#17- Self-Guided Tours: Everything You Need to Know with Allison Moledo of Windsor Communities

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Meet Allison Moledo, Director of Training [West Region] for Windsor Communities. In today’s episode of Marketing Home, Marketing You, Allison shares how Windsor Communities successfully launched a self-guided tour pilot program in 2019 and now plans to roll it out company-wide on April 1, 2020. Under the current challenging landscape for multifamily leasing and operations, Allison’s insights for implementing a self-guided tour program are timely, relevant, and refreshingly simple.

Listen to the podcast or check out some highlights below.

Q: When and why did you decide to implement virtual tours at your community:

A: At Windsor Community, we have a commitment to better living, and part of that commitment means offering our customers multiple options to lease apartments. We want to create custom experiences during tours and offering self-guided tours really opens up options for our customers. We identified so many benefits to virtual tours including customer flexibility and we’re freeing up valuable time for our leasing teams. We’re then able to focus on customer service and meaningful follow-up. We are increasing conversion ratios in our communities by using virtual tours. If you have more opportunities for tours, you have more opportunities for leases. 

We started piloting in April 2019 at 13 sites across the country. All of our communities will be live on April 1st, 2020.

Q: What are some of the results you’ve had with your self-guided tours program? 

A: Overall we’ve had tremendous success with our program. When our pilot phase completed, we determined that a large percentage of self-guided tours were during business hours, which is the opposite of what we predicted. This showed us that a lot of our customers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, like to tour the properties alone and 95% of our customers like to have some time alone during the buying process. We’re able to provide multiple options to all the different personalities that we cater to. 

Q: In implementing this program, did you guys have any hiccups? How has it evolved over the last few months?

A: We are constantly evolving, but we really have not had too many hiccups up to this point. We are really trying to communicate with our teams on a regular basis to discuss successes and opportunities because we’re always striving to be better with this process. With our communities, we’re a relatively low tech process but as we evolve we want to explore more technology. The biggest question I get when I speak on this subject is security. We try to really go out of our way to focus on those concerns. We request a photo ID from anyone over the age of 18 and then we also require them to sign a “tour release form”. This is essentially a form that releases us from all liability. In that agreement, we state that we’d really like for people to keep their tours around 30 minutes. We have our teams monitor the cameras and make sure the tour is moving along, and we also make sure the door is locked after the tour. Overall, because of our low-tech approach, we haven’t had a lot of hiccups.

Q: Are there any other tools or training that you’ve found helpful for you and your teams during this process?

A: For us, it all starts with providing our teams with detailed training programs to outline step-by-step workflows. We try to outline a consistent message for our process and make sure that everyone in our organization has the training they need to be successful. Communication and training are first, and then our systems and marketing teams have been critical in implementing all this. We also try and make sure we update our call centers so they can help our customers and give them the correct information. 

Q: With everything that’s happening now with the Coronavirus, how have you guys modified, if at all, during this outbreak?

A: Due to the current environment, all our offices and amenities are closed with the exception of being able to offer a self-guided tour, which currently requires very minimal in-person contact. We are 100% focused on providing virtual and self-guided tours right now. Like most companies, we’re working to strike an appropriate balance between keeping our business going and most importantly, focusing on the safety of our associates and customers. We’ve implemented strict cleaning protocols at all sites, and we’re also making an effort to get electronic signatures on tour agreements, prior to the tour, to minimize in-person contact. 

Q: What advice would you give someone that wants to implement something like this at their site?

A: I would recommend to first, work with your operations, systems, and marketing teams to identify processes that work for you. And then, when you’re considering marketing and a tri-fold brochure, definitely use Sprout Marketing! Most importantly, train your teams! Get them excited and comfortable, look for every opportunity to promote self-guided tours. It truly does not have to be complicated. The one thing that I would say, 100% is that if you decide to implement a program, make sure that you are doing a pilot first. We were able to identify little kinks and figure them out before we roll it out nationally. 

Q: Even after this pandemic has passed, do you see these virtual tours being the way of the future?

A: I absolutely do. From airlines, grocery shopping, and everything in between - we are in a “do it yourself” era. In our industry, we are catering to so many different personalities with so many different needs and as an industry, we simply have to think bigger. I think as operators, we are constantly looking for ways to evolve for our customers. It’s been fascinating and inspiring to see not just multifamily, but all industries step up to perfect virtual business processes during this unprecedented time. 

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: Offering self-guided tours at your company will 100% set you apart and elevate the experience for your customers and will give you the ability to secure more rentals in your community. All in all, it’s a win-win! 

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Links we mentioned on this episode:

• Zoom Video Conferencing

• Loom Video - Screen and Video Recording

• Windsor Communities

• Sprout Marketing Creative Services

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