How to attract high-value landlords using a data-driven approach

A shift is occurring in the rental market across the UK. The Government is planning to reform the sector with increased regulation, while the Renting Homes (Wales) Act is intended to make tenancies more secure and provide occupiers with more power. According to a report by Propertymark, these conditions are causing a number of landlords to leave the market entirely, exacerbating the UK’s housing shortage with demand outstripping supply.

While this presents a difficulty for the market, it also provides an opportunity for the agents who are able to go the extra mile to provide the best service. The landlords leaving the sector will likely be those with smaller property counts who may feel more squeezed by regulations than a larger operator.

These larger landlords can provide a lot of value for your agency, especially if they can be convinced to move their entire portfolio to you. A landlord who has experienced poor service will be willing to pay more for a good one. The question is, how do you provide a good service, and how can you prove the value you provide? This is where a data-driven approach to property management comes into play.

Data to track business performance

Your agency generates a lot of data throughout its day to day activities. Not all of this information is useful, but tracking the right metrics can dramatically transform your decision-making processes and help steer you towards success.

Data can be descriptive, showing you how your business is performing and how close it is to reaching its goals. But it can also show why something happened or even what may happen in the future and what could be done about it now. This will allow you to take a proactive approach to maintenance by anticipating problems before they happen and arranging inspections ahead of time.

Demonstrating service quality to landlords

Focusing on the right data can help you prove your value. For example, statistics such as how quickly your team responds to maintenance requests, how many planned maintenance events they schedule, and how much time is being spent on portfolios will all be valuable for showing landlords exactly where their money is spent and how you use it to improve the management of their properties.

Don’t forget that the happiness of occupiers is also a concern - the longer a tenant stays, the fewer void periods. You can measure tenant satisfaction using NPS (Net Promoter Score). To measure this score, simply ask your occupiers how likely they are to recommend your services to a friend or colleague, on a scale of one to ten. You could also do this with your current landlords and use their feedback to convince others.

Use Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

A service level agreement is a commitment to maintaining an agreed level of service between your agency and your landlords. This is often a measure of time: time to close jobs, respond to emergencies, and, for contractors, the time between instruction and appointment setting. Good repairs and maintenance management software will allow you to set these SLAs as targets and measure your progress towards hitting them.

This is just a taster of how data can be used to empower your team and improve your processes. To learn more, download our free eBook: How to Use Data to Drive a Property Management Team.

*James Dilgul is the head of marketing at Fixflo, the repairs and maintenance management software provider