RentPayment’s Promotion Team has been offering residents a variety of promotional incentives and giveaways this holiday season. Last month, we launched our First 50 Promotion where the First 50 residents to pay their rent online had the opportunity to win a $50 MasterCard Gift Card courtesy of RentPayment. So who were the lucky winners?
Check out a few of them below!

This month we are offering residents the chance to participate in our Holiday Giveaway Spree where one resident has the chance to win a $1,000 MasterCard Gift Card to kick off 2012 and five additional residents will each receive a $100 MasterCard Gift Card for participating. The promotion has been a great success generating an extra 42,000 electronic rent payments from the select communities.

We asked these residents: Why do you use RentPayment?

• “It’s so much easier to not have to worry about writing a rent check and finding a stamp to mail it in. With the holidays it just gets too hectic!”
  Rick M. – Chicago, IL
• “I can pay from my iPhone anywhere in the world. You can’t beat that.”
  Julie T. – Gainesville, FL 
• “The 1st always seems to sneak up on me, especially around New Year’s. The rent reminder emails are perfect because I can click one link and then pay with my credit card.”
  Prasad K. – Houston, TX 

Congratulations to all our First 50 Promotion and Holiday Giveaway Spree winners and a big thanks to the property managers for all their efforts! If you’re interested in running a promotion for the residents at your property, email us at Marketing@RentPayment.com for more information.

If you aren’t currently using social media to communicate with your residents I think you will be surprised to find how beneficial it can be. You can use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to maximize your community awareness, attract renters, and stay ahead of the marketing game. An easy way to encourage residents to pay their rent online is to post a link on your Facebook or Twitter page!

Tips for Rent Reminder Facebook Posts and Tweets

• Providing a link to take residents directly to your payment page will make it as easy as possible for them to pay instantly. 
• If you post a link to your properties login page, automatically generated text will appear.  Feel free to change this text and customize your message.
• When posting, point out the benefits of paying with a credit card or eCheck.  This can include: payment security, good for the environment, fast safe and easy, etc… 
• This is also a great place to remind residents of their payment options (eCheck, Credit Card, AutoPay, etc…)  and any payment fees that may apply at your property. 

For more information on social media tips email us at Marketing@RentPayment.com for a social media guide and a social media consultation. 

Happy Processing from your friends at RentPayment!

Money saving web sites such as Living Social, Groupon and ShopKick, have spread through the World Wide Web like wild fire. A survey by RedPlum reported, more people are searching for coupon codes prior to making a purchase and most are members of several reward programs. Are you taking advantage of this money saving, coupon clipping, mentality at your property?

This thrifty trend has opened the doors for innovative and relatively inexpensive ways to increase renter retention and resident satisfaction in the multifamily housing industry.  Many apartment communities currently offer cash rewards if a resident refers a friend, renews a lease, etc.  Although this is a great incentive to a resident, the value of the reward is equivalent to cost to the property, denting your property’s revenue.

The latest trend in the multifamily housing industry is to utilize resident rewards programs rather than cash based incentives. These rewards programs can vary from point based systems to simply offering discounts and coupon codes.  Points or rewards can be given for anything you choose, like renewing leases, referring friends, or helping around the community. The greatest benefit of resident reward programs is you no longer have to give dollar for dollar incentives. The perceived value of a discount or reward is usually much higher than the actual cost to the property.  You can finally reward resident loyalty without “breaking the bank!” 

Although initiating a resident rewards program can seem like a daunting task, as it could take some planning , it has the ability to set your property or Property Management Company ahead of the competition. You can also reach out to local merchants and companies that would like more business from your residents about coupon and discount offers. You would be surprised how many would jump at the chance to give your residents freebies. Resident rewards can prompt renewals, increase referrals and get your residents more involved at your property; so why not give it a try?

RentPayment is always available to discuss reward programs for your renters, whether it be coupon codes, rebate offers, or gift card giveaways, we are ready to work with your property. If you’re interested in learning more about RentPayment promotions, feel free to contact us at Marketing@RentPayment.com.

Want to learn more about Resident Rewards? Read this article by Multifamily Executive.

Just as promised, we are excited to announce the BIG PREMIER of RentPayment’s 2011 Student Housing Promotion Wrap-Up Video!  Seeing the “Love at First Click” Promotion come to life was extremely exciting for us and we couldn’t wait to share this video with all of you.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the “show”!
 

Once again, thank you to all the property managers and their management staffs! Without your help, dedication and enthusiasm this promotion could not have been such a success.  We promise to keep the promotions and prizes coming for you and your residents.

Don’t let your community miss out on a chance to win BIG for just paying their rent online! Stay tuned to the RentPayment blog for future promotions, giveaways, coupon codes and sweepstakes.

Everyone loves a good deal and it’s fair to say that if someone had the option to pay a lower price, they would, despite their economic situation.  In fact, a survey by RedPlum reported an overwhelming 96% of shoppers (of the 23,000 surveyed) claimed they would still use coupons even if they won the lottery! This “save when you spend” mentality has only become more prominent in our society since the onset of the most recent recession.  More people are spending additional time surfing the web for added discounts, free shipping, and promotions. NCH, a coupon processing and information management company, reports the overall coupon redemption volume in the United States grew 3.1% to 3.3 billion consumer good coupons, in the past year alone.

The digital age has definitely facilitated the process of the “deal hunt,” as online coupon usage is on the rise.  Naturally, online retailers of all sorts have had to jump on the bandwagon and start satisfying consumers’ need to save, increasing the number of digital coupon offers by 37% in 2011, as reported by the NCH.

RentPayment thinks it’s time for the multi-family housing industry to dive into the coupon craze and utilize online coupon codes.  We can now proudly say, we too have contributed to the 37% increase in the number of digital coupon offers in 2011! Our “Love at First Click” Student Housing promotion marked a new beginning for RentPayment promotions.

From here on out, be on the lookout for RentPayment coupon codes for your community’s residents.  They might just have the chance to enter one of our exciting promotions or sweepstakes and win amazing prizes or discounts, just for paying their rent online!

The RentPayment marketing department would like to give a special thank you to all the property managers and amazing management staffs, who put in extra time and effort to spread the word about our Love at First Click Promotion.  We know fall move-ins can be extremely hectic and busy, yet every one of you did an amazing job! Without the help of such great management staff, our promotion could not have been such a success! 

Two communities in particular really stood out this year. Not only did they go above and beyond by handing out and displaying RentPayment marketing materials around their property, posting on Facebook and sending us pictures, but they also increased RentPayment usage, immensely.

Therefore, we would like to award their hardworking management staff with a small prize. 

The Reveille Ranch Staff

Our first place student housing community and the winner of a $300 MasterCard gift card is, Reveille Ranch, a Jamespoint Management property. Reveille Ranch increased usage at their property by about 75% throughout our Love at First Click promotion!

Here is what Property Manager Travis had to say when we asked him a few questions about RentPayment.

Q: How did your property convert residents to ePayments? What is your advice to fellow property managers to help increase RentPayment usage?

A: The primary thing we do is encourage residents to make their payments online. It all starts with the lease application.  As a property with a lot of students, we close a lot leases via email, fax, and phone.  We find that if a future resident pays the application fees on-line they’re very likely to make their rent payments online.  We also make a point to hand out RentPayment flyers during move-in day.  With many parents making their payments for their son/daughter the ability to pay from their computer without having to mail a check in is a big convenience.

Q: What would you say are some of the benefits Reveille Ranch receives from high RentPayment usage?

A: The primary benefits are the amount of time we save from not having to process checks and the added security of payments being handled by RentPayment rather than employees.  Not to mention, there’s a money trail with RentPayment. No more dealing with “check lost in the mail” or “I dropped it in the drop box last night, you must have lost it” excuses!

The Gateway at College Station Staff

Our second place community and the winner of a $100 MasterCard gift card is Gateway at College Station, a DMC SUH Management property! Gateway at College Station took social media to another level!  We saw constant Facebook posts reminding residents to pay rent online for a chance to win, as well as reminders in their monthly newsletter. Gateway did an amazing job of keeping us updated and displaying their efforts by sending several pictures throughout the entire promotion.  Lastly, by this year’s student housing promotion’s conclusion, Gateway at College Station had over 35% of their residents making online payments!

RentPayment’s Love at First Click Student Housing Promotion officially came to an end on September 15th, 2011, after an amazing turnout, thanks to all 111 student housing communities that participated. For anyone that may not already know, our “Love at First Click” Promotion, gave all residents from the participating student housing communities the opportunity to win 1 of 3 amazing prizes for making a payment online with RentPayment and simply entering the coupon code “LoveAtFirstClick!”

Without further ado, the RentPayment Marketing Team is delighted to introduce our 3 Grand Prize Student Winners! These lucky ladies will be taking home a $1000 MasterCard gift card!

Desiree Waters from The Woodlands of Tuscaloosa, a Dovetail Companies Property!

Kayla Smith from The Gateway at Tucson, an Asset Campus Property!

Fan Yang, from The Stratum at Indiana, an Asset Campus Property!

Back in July, RentPayment hosted a promotion for four property management companies designed to help increase the number of residents who use AutoPay. AutoPay is a recurring monthly debit from a resident’s checking account in the form of an eCheck, an electronic version of a paper check.  Any resident within these four property management companies who signed up for AutoPay by eCheck with RentPayment from July 1^st to August 5^th, 2011 was automatically entered to win a $200 MasterCard Gift Card!

The time has come to introduce our winner:

Lisa Cordeiro of Pocasset Village, a Bilotti Group Inc. Property!

Lisa learned about RentPayment and its AutoPay promotion from her property management team who took time out of their busy schedules to hand out flyers to all the residents!  She loves that “RentPayment’s AutoPay feature makes it easy to ensure [her] payment is on time every month.”  Lisa also shared with us that she recently moved into Pocasset Village and began using RentPayment right away! Her property managers introduced her to the benefits of paying rent electronically from the get go and she has really enjoyed not having to “worry about getting stamps or taking a chance the mail will be late.” 

Lisa is going on a vacation in November and says the “extra money will make [her trip] even more fun!” Congratulations Lisa, enjoy your trip and your $200 Master Card Gift Card and thank you for using RentPayment!

 Property managers, tell your residents about RentPayment’s availability at your property from the start, so they can begin enjoying the benefits of flexible payment options like Lisa! Also, if your property management company is interested in having RentPayment host a promotion to incentivize your residents to convert electronic payments, contact Marketing@RentPayment.com to further discuss the options available at your community!

The internet has changed the way we do everything. It has completely transformed the way we conduct business, updated the way we shop and reinvented the way we communicate. Just as the internet has changed how we go about our daily lives, it also has changed the way residents search for a new rental property. According to the National Multi Housing Council, “more than 70 percent of renters begin their apartment search online, and many firms now report more than 50 percent of their leasing activity is coming from online sources.” This means that in order to stay ahead of the times, property managers need to be using the latest tools the internet has to offer to market to potential residents.

Internet Marketing Tips to Keep you Ahead of the Competition:

• Internet Listing Services (ILS) are a cost effective way of generating leads for your property and increasing your number of closed leases. Renters’ top three criteria for choosing an ILS are the number of properties listed, the amount of detailed information on each property, and the sites ease of use and functionality.
• Property Specific Websites are extremely important since potential renters will be checking for contact info, photos, floor plans and prices. Renters generally start their search on ILS but usually rely on property specific websites for more information when they narrow their search down.
• Detailed Lease Source Tracking is imperative to testing the success of your marketing channels. This will help you better plan future promotions by tracking which methods are closing the most leases.
• Call Centers provide additional resources to satisfy renters’ queries 24/7, offering communication channels online and by phone.  They are a great way to close leases by creating appointments with residents to come view your property. Lack of timely responses to phone and email inquiries are noted as the biggest reason for renter complaints and loss of potential leases.
• Search Engine Optimization can provide long lasting results for larger property management companies as it is great for turning leads into leases. However, it can take a long time for the effects to be measured and requires constant updating to your website content.
• Online Rent Collection is a great selling point to potential renters.  Advertising on your website that you accept ePayments with RentPayment will let potential residents know that you offer a wide variety of flexible payment options and it shows that your property is up on the latest technology to meet the current rental market’s payment demands.

Using a mix of these online marketing methods will help your business grow and convert more leads into leases. For more online marketing strategies, check out the NHMC’s White Paper: Multifamily Marketing in the Internet Age.