There’s a lot of innovative technology that’s helping landlords and rental property owners market and advertise their rental properties. With online listings, video tours, self-showings, and other virtual platforms, it’s easier than ever to attract a wide audience to your available rental property and your status as a local property owner with homes for rent.
Technology is fantastic and as Arlington property managers, we use it all the time when we’re marketing your property. We use it to lease your property, manage your investment, and maintain its condition and value.
We also use old-fashioned word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth marketing is still around and it’s just as effective as it ever was. You might be surprised by what it entails and how you can use it to get more attention to your properties. We use word-of-mouth all the time to market ourselves as a leading Arlington property management company and to get properties rented quickly and for the most money to high-quality tenants.
Here’s how you can leverage this type of marketing to unlock growth for your portfolio and your profits.
Tenant Word-of-Mouth: The Importance of a Good Tenant Experience
Who will be talking about the rental experience at your property?
The tenants who lived there.
If you really want to harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing, you need to give your existing tenants a good reason to speak highly of you and your property. This is where it starts for any property manager, landlord, or property owner.
When you go above and beyond the normal experience that tenants expect to receive while renting a property, you give them a good reason to share their experience with others who may be looking for a rental home. A good tenant relationship and an outstanding rental experience can create a fan for life. Some of the ways to generate positive word of mouth include:
- Prioritizing maintenance requests and responding right away.
- Keeping the property clean and well-maintained throughout the tenancy. Stay up to date on landscaping and pest control.
- Provide prompt responses to tenant inquiries, requests, and concerns.
- Build a personal relationship with your residents so that trust is established.
When your residents enjoy their time in your property, they’ll talk about it on social media. They’ll leave good reviews. They’ll recommend your property when someone they know is looking for a new home.
Encourage Reviews and Referrals
Online review sites are becoming more and more popular, even for landlords and small business owners. If you rent out even a limited number of rental homes, people are likely to be talking about you on these sites. As Arlington property managers, we are always reviewed online. How do we manage to keep our reviews positive?
We are proactive about asking for those positive reviews, and we encourage the tenants and the owners we work with to write them for us. You should do this, too. When you know a tenant is satisfied with something you’ve done, use that opportunity to ask them to leave a review. If you send a maintenance worker over minutes after a repair is requested, ask the tenant to leave a review when the work is complete. If a lease renewal is executed successfully, ask for a review from your tenant.
Positive reviews on the websites that tenants and consumers use most will help you expand your reach when you’re marketing for new tenants. This word-of-mouth will attract more qualified residents who trust what former and current residents have to say.
Leverage Social Media Platforms
Social media is a great place to gather word-of-mouth marketing points.
This is where people engage with one another and share opinions. When you share a listing on a social site, you’re marketing your property to a larger audience. Not only will your own friends and followers see it, they’ll be able to share it themselves with their own network. You’re syndicating your listing across multiple audiences just by posting it on Facebook or Instagram or any other platform.
Be responsive when there are likes, comments, and questions on your post. Share additional information, express gratitude for compliments, and continue building your brand and your property’s brand by staying active on social media.
Look for relevant groups. Facebook marketplace, for example, has a dedicated section for rental properties. You’ll want to make sure you’re there.
Social media has its benefits and challenges. But, when you’re focused on word-of-mouth marketing, this is the digital place to be.
Build Strategic Partnerships
Word-of-mouth marketing can be especially effective when you build mutually beneficial relationships with local businesses. You’re offering a valuable service that can support renters who are moving into the area, so when you establish relationships and network with relocation companies and major employers, you’re positioning yourself to get some attention for the properties you have available to rent. If a local teaching university, for example, has medical residents coming into town for a few years, those residents will need some help finding a place to live. When you’re in touch with the housing department of that university, you can offer your available property to them.
Get out into the community and network as much as you can. You can join local business organizations such as Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce. You can volunteer your time and efforts to local nonprofits. Anything that will help you widen your pool of potential tenants and even additional vendors and service providers will help you grow your portfolio and your profits.
Let’s talk more about your investment goals and how you’d like to move forward with your rental properties. We can discuss marketing, leasing, investing, and everything associated with Arlington property management. Contact our team at Comfort Property Management. We are here to help in any way we can.
Comfort Property Management leases, manages, and maintains investment properties throughout Northern Virginia, in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, McLean, Ashburn, Sterling, Springfield, Reston, Chantilly, Manassas, Centreville, and Herndon.
