Customer Service
Anticipate Needs and Prefill Them: The Ultimate Customer Service Principle
Good customer service starts with knowing what customers need before they ask.
Anticipate their needs and prefill solutions.
Imagine a world where your customers don’t have to wait.
They get what they want instantly.
This builds loyalty and creates raving fans.
“Great service means making the invisible visible before it’s noticed.” – Mike Brewer
Redefining Leadership: How Customer-Centricity Upends Traditional Hierarchies in Multifamily
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Customer-centricity is the crux of successful business strategies; the incisive observation by Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale in “Funky Business” — “Hierarchy is an organization with its face toward the CEO and its ass toward the customer” — serves as a clarion call for a paradigm shift in organizational structures, especially in the multifamily leadership space. Rearrange the hierarchies.
This thought-provoking statement challenges the traditional top-down hierarchy where the focus is predominantly on appeasing the upper echelons of management. In such a model, customer needs and front-line innovations often take a backseat, creating a disconnect between the service providers and the end users. This disconnect is particularly detrimental in industries like multifamily, where customer satisfaction is paramount.
A study by Deloitte highlights that customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies not focused on the customer. This statistic alone underscores the necessity for a shift in perspective. The stakes are even higher in multifamily spaces, where residents are not just customers but community members. A customer-centric approach in these environments doesn’t just drive profitability; it builds communities and enhances lives.
Leaders in the multifamily space are thus poised at a crucial juncture. The challenge is transitioning from traditional hierarchies to more fluid, agile organizations that place customer needs at their core. This involves empowering employees at all levels to make decisions that enhance customer satisfaction, thereby fostering a culture of innovation and responsiveness. In a way, it brings a case against centralization.
For multifamily leaders building their brands, embracing this customer-first approach is not just a strategy but a brand statement. It’s about being known as a visionary who values the voice of the customer as much as the bottom line. Leaders like Jeff Bezos, who famously leaves an empty chair in meetings to represent the customer, exemplify this approach. In the multifamily context, this could translate into policies prioritizing resident feedback, community engagement initiatives, and a relentless focus on enhancing the resident experience.
In this landscape, the role of technology, especially PropTech, becomes pivotal. PropTech solutions can provide deeper insights into customer preferences, streamline operations, and enhance customer experience. As leaders integrate these technologies, they improve operational efficiency and demonstrate a commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.
Furthermore, embracing a human-centric leadership style, which involves empathy, active listening, and genuine engagement with customers and team members, can redefine the essence of leadership in the multifamily space. This approach aligns with the growing demand for authenticity and transparency in leadership.
The Transformative Power of ‘Astonishing’ in Business Culture
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In the pursuit of success, business leaders often strive for metrics like ‘effective,’ ‘efficient,’ or ‘innovative.’ However, for those shaping the future of multifamily leadership, one term rises above the fray: “astonishing.” This word isn’t a fluffy adjective; it’s a rallying cry for organizational cultures.
In multifamily, the notion of ‘astonishing’ is a lighthouse. Start with technology adoption; don’t just digitize existing processes; invent new paradigms. Imagine the leap from online resident services to AI-driven community experiences that predict and meet the needs of residents even before they articulate them. The power of predictive analytics can redefine the resident experience astonishingly, thereby giving a whole new dimension to ‘resident-first’ strategies.
An ‘astonishing’ culture also emphasizes human-centric leadership, a dynamic blend of empathy, vision, and rigorous execution. This transcends old-school autocratic management or laissez-faire indifference; it seeks to forge a new organizational psyche. When leaders embrace bold vulnerability and foster an environment where intellectual debates are cherished, employees feel a sense of purpose that leads to out-of-the-ordinary outcomes.
Marketing shouldn’t be left behind, either. The benchmark isn’t just customer acquisition but ‘astonishing engagement.’ This is a realm where conversational AI interfaces converse with prospective residents in a manner indistinguishable from human leasing consultants yet available 24/7. It’s a paradigm shift from ‘always open’ to ‘always engaging,’ an ideal that conventional tactics never dare to approach.
Captivating? Yes. Risky? Certainly. But the goal isn’t risk avoidance but extraordinary value creation. Remember, astonishing is not an endpoint; it’s a continual evolution. It mandates not just technological daring but also emotional resonance, creating experiences that evoke awe.
So, for multifamily leadership aiming to carve out a niche, being astonishing isn’t an option—it’s a mandate.
The Deep Connection: How Client Feelings Toward Service Reflect Their Feelings About Providers
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In the multifamily industry, and indeed, across all business sectors, there’s a time-tested and unwritten rule: Clients don’t just feel about a service; they feel about the person or entity delivering it. I often emphasize this intrinsic relationship, and today, we’ll explore this connection a bit more.
The Emotional Resonance with Service Providers
Have you ever wondered why clients become loyal to a specific brand or business? It’s not just about the quality of service; it’s how they feel when interacting with the provider. Emotional resonance is the unsung hero of many business relationships. When clients perceive the provider as trustworthy, competent, and genuinely caring, they’re more inclined to view their services positively. This synergy between how a client feels about service and the service provider underpins the foundation of customer loyalty.
Building and Nurturing Customer Trust
I often write about trust as the cornerstone of any successful provider-client relationship. But how is it earned? Transparency, consistency, and genuine empathy form a framework. Clients can sense authenticity a mile away. If they believe a provider genuinely cares about their needs and well-being, they’ll reciprocate that trust, resulting in stronger ties.
The Importance of Positive Service Experience
In the words of Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Our philosophy at MultifamilyCollective echoes this sentiment. When clients have a positive service experience, they associate those feelings of satisfaction, happiness, and trust with us. Over time, these positive experiences stack up, reinforcing the client’s positive perception of the service and the one delivering it.
Going Beyond Transactions: The Provider-Client Relationship
Service interactions are more than mere transactions. They’re opportunities to build lasting relationships. Providers understanding this principle go above and beyond to ensure every interaction counts. Providers cement their place in the client’s heart by prioritizing the client’s needs and addressing concerns with sincerity. And as I often say, “In the multifamily business, relationships are everything.”
Crafting Memorable Service Interactions
Providers need to create memorable service interactions to leave an imprint on a client’s mind. These aren’t necessarily grand gestures. Often, it’s the small, thoughtful actions that stand out. Listening actively, showing appreciation, or even going the extra mile to resolve an issue can leave a lasting impression. These memorable interactions set providers apart and ensure they remain top of mind for clients.
To sum up, service provision isn’t just about the service itself; it’s deeply intertwined with clients’ perceptions and feelings toward the provider. Like many others, the multifamily space thrives on the depth and strength of these connections.
Customer Service vs. Hospitality: Crafting Unforgettable Resident Experiences
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Customer service and hospitality are often used interchangeably. While they might seem synonymous, understanding their subtle distinctions can dramatically alter the resident experience. Let’s dive deep into these concepts.
The Bedrock of Customer Service:
At its core, customer service is transactional. It’s the necessary foundation upon which multifamily communities operate. Consider customer service as the diligent employee ensuring all community amenities function correctly, quick responses to maintenance requests, or the systematic leasing and resident management approach. It’s about addressing needs, solving problems, and ensuring operations run smoothly.
Customer service is the baseline. In the multifamily space, customer service ensures resident satisfaction at the most basic level. The community’s amenities may be top-notch, the grounds may be immaculate, and the apartments may boast the latest finishes. But if customer service falters – if maintenance requests go unanswered or community policies are applied inconsistently – resident trust erodes.
The Magic of Hospitality:
Now, here’s where the magic happens. Hospitality goes beyond mere transactions. It’s about crafting experiences, building relationships, and making residents feel at home. Hospitality represents the soul of a community, where every interaction is a chance to create memorable experiences.
Will Guidara, an influential figure in the hospitality sector, aptly describes hospitality as the art of making someone feel seen and valued. This might manifest as a personalized welcome package for a new resident in the multifamily space, remembering residents’ birthdays or even acknowledging their day-to-day triumphs and challenges.
Multifamily communities aren’t just about buildings and amenities. They’re about people, emotions, and the essence of ‘home.’ Hospitality, in this regard, is about the heart – the human connections that transform a mere residence into a cherished community.
Striking the Right Balance:
While customer service ensures that the multifamily community functions effectively, hospitality ensures it thrives and resonates on an emotional level. Both are integral, but they serve different purposes.
For instance, a resident might renew their lease because the community offers consistent customer service – their maintenance requests are always addressed promptly, and community policies are clear and fair. But what if we could elevate this experience? What if, on top of excellent customer service, the resident felt a deep connection to the community and valued and cherished every interaction with the team? That’s the difference hospitality makes.
Crafting Memorable Experiences:
The insight here highlights the importance of viewing communities not just as properties but as ecosystems of relationships. Realizing every touchpoint, from leasing to daily interactions, is an opportunity to go beyond the expected and venture into the realm of the unforgettable.
The overarching point is that while a community needs to ace its customer service game, hospitality differentiates one community from another. Hospitality fosters resident loyalty, crafts a vibrant community culture, and sets a property apart in a saturated market.
In Sum
Understanding the interplay between customer service and hospitality is the difference maker in multifamily. While customer service forms the foundation, hospitality is the secret sauce that turns residents into passionate advocates. Multifamily operators and professionals have an opportunity to craft experiences that satisfy residents and truly enchant them.
