The Challenge

Point solutions created a frustrating and clunky experience for both renters and the onsite staff. With siloed data and limited marketing automation capabilities, the Cortland team was hamstrung by their technology to craft a personalized, top-tier renter experience.

The Solution

Funnel’s marketing automation and data transparency empowered both a better renter experience for prospects, as well as actionable, clear reporting for the Cortland team.

The Results

Funnel’s Virtual Assistant and marketing automation increased automated and after-hour tour scheduling for Cortland. With Funnel, 69% of tours scheduled with automation, are scheduled after hours, delivering a fast, modern, ecommerce apartment shopping experience for renters.

KEY INSIGHTS

AI all day (+ all night)

“We have had prospects schedule a tour at 2:00 a.m. because Cortney has replied,” said Nikki Sarmer, Marketing Technology Manager, at Cortland. “That could never happen before.” 69% of tours scheduled by the VA were booked after hours.

At Cortland, Funnel’s AI solution is known as Cortney and allows team members to focus on closing with engaged, decision-ready leads instead of copying and pasting the pet policy 56 times a day. Today’s renters are always-on and expect instant information. Cortney fulfills this need by providing accurate information 24/7/365. Not only is Cortney a win for renters, she also takes mundane to-do’s off the onsite team’s plate, making sure that they feel more engaged and fulfilled at work. Win-win.

The right team follows up for the right stage of the renter journey

As every industry struggles to find top talent, teams everywhere are being asked to do more with less. Funnel’s Contact Center software takes some of the burden off onsite teams that are stretched thin. The thoughtful combination of Cortney (Funnel’s AI solution) and automated follow-up triggers within Funnel allows a centralized, specialized team to actively follow up with leads and help market communities portfolio-wide. This allows onsite teams to take care of the valuable in-person moments, that make renters feel at home.

“If we didn’t have that automation and the capabilities of getting back to prospects quickly, then it would be really difficult for us to be able to reach as many leads as we are,” said Nikki Sarmer, Marketing Technology Manager, at Cortland.

Free to provide personalized services

With all of the communication linked to a prospect’s single renter-centric guest card (meaning one guest card, no matter how many communities Renter Rachel inquired at), communities are able to have a rich picture of Rachel Renter’s preferences. Plus, with the communication in one place, they can pick up communication where it left off providing a personalized rental journey. Funnel’s marketing automation is customizable to deliver persona-specific cadences, making renters feel known, and while being more efficient for your team.

When asked about centralizing lead management and the renter experience, Scott Moore, Chief Technology Officer at Cortland said “it’s freed up our teams to focus on our residents and deliver that above and beyond experience.”

Marketing automation powers an excellent renter experience

“Funnel allowed us to add significantly more marketing automation touchpoints throughout our customer journey. Previously, we were only able to automate responses when someone actually inquired, and that was about it,” said Bri Bocker, Director of Marketing Technology, Cortland. “Now, we are able to automate responses when somebody inquires, schedules a tour, is about to tour, after they tour, and when they actually go through the application process.

Renters want to be known. Sending the right message at the right time connects with renters’ needs. Funnel helps teams create a fail-proof consistent, renter experience from inquiry through renewals via 690 combinations of marketing automation actions and triggers.

Casting light into the attribution blackhole

If you’ve ever felt like your marketing attribution is an expensive game of gut-hunch-meets-guess-and-check then you need tech that doesn’t silo your data into some attribution abyss, and instead presents it as easy-to-access, digestible, up-to-date reports.

“One of the unexpected benefits, and something that we were very excited about as we got further into using Funnel, is the breadth of data that is available to us,” said Bri Bocker, Director of Marketing Technology, Cortland. “Previously this was not something that we had as much insight into.”