On Trends | Marketing with Technology

Fast forward through the pandemic to bring us to the rapid deployment of virtual touring and self-guided experiences, our industry is embracing technology in new ways. Successful marketing begins with understanding the customer journey, which encompasses several touch points with technology. Our primary source of potential resident traffic is our website. We have to ensure that content is fresh, relevant, and in a format that everyone can enjoy using it. Recently we deployed a remote self-guided tour experience, allowing prospective residents to come and visit us after hours and without a staff member using biometrics and identification confirmation to enable remote access with an encrypted one-time use code. Once inside the model home, we have a smart home solution deployed, allowing the resident to control temperature, lock, and lighting with an in-wall tablet or remotely from their phone with an app. We also see savings with this platform as it allows us to control those variables once a unit is vacated remotely. We talk about this in terms of energy conservation and time management. In the same model, we deployed a voice-activated smart home device and incorporated that in the tour process as it works with the platform to turn things off and on or ask related marketing questions, for example, about upcoming events in the area. I could spend hours on this topic, but the highlight is to make technology a marketing tool by making it seamless for potential residents to interface with it.