PropTech: Three tips for a lighter lift
PropTech is picking up steam. That means Real Estate Operators are dealing with lots of projects, integrations, and cross-functional teams on a limited time & budget. So even the “easiest plug-in solution of all time” can turn into a heavy lift.
Below is a short outline that may help Real Estate Operators and PropTech companies, drawing from Amenify’s experience over the last six years and 100+ different real estate operators. We’ve learned some of this the hard way.
The goal: avoid a heavy lift for integrating and supporting new technology in your Real Estate Portfolio.
(1) Define metrics for success — we recommend a rule of three
(2) Expectations for launch and ongoing support
(3) Align resources towards a checklist — it takes two (or more) to tango
A few learnings from onboarding 100+ Real Estate Operators
Over the last six years, the team at Amenify has learned that while every residential operator is unique, there are enough similarities to streamline things.
1. Define metrics for success (rule of three)
Don’t go overboard. We recommend laying out various options but collaborating to choose the top three. For Amenify, we care about:
Resident happiness: as measured by adoption, repeat purchasing, and service ratings
Net ancillary income: because money talks. Some of our Clients are earning 7 figures per year while helping their residents with affordability
Onsite manager approval ratings: simple, binary, important for success.
Other examples include speed, cost reduction, customer tickets, accuracy, cost savings, etc., but the most important item is that it’s concretely measurable and attributable to your product. Watch out for squishy items (e.g., Resident Retention) where the hard work may not be recognized, in part, because many other factors contribute to the metric.
2. Expectations for launch and ongoing support
Launching a PropTech integrated widget is around 10% of the work needed. What’s critical for a win-win is a game plan for ongoing support. A few questions that may help include:
How often will we meet?
What resources will be available to integrate your new widget with future projects?
What support is available for my team?
What customizations are available?
3. Have a checklist with realistic timelines (it takes two to tango)
The hardest part of PropTech is that no team is an island. Everything impacts everything else (most of the time), so to help with this, we keep a shared working document with all Clients prior to launch for visibility towards progress. It’s healthy for both sides to ask what resources are available to commit toward action items, and it’s even okay to revisit at a future date when resources are available.
For PropTech companies, it’s a red flag when you are meeting with an intern. For Real Estate Operators, we encourage you to ensure the PropTech group has a point of contact for every level of your organization broken out appropriately: Corporate, Regional, and Onsite Teams.
And finally, make sure to communicate openly and often. It’s better to voice concerns upfront than wait until downstream, which is why we recommend a smaller number of large meetings in person vs. a flurry of short Zoom calls with one or two stakeholders. This requires lots of follow-up communication, creating room for gaps or confusion.
Thanks for reading, and we hope this was helpful. Here’s a bonus picture for anyone who made it this far.
