Last week we ran the first part of our series on building an exceptional tenant experience. Welcome to Part 2! Last time around, we covered a number of options and strategies for landlords to leverage the benefits of a tenant relations platform and activate their physical space with great tangible amenities. This week, we’ll carry that conversation onward with more suggestions on hosting well-attended and purposeful events and building great connections with your neighborhood.
Host activities and events
1. Jumpstart tenant networking
Whether you manage an office building or apartment complex, your tenants undoubtedly have a bewildering array of different backgrounds. Studies show that diversity can lead to a range of benefits, so give your tenants the chance to meet their officemates and neighbors with a hosted mixer. Providing drinks or at least great coffee is great from time to time, and if you are able to meet your tenants face to face, you’ll build that much stronger of a relationship with them.
2. Food is always a seller
When in doubt, let them eat cake. While it was out of touch and callous when the French queen supposedly said it, it’s great advice for running an office building - free or discounted food is always a draw, and can be a perfect way to show your appreciation for tenants and also allow spontaneous connections and networking to flourish.
This is a great opportunity to get creative - think about the types of food that aren’t always present at networking events and make for easy, relatively neat eating: empanadas, samosas, sushi rolls, wraps, and gourmet juices are all good choices sure to draw attention.
3. Get in front of your tenants with your other services
Don’t think that just slapping up an event poster and buying a box of coffee is all you have to do. Once you’ve attracted a crowd to your mixer, leverage the opportunity to drive further adoption of your tenant relations platform and other services. If you are part of a co-working company, take the chance to plug the benefits of your higher-tier membership plans. If you have other buildings, scout out which of your tenants are looking to expand in the future.
Connect with your community
4. Offer catered food
Jumping off of #2 above, there is no more direct way to connect with your neighborhood than to bring local restaurants and grocery stores right into your building. Pastries might be passé, but other lobby-based “Grab ‘n’ Go” food options can kick things up a notch. Check out your local barbeque joints, taco shops, smoothie stands, and others - just see what is popular on Yelp or Google and go from there.
Bringing local businesses into your space will help your tenants feel like they are part of a true community, and will build positive relations with the neighborhood as well.
5. Start a building (or portfolio)-wide discount club
No, not Costco! Give your tenants a custom-designed card, branded with your building’s identity, and connect with local businesses to offer discounts to your tenants. The businesses will appreciate the boost in traffic, and your tenants will get a real sense of your building’s value proposition. Spaceflow, with its opportunities to work alongside with local businesses, would be a perfect starting point.
6. Engage with your tenants
This might go without saying but the landlord who knows his tenants – is an onsite presence, understands their missions and goals, has a grasp of their business even if it is in something far removed from his own area of expertise – is the landlord who will stand out, make an impression, be remembered, and ultimately build long-term relationships.
While you may not have time to memorize every employee in your building, just going the extra step to show up from time to time can make a profound difference for your image and reputation.
These are just a few steps that you can take to truly heighten your tenants’ experience in ways that add real value and go miles beyond the usual holiday card or gift basket. 2019 is a year of ever-increasing competition.
In addition to leveraging the benefits of a tenant engagement platform and choosing the right physical amenities, hosting meaningful events and building connections to your community will set your building, portfolio, or company on the path to a truly standout tenant experience.
Wondering what other aspects involve to create amazing tenant experience? Read the first part of 12 steps how to create amazing tenant experience.
