The prospect journey has morphed, contorted, and then changed even more over the past decade. It has shifted pronouncedly even when just considering the past few years. Odds are the journey will shift even further within another five years.
While some form of online research has long been part of the home-search process, the traditional mold of prospects visiting an apartment community and meeting with the on-site team before signing a lease only happens some of the time now. Essentially, prospects want leasing experiences that mirror other facets of a fast-paced digital-centric world.
“It can be tricky for operators, because just when they think they’ve zoned in on the precise desires of the modern-day prospect, other potential layers to the journey will be introduced,” says Chase Harrington, president and chief operating officer of Entrata. “The idea is to strike the balance of providing prospects with anything they might need in the moment while remaining agile enough to shift on the fly when demand parameters change.”
Operators seem to agree, and several share their thoughts as to what might be coming next in the prospect journey—and how they can meet those demands to further cultivate the prospect experience.
