Chatbots are not new to the internet. 67% of consumers worldwide had an interaction with chatbots last year. Whether to improve the customer experience or to gather information, chatbots have made their way into every industry. In the real estate industry, they are used to interacting with potential clients and attracting more customers. They are fast, innovative, and user-friendly – making them the fastest-growing communication channels.
Related: How Do You Get Started With Chatbots And What Benefits Do Chatbots Have For Your Business?
What is a chatbot for property management?
A chatbot is a computer system program that replicates a human conversation through voice commands, text chat, or both (Investopedia). It is an automated program that mimics human interaction to keep the conversation going naturally. Unlike humans, however, chatbots can respond at any time of the day or night.
There are two types of chatbots: One that operates according to a set of guidelines and another that is powered by artificial intelligence, also known as machine learning.
Chatbot with set guidelines
The bot’s responses are limited to specific commands or phrases when using policies. This restriction can make the conversation seem choppy and disjointed because the bot can only give a certain number of responses.
Rule-based chatbots can face many problems as they need to be equipped with artificial intelligence. With this type of bot, they are only as knowledgeable as they are programmed to be and cannot improve their conversational flow. For example, they must respond to typos, leading to user dissatisfaction.
Chatbot with machine learning
Unlike the previous chatbots, machine-learning chatbots can improve their conversation flow over time. They are programmed to respond as if they were talking to an actual human, and the more you text them, the better they get.
Not only does the number of queries the bot can answer increase over time, but the accuracy of their responses improves with each conversation.
Why should property managers use chatbots?
To answer this question, we partnered with several property managers to conduct a survey, so you don’t have to. We spoke with over 10,000 property owners from over 100 different communities. We found that 93% of homeowners would like the ability to communicate with their management team via text message.
This percentage could be because SMS is the most efficient way for homeowners and property managers to communicate or because SMS will never be considered “old technology.”
Communication between people could be improved by availability. Smartphones equipped with email and text messaging capabilities are available to homeowners of all ages. The sender and receiver can communicate on their schedule, making it a preferred method of communication. Chatbots are ideal because they are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Property managers respond immediately to homeowners’ questions before a callback.
Text messaging for property managers is a cost-effective way to improve operations. But chatbots for property management aren’t just beneficial for homeowners. They’re also good news for property managers themselves.
Instead of spending more resources on hiring new staff and training them, chatbots can support current staff so they can focus on higher-value tasks.
In addition, chatbots also prevent human error when communicating information to homeowners. Managers can prepare responses in advance to avoid spelling errors or update responses already stored in the system to provide up-to-date information at all times.
Chatbots are an excellent way for property managers to increase efficiency while reducing the time spent answering all incoming questions.
Currently, there is a massive labor shortage in the industry, making bots a viable solution to fill this gap. Chatbots for property management can help the labor shortage by automating tasks and providing a 24/7 presence. By automating tasks, chatbots can free up employees’ time to focus on other tasks.
In addition, chatbots can provide a 24/7 presence, which means they can help answer questions and resolve issues even when employees aren’t available. That can help improve customer service and satisfaction.
Related: Property Management Chatbots With Artificial Intelligence Technology
Let’s consider why you should use chatbot technology to improve property management.
1. Digital rental application
Chatbots have made rental applications easier and faster. Instead of filling out long, complicated forms for each property listing, they can upload all their information through the chatbot.
That allows the AI to display relevant listings for you and send digital rental applications. Prospective buyers interested in a particular listing can leave their contact information or fill out their digital forms, all from their homes. They can also track the applications they submit.
2. Pre-screen tenants
Only some leads generated through your website are a good fit for your business. It can be tedious to filter through hundreds of applications to find good prospects. You may miss out on some good tenants if you overlook specific applications. Chatbots can conduct a conversation to gather predetermined information.
This information allows them to filter further leads to identify promising leads. For example, if you don’t allow pets, you can capture that information during the pre-screening process through a chatbot. This way, only the leads that don’t keep pets are filtered out for further action.
3. Automated follow-ups
Generating leads is more manageable than nurturing and retaining them. According to IRC Sales, 44% of sales reps stop following up after a single failed attempt. But 98% of sales only materialize after more than one follow-up.
Chatbots can eliminate this problem by automating lead follow-up. They can send scheduled personalized messages to your leads via email and text. Chatbots can also gather additional information and forward important emails and texts to the appropriate people. You can nurture your leads using AI and manually edit them when needed.
Related: Are Chatbots The Next Big Thing In Lead Generation? What You Need To Know
4. More lead conversions
Prospects viewing your real estate listing can send an inquiry at any time. During office hours, your staff can handle such inquiries. However, after office hours, there is a delay in responding to inquiries. According to Vendasta, 78% of customers buy from a company that responds to them first. You can hire many employees to keep up with customer inquiries or use a chatbot.
With chatbots, you can immediately respond to every prospect to gather relevant information, no matter what time. You can also handle multiple prospects at the same time. That increases the chances of conversion as prospects develop a positive feeling about your offer.
5. Virtual tours
Virtual or self-guided property tours have become increasingly popular lately. At a time when people prefer contactless technologies, self-guided viewings have become a boon for the real estate industry. AI-based chatbots can offer 360-degree virtual tours within the application itself. That helps prospective buyers view the property without visiting it.
Prospective buyers can use the chatbot to make an appointment to view the property. They can use the bot to ask questions, gather information, and send inquiries. The bot fills the gap of an agent and helps provide a comprehensive viewing experience to the prospect. However, prospective buyers can also opt for self-guided tours.
6. Better time management
One of the most critical factors for using AI chatbots is saving time. Chatbots can handle multiple prospects at the same time. You can interact with them with the same speed and accuracy. That allows you to free up much of your staff to focus on simple and small tasks.
For example, the chatbot eliminates unqualified leads by collecting information. That means your sales team has to focus on fewer pre-qualified customers, saving time and effort. Chatbots can take over the most mundane processes and complete tasks that don’t necessarily require human interaction. That can increase efficiency and productivity by freeing your staff to focus on other essential tasks.
7. Easier property maintenance
Property managers receive a large number of maintenance requests every day. Chatbots can help you better organize your property maintenance. They can open tickets for tenants to submit maintenance requests. Since the bots are available 24/7, tenants can submit their requests anytime.
If an employee cannot solve the problem immediately, the chatbot can collect the necessary data and forward it to the appropriate person. It can also prioritize the requests so that you can take care of the high-priority requests first. All maintenance requests are stored in the database so that you can track and handle all requests.
8. Better management
Chatbots use various technologies, such as artificial intelligence and natural language processing. That enables the bot to understand and process user messages. Although it is a robot, the chatbot attempts to provide human-like responses to inquiries from prospects.
Instead of pre-written responses, chatbots can read and understand the prospect’s responses to send relevant replies. This increased interaction between the prospect and the chatbot helps retain more leads.
Benefits of chatbots for property management
To stay ahead of your competitors, you must introduce automation into your property management business. Switching to chatbots for property management can be your first step towards automation that will help you achieve your long-term goals.
These property management chatbots can help keep prospective tenants on your website, providing them with a high-quality customer experience. According to Lianatech, 45.9% of people find that automated communication provides a better customer experience.
According to Salesforce, 69% of prospects prefer chatbots over human interaction because they get instant responses. And we know how much you want to be among the preferred!
That’s why we’ve listed the top things quality property managers love that can only be achieved through property management chatbots powered by artificial intelligence technology.
- Accessibility outside of working hours? No problem
- Attracting unwanted leads? Prequalification is the solution
- The full schedule of appointments? Book tours and sync your calendar
- Have you lost your connection? Bots can follow up
1. Availability outside of working hours? No problem
People looking for a rental property are eager to find a convenient place. As soon as your property is listed on a website, prospective tenants call. They start immediately when your office is open. Whether it’s midnight or early morning, prospects are inquiring, and you need to respond.
60% of prospects inquire about office hours. If you can answer them within one minute, your chances of converting increase by 391%.
Being available outside office hours or on weekends is fine for AI-powered property management chatbots because they are responsive 24/7. And they know exactly how to answer queries.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots for property management take advantage of every lead, saving your time, and customer support costs up to 30%. So, if you feel these chatbots are expensive, it’s time to reconsider them!
2. Attracting unwanted leads? Prequalification is the solution
An AI chatbot for property management can easily filter out “high-value leads” from a large pool of prospective tenants. Add your prequalification questions upfront and let the chatbot do the rest.
Once a tenant shows interest in viewing, the chatbot automatically asks your prequalification questions. It only forwards prospective tenants to the next step if they meet your criteria. In case of disqualification, it directs them to other properties that most closely match their needs.
Switching to a property management chatbot helps you create a pool of select tenants that match your property, increasing the chances of conversion.
These property management chatbots ensure that prospective tenants are engaged, from interacting with your website to booking a viewing. And that ultimately contributes to a better customer experience.
Related: How Chatbots Can Benefit Your Business By Enhancing The Customer Experience
3. Full schedule? Book tours and sync your calendar
Property management chatbots with built-in AI are your assistant who knows everything in advance. It knows the dates, days, and even time slots when you’re available for a tour.
If you’re tired of dealing with messy and disorganized calendars, this property management AI chatbot is a godsend. When the property management chatbot finds a pre-qualified, high-value prospect, it forwards them to schedule a viewing. It also makes sure there are no potential scheduling conflicts and notifies you.
Property management chatbots can resolve nearly 69% of all incoming inquiries from tenants. Now you may be wondering what happens to the rest of the inquiries.
Don’t worry if the property management chatbot can’t answer a query. It automatically forwards the conversation to your agent via email, ensuring customers enjoy a seamless website experience.
4. Lose the connection? Bots can follow up
There may be times when you lose connection with an almost converted prospective tenant. He qualifies for the property, takes a tour, and then suddenly disappears. But property management chatbots don’t abandon your prospects. They keep in touch with your customers by contacting them regularly.
Many prospective tenants may be gone after one viewing, and there’s nothing you can do about it, right? An AI-powered property management chatbot takes advantage of every penny you’ve spent on it and sends an automated yet personalized email to all “almost converted prospective tenants.”
And when your property management company starts targeting prospects with a personalized subject line, the open rate increases by 50%!
A call-to-action button is used to direct prospective renters to their target property to trigger an immediate response. That keeps your brand name in prospects’ minds. And it reminds qualified, high-value rental prospects what they’re missing.
Final thoughts
Chatbots for property management shorten the rental process and answer up to 80% of routine questions. They save time and money by finding quality leads from a pool of hundreds of prospective tenants and booking viewings based on your availability. These property management chatbots learn quickly; with every query, they learn a new answer.
The entire process of communication automation helps you streamline your business. So, as a property manager, you can sit back and spend your energy on growing your portfolio instead of doing mundane tasks.
Have you checked out our Property Maintenance Chatbot?
It helps ensure your website is in tip-top shape. Check it out now here: Property Maintenance Chatbot
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