The relationship you have with your Indianapolis residents is an important one. When your tenants feel happy and heard, you can count on a positive tenancy that includes on-time rental payments, attention to the lease requirements, and assistance in keeping your property well-maintained.
The cornerstone of any relationship, of course, is communication. We have some advice on how to communicate with your residents in a way that’s positive, proactive, and professional.
Here’s how to do it.
Engage in Active Listening
Active listening is a skill that will help you communicate with everyone, including your residents. As property managers, we’ve found that our communication strategies improve immensely when we listen to our tenants.
This isn’t always easy. Sometimes, it may seem like your tenants are looking for reasons to complain; they might be demanding impossible things or complaining just to complain. But sometimes, they just want to be heard. It does not cost you much time to validate their concerns.
Listen with empathy and compassion. When you can manage that skill, your tenants won’t be afraid to come to you with bad news. Maybe rent will be late this month or a maintenance issue is causing a lot of stress. You want to welcome that feedback from them rather than repel it.
Always lead with listening. It’s better for your relationship and for your tenant communication strategies.
Know When to Communicate Electronically vs. Personally
Communicating online is swift and efficient. Most tenants prefer texts and emails to phone calls and meetings.
It’s better for you as well because it allows you more flexibility in how and when you respond.
Digital communication is instantaneous and easy for many people to grasp. We recommend that you communicate this way as often as possible, but only when it’s appropriate. As property managers in Indianapolis, we are always using email and messaging, and social media platforms. We ensure our website is an easy place for owners and tenants to come for information. We provide online rental payments and application processing. We embrace all of this technology.
We also know when we need to have a real conversation.
It’s easy to forget about the emails you read yesterday and didn’t respond to yet. You can silence your phone and not receive texts for a few hours. You can also misread something that arrives electronically. There’s really no context in electronic communication, and things can be easily misread.
When it’s necessary or convenient, we’ll pick up the phone and have an in-person conversation. This is critical to good communication. Sometimes, we need to actually see how the property looks. We like to meet with the tenants in person during the leasing process so we know who will be living there.
You need a plan to easily blend electronic and in-person communication, and to know when to use each method.
We understand the importance of communicating responsively with your residents. If you find that you struggle to keep up with communication, consider working with an Indianapolis property management company. We can take care of the entire tenant relationship, including communication.
Contact our team at Red Door Property Management, and we’ll tell you more about our communication strategies.
