If you visit the average apartment property website, you’ll see any number of photos, videos, and floor plans. But they usually don’t connect together and give the visitor a true sense of what the property feels like in person. That leads to confused prospects and missed leasing opportunities.
To be successful in virtual leasing, everything depends on recreating the experience of visiting the property on-site.
Your marketing assets need to lead the customer step-by-step through a journey that clearly depicts your property and ends in the decision to lease. The key is to start with the big picture first, and work your way inward.
Show the prospect a map of the entire property, including amenities, and then let them zoom in, step-by-step, until they find the exact unit they want.
Done right, it will help the visitor feel like they have visited your property in person. The feeling of understanding the property as though they have already visited it is what converts online browsers into new residents.
These are the top five marketing assets you need to set up an incredibly effective virtual leasing program:
1. Interactive Property Map
Nothing captures a visitor’s attention faster than being able to see the entire property at a glance. An interactive property map ties together all of your marketing collateral and mimics the traditional leasing process in a virtual experience.
One look at a 3D property map, and the visitor instantly gains an understanding of where the buildings are situated, how they’re laid out, and where they can find the amenities.
For some visitors, knowing where the clubhouse or the dog park is located can make all the difference. Getting that big picture overview is the first crucial step toward converting them into residents.
2. Amenity Photos and/or Virtual Tours
Once the prospect understands the amenities available on your property, they want to see what they look like. Photos of your clubhouse, lounge, fitness room and other amenity spaces are a must. A virtual tour of those same spaces is even better, because it allows residents to explore these spaces in 3D right on their device.
3. Unit Availability, Photos and/or Virtual Tours
After gaining an understanding of the property layout and amenities, your prospect needs to know which apartments are available to lease.
Showing availability and pricing on a map is critical. If a prospect is only looking for two bedrooms, for example, they will want to see which units are available, where they’re located on the property, and whether they are within budget.
Of course, photos of your model units are a must-have. A virtual tour is even more powerful as a sales tool. That’s because it allows prospects to immediately start a self-guided tour of your apartments online. This gives the visitor the feeling of actually being there on-site, which can form a lasting impression.
4. Unit Floor Plans (2D or 3D)
While individual unit photos are ideal, many properties don’t have them available. Even when they are available, prospects have a tough time piecing them together to understand the unit layout. This is why floor plans are essential. They allow prospects to understand the layout of the specific unit they are interested in leasing.
To be an effective marketing tool, a floor plan needs to be easy to read, beautifully designed and decorated. When a visitor can see what the unit would look like with furniture, it feels more lived-in and comfortable. It draws them into the space and makes them more likely to take the next step and inquire about a unit or even sign a lease.
5. Live Video Tours
The first four marketing assets above are all most prospects need to lease virtually. But for those who still have questions and need more information, the next best option is to jump on a video call using Zoom, Facebook Messenger, or a similar app.
That requires having a leasing agent available to walk the prospect through the property, introduce the amenities, and show off a unit. After hours, when a leasing agent isn’t available, it’s important to have your online virtual leasing strategy in place to keep prospects engaged.
But when combined with other virtual marketing assets, this “real life” view of the property can really drive home the sale.
Create a map-based customer journey to convert more prospects with virtual leasing.
Winning over prospects and turning them into residents online is most effective when displaying all of your marketing assets in an intuitive and interactive property map.
It’s a good idea to start prospects off with the big picture first, and then narrow down to the very specific. Putting these assets in the right sequence moves prospects naturally through the entire virtual process, just like visiting the property in person.
- Interactive Property Map
- Amenity Photos and/or Virtual Tours
- Unit Availability, Photos and/or Virtual Tours
- Unit Floor Plans (2D or 3D)
- Live Video Tours
Today more than ever, prospects want to get their questions answered virtually.
Thanks to Amazon, visitors to your website want the option to do the legwork for themselves. They want to know which units are available, what the finishes and the layout look like, where to find the amenities, and so on.
If you give your prospects a map that makes it easy to experience your property virtually and learn everything they want to know, they will reach the moment of decision effortlessly.
Make sure your assets answer all of their questions about pricing, availability, location, and other details, and you’ll convert more visitors into residents, faster.
