SUPPLIERS
The Renter’s Journey by Brittany Johnson, Regional Solutions Specialist, RentPath The renter’s journey has changed. The once simplistic
media creates a huge opportunity for management
affair of finding a home is no longer a linear process.
companies to capture the attention of in-market renters
From the point of needing a space to the point of
in a place they spend spare time. When it comes to
signing a lease, there are now many stops for renters
reaching renters in this initial stage, advertising should
along the way. For management companies to make
be diversified, spread out, and targeted to the specific,
the best use of their budgets, they must understand
high-intent renter audience for a certain property.
how to evolve with the renter in the three stages of
However, it is important to remember that not all
their journey.
solutions are created equal.
The first stage of the renter’s journey is the “Awareness Stage,” where consumers become aware of inventory in the market. Prior to the days of the internet, those interested in renting an apartment would learn about available units in a hard copy of
Management companies have more opportunities than ever before to take action and evolve with today’s renter along his or her journey.
a listing publication like the Apartment
Once a property has made it to the renter’s shortlist, the communityspecific research begins in the “Interest Stage.” With a narroweddown list of properties, renters are now diving into Google reviews, property Facebook pages, Instagram, etc. in order to see if the community
Guide. Now, 87 percent of renters begin their quest for
lifestyle matches what he or she desires in a home.
a home with a broad keyword search on Google (“two-
Eighty-four percent of consumers believe reviews older
bedroom apartments in Nashville”). Of course, not every
than three months are not relevant, as renters want to
listing that populates will meet the renter’s criteria.
see what life at the property is like today, not last year.
For this reason, the renter jumps around to various
Additionally, this is the renter’s first impression of a
sites in order to develop a shortlist of communities to
property’s customer service.
research further.
It is important to note that 82 percent of renters will be
In addition to conducting Google searches, renters are
put off by negative ratings and reviews. In fact, only 53
spending an average of 147 minutes of passive time on
percent of people would consider using a business with
social media platforms per day. Furthermore, research
less than four stars. For this reason, ratings and reviews
shows renters take up to three months to decide
can make or break an advertiser’s lead generation.
where to sign a lease. This means advertising on social
A property may be spending thousands of dollars to continued on p. 11
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