with the vendor about each of your requirements and make sure they understand your needs up front.💡 Create a Checklist: During the evaluation process, create a checklist or a simple comparison table in Excel to assess each potential website platform side-by-side, based on your requirements. During the demo, look for solutions that not only address your immediate pain points, but also offer flexibility for future growth or changes in how your company operates. For example, if you acquire another property in the next month or two, would that vendor also be a good fit for another website build project?When you’re researching and demoing solutions with today’s modern multifamily website platforms and agencies, some capabilities to keep an eye out for are: ☝️ Flexible Domain Strategies - If you operate your website using a single-domain strategy, where your community websites are nested under your corporate domain to provide an ILS-like experience to prospective renters, you’ll want to ensure that you can maintain that competitive advantage when choosing a new vendor. If you’re managing each community’s website on its own independent standalone domain, you’ll want to ask about domain management and user management, to keep track of log-ins to each website. Questions to ask:Does your platform support single domain or multi domain strategies? Do you require each community to have a standalone domain and website? Would my existing prospect or resident portal be compatible with that set-up?  ✌️ Templates vs Custom Builds: If having a differentiated look and feel to your website is important, you’ll want to ask about custom designs, or at the very least, customization of an existing template to produce a more distinctive look. Customizations are usually more time intensive (for a better end result), so be sure to factor that into your overall timeline.Questions to ask: Is each website custom built for the property or asset, or do you provide pre-designed templates for us to choose from? If you use templates, can they be customized to our specific needs? How can we make sure that our website won’t look dated in 2 years? Are redesigns included?Chris Arnold, Co-Founder of digital design firm Authentic Form & Function, suggests considering custom brand-forward website designs for those communities or assets that need the extra mile, like new developments and properties in lease-up. "To make a deeper impact and boost leasing velocity, consider a brand-forward website experience that skips the template look."🤟 Pricing and Availability Data: If displaying accurate unit pricing & availability directly from your PMS or CRM system is important to you, be sure to ask about how the website platform supports this data early on in the discovery process. Accurate unit merchandising is a critical component of delivering a great prospect experience on your new website. Questions to ask: Tell me about your integrations with our PMS/CRM provider. How do you pull pricing and availability data? Will the floor plans show pricing as ‘starting at’ values or as ranges? Can you include our required legal disclaimers around quoted pricing?✌️✌️ Supported Tech Stack: Do you use additional technologies to augment your prospect experience, such as chatbots, interactive maps, video touring platforms, or dynamic number insertion (DNI)? If you plan to continue using these tools, then you’ll want to be sure that your new website vendor can support your existing tech stack. In some instances, a new vendor may have a different solution, or better yet, native functionality that could replace the need for a separate product.  Questions to ask: Can you tell me more about your view on industry partnerships? How does your platform handle third-party integrations, such as CRM systems or virtual touring and interactive maps? Does your platform support the use of a broad range of best-in-class point solutions, or would you require us to use your specific product set? Grady Newman, Founder of multifamily marketing platform Resi, recommends digging deep into the vendor’s product roadmap as a critical evaluation step during your vendor research process. "Ask about direction of the company and their product roadmap. It should be well thought out and align with the vision you have for your company and the industry as a whole."Double-Click on Technical FunctionalityAs a multifamily marketing leader, you have a ton on your plate - leaving limited time to focus on becoming a technical authority in website performance. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! 👉 Here is a list of technical questions to get you started during your vendor evaluation:How does your platform address responsiveness and ensure usability on mobile devices?Can you explain your approach to image compression and caching and how it impacts page load speeds?Is standard SEO schema integrated into each website by default?Do your templates comply with a specific WCAG accessibility level? Is this achieved through native functionality or an add-on widget?What measures do you have in place to ensure website security and protect against potential vulnerabilities?How does your platform handle website performance optimization, such as code minification and browser caching?Can you provide details about the content management system (CMS) used and its capabilities for managing multifamily websites?Are your websites designed to be scalable and handle high volumes of traffic without performance degradation?What analytics and reporting features are available to track website performance and user behavior?Understanding the Impact of IntegrationsOne area of the technology selection process that is often overlooked is integrations. Ensuring that the multifamily website platform you're considering can easily integrate with your critical software systems and operational processes is crucial to avoid disruptions, data silos, and to maximize the benefits of the new solution. The most common integrations that multifamily professionals look for are integrations with core property management tools, such as accounting software, property management systems, and CRMs.It’s important to remember that not all integrations are created equal. The level at which a  product may be integrated with one of your company’s core systems can vary from vendor to vendor. When it comes to integrating a website with your property management system or CRM, it's important to understand the difference between common integration types.🪝 WebhookA webhook is a way for one system to provide notifications or data to another system. It is essentially a callback mechanism.When an event or trigger occurs in one system, it notifies the other of the event.Webhooks are typically used for one-way communication, where the system that receives the webhook data may perform specific actions but does not usually send data back to the original system.📲 One-Way IntegrationIn a one-way integration, data flows in a single direction, meaning that information from one system can be pushed to the other.However, any updates or changes made within the ‘receiving’ system won’t be reflected in the ‘sending’ system.One-way integrations are often used when the website serves as a marketing tool to showcase property details and generate leads, while a separate system handles leasing.👀 Bi-Directional IntegrationsA bi-directional integration refers to a system-to-system connection where data is synchronized and shared in both directions.Typically, updates such as availability changes or new lease signings, can be automatically reflected on the website, and similarly, inquiries, leads, and application submissions from the website can be seamlessly transferred to the receiving system for further processing and management.Bi-directional integrations provide a more comprehensive and real-time view of property information, ensuring consistency between systems.In addition, it’s important to note that different data sets within the same system may be integrated using different methods or mechanisms, and just because one data set is integrated a certain way, it doesn’t mean all of the data will follow that pattern. For one provider, pricing and availability may be shared using a one-way integration, while lead submissions may use a webhook. Integrations can be complex, so spend some time understanding how a potential vendor views the multifamily industry’s vendor ecosystem and be sure to choose a partner who shares the same philosophy as you do regarding data ownership and system compatibility.Assessing Vendor ReputationIn addition to evaluating a website platform’s features, it's crucial to assess the reputation and credibility of the vendors behind the solutions. Consider vendors with a solid track record in serving the multifamily industry. Look for testimonials or case studies highlighting their success stories in multifamily apartment websites, and read user reviews to understand how their websites perform in the real world.💡 Leveraging Peer Reviews: Vendor reviews are your secret weapon in the software shopping battle, saving you from unpleasant surprises down the road. Revyse lets you quickly understand how a new solution would fit into your existing tech stack by reading authentic reviews from industry users who have gone through implementation themselves. Check out software review sites like TrustRadius and G2 when shopping for generic solutions like Wordpress or Drupal, or leverage the Revyse community for access to industry-specific user reviews for multifamily website vendors and design agencies. By choosing a reputable vendor, you can have confidence in the long-term reliability and support of your new website.Pilots and Trial PeriodsConsider taking advantage of any trial periods or pilot programs offered by vendors when shopping for a new platform. Trial periods are typically free, and will give you hands-on experience with the platform and a deeper understanding of its functionality and user-friendliness.Pilot programs will help you measure the quantifiable impact of the platform on property performance, without the commitment of a full portfolio implementation project. Pilot programs can be free or paid, and typically involve testing the live product for 90+ days on 3-5 active properties in your portfolio. The purpose of a pilot is to gather data on performance. During pilots or trial periods, be sure to involve relevant team members and end-users who will be working with your websites on a daily basis. Gather their feedback and assess how well the platform aligns with their specific workflows, and make note of any new requirements that might surface.Keep in mind that vendors offering fully-custom website builds or unique design + branding packages won’t be able to offer free trials, but that shouldn’t deter you from exploring those solutions that are customized to your company’s specific needs. Custom builds can be a great way to level up your resident experience.Considering Implementation and SupportUnderstanding product implementation and onboarding processes ahead of time can save you endless heartache and hours of tedious manual work, protecting your team from the dreaded “onboarding spreadsheet.” Be sure to ask the vendor what to expect during implementation and onboarding, such as:Implementation timelines Onboarding processes Building any custom integrationsProperty information transferTraining resourcesOngoing customer support Ticketing systems or portalsOn-demand knowledge basesEach of these areas can have a significant impact on the successful implementation of a new website, and can influence how well a new vendor partner is received by both corporate and onsite teams.💡 Ongoing Support Costs: Another critical aspect of choosing a website provider is understanding the cost of ongoing support, including changes, edits, or updates to your website. This is often overlooked when comparing pricing, and can have a significant impact on the overall investment required to maintain your new site. Making the Final DecisionNow, it's decision time. Put on your analyst hat and weigh each proposal and demo against your prioritized requirements. Think about factors like cost, the time it'll take to get the ball rolling, ongoing support, and any design customizations or integration requirements you might have for your new website.And finally, take a deep breath and make your choice. Trust your research, your peers, and your instincts to select the perfect multifamily website provider for your next project.Happy software shopping!⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐Team Revyse