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Introducing Group Rate Internet from Second Nature

At Second Nature, we strive to deliver the best possible experience to residents and property managers alike. We’re always looking for new opportunities to help property managers provide better service, grow their businesses, and give residents homes they want to stay in. Now, with the introduction of Group Rate Internet, we’re able to deliver yet another benefit that residents want, while improving the experience for property managers. What is Group Rate Internet? Group Rate Internet is gigabit-speed˙ internet delivered directly to single-family rental homes, incorporated right into your lease. Thanks to the power of our network, Second Nature has negotiated group rates with some of the nation’s largest internet service providers, and we’re passing the savings on to you. Residents get high speed internet at a discounted rate below what they could get on their ownº, while property managers have a new way to grow their business. Why are we doing this? These days, internet service is a necessity. But until now the process has been time-consuming, frustrating, and expensive. Subscribers face complicated setup and cancellation processes, and when they need to reach customer support, they’re often left on hold. We wanted to bring a better experience to residents and modernize the way they receive internet service. Understanding the single-family market 98% of residents across the United States pay for internet service in their homes. But until now, they’ve struggled with inflexible contracts that don’t align with their lease terms, convoluted phone trees, and expensive hidden fees. Most single-family property managers haven't had the ability to negotiate better rates with ISPs, leaving residents to pay retail prices for essential services. That's where Second Nature comes in. By leveraging our nationwide network, we're able to secure group rate pricing that's lower than what's available on the market—giving property managers a new way to offer high-quality, affordable internet without the headaches of individual negotiations. Difficulties of scattered-site Internet coverage areas can be confusing. When you have properties in multiple areas, they may be serviced by different providers, making it even more difficult to negotiate a one-size-fits-all deal. That’s why Second Nature works with multiple major ISPs to provide maximum coverage, no matter how wide your management area is. Cutting costs and making life easier On average, customers typically pay $80-120 per month for gig-speed internet. Plus they get hit with fees for equipment, setup, early termination, and more. Now, with Second Nature, property managers can provide gig-speed internet, with no installation or cancellation fees, at a fraction of the price that residents are already paying. How does the program work? Like all of the pieces in our Resident Benefits Package, we’ve designed Group Rate Internet to be as easy as possible. From data exchanges to support, we fully manage the process so your teams don’t have any extra work. Integration with property accounting systems to check eligibility Second Nature starts by gathering property details directly from your property accounting system (PAS) to automatically confirm which ISPs serve each property. We confirm eligibility and pass that data back into your PAS, so it’s always available to you. Once a property is marked as eligible in the PAS, you’ll be able to include an internet service addendum in any future leases for that property. Billing operates directly through the PAS, with no extra tools or logins to keep track of. Integrated with the lease cycle When a resident signs a lease that contains the Group Rate Internet Lease Addendum, they’re enrolled into the program, and Second Nature works directly with them to complete setup. We’ll reach out directly to residents to make sure they know how to get set up. If necessary, they’ll schedule professional installation for equipment at a time that’s convenient for them. Because there’s no separate internet contract for the resident, there are also no setup, equipmentª, or cancellation fees, and no struggling to align their utility contract with their lease term. Internet is billed right alongside rent, so residents don’t have an extra monthly bill to manage. Dedicated support We all know the pain of waiting in a phone queue to try to solve a technical issue. That’s why Second Nature offers dedicated phone support for residents using Group Rate Internet. That way residents aren’t calling you for help or getting stuck in phone trees with their ISP. Residents call Second Nature directly, and if they need technical support from their ISP, we can make a warm handoff, making sure they’re on the line with a representative before our team leaves the call. No endless transfers from person to person. Easy transition at turnover When a lease is up and a resident decides to move out, Second Nature provides move-out information to residents. Depending on the ISP, the resident may not even have to return equipment. In most cases, it just stays with the unit, and service is turned off until the next resident moves in and a new lease starts. When a new resident moves in, one phone call is all they need to get their gig-speed service up and running. It’s a simple transition when someone else moves in, all managed by Second Nature. Get started Want to see how you can provide gig-speed internet to your residents? Schedule a demo with a member of our team to walk through Group Rate Internet. ˙ Compared to average nationwide gig speed price of $80-120/mo (source: USA Today) º Up to 1 Gig Internet speed, subject to availability. Internet Service powered by Second Nature is provided through Second Nature's preferred third-party Internet service providers. ª Residents may be subject to fees if equipment is damaged, lost, or stolen.

Calendar icon March 19, 2025

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How Ultrarunning Inspired my Brand Positioning

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. Right around the time I turned 40, I took up distance running. I started with marathons, and then after about a year and a half I got bit by the bug: ultramarathons. Marathons are any race longer than a marathon, and are often 50 kilometers, 100 kilometers, or 100 miles. The things that ultrarunning has taught me have changed my life, both personally and professionally. So when I recently met with my fractional CMO to talk about brand positioning, there were some immediate connections in my mind. Our rally cry We developed two key brand positioning statements through a process of really digging deep and uncovering who we are. The first was a rally cry. We didn’t initially set out with a goal of developing a rally cry, but when we stumbled upon it, it just clicked. A rally cry is meant to be the north star for your team, reminding them why you do the work that you do. In a lot of ways, it’s a distillation of your core values. The goal is to craft something motivational but concise. It should, as the name suggests, be something that people can rally around. Here’s mine: This is what we came for. This is something that I heard another runner say while he was running a 250-mile race. He was at a low point, something we all experience during long races. But through the pain and the struggle, that was his mindset. I thought that was incredible. We don’t run ultramarathons because it’s easy. We run because it forces us to push our limits. It drives us to reach new levels that we didn’t think were possible, and we do that through struggles. Working in property management is the same way. We don’t do it because it’s easy, we do it because it can change people’s lives. That same belief that drives me to keep running when I’m struggling at mile 53 is exactly what drives me during the difficult times at work. When we push ourselves, we grow. That’s what my team is here to do. Our brand promise The second element of our brand positioning project was a brand promise. Your brand promise is a clear statement to your customers that outlines what they can expect in terms of service, quality, and commitment. Here’s what we wrote: We go beyond managing properties—we are a trusted partner enabling you to build wealth through real estate. Our relationship with property owners isn’t a simple, transactional one. It has tremendous scope and magnitude, and a lot of people underestimate that. We’re coaches. We’re leaders. We’re advisors. And when we view that relationship as a journey, that’s when we can really add value. Owning a business—whether that’s a property management company or a real estate investment company—pushes you to the limit. Along the way, you’re going to become a different version of yourself, one you may not have known you could be. But that change in mindset is what unlocks the wealth-building power of real estate. That commitment and transformation is incredibly similar to my journey with ultrarunning, so it was just natural to use it as our brand promise. Writing your personal brand positioning When I sat down with my fractional CMO, Vince, to start drafting these brand elements, he pushed me to make them personal. He emphasized telling my story through my brand and making sure it’s completely unique. What I ultimately ended up with sits right at the intersection of who Mark Brower is and what service Mark Brower Properties delivers. Plus—and this is maybe the most important part—what impact we have on people’s lives Your rally cry and brand promise should embody who you are, and, more importantly, who you aspire to be. They should represent your highest calling. Ask yourself what you want to become and commit to that. Let it flow naturally Your brand needs to come organically, from the inside, not the outside. You can’t craft a perfect brand in a lab. It just won’t resonate. People will be able to feel that it’s artificial. In ultrarunning, you’ll hear a lot of runners say that they let the speed out. They don’t force it. They don’t push the speed out. They just allow it to happen, and it comes out freely. You need to take the same approach to your brand. You can’t sit down in a conference room and overthink your way into a strong brand. It isn’t about what’s good for the marketplace. It’s about the truth, and the uniqueness of you and who you are. So how do you find those pieces of you and your story that make up your brand? Ask the right questions. Look for the parts of yourself that are the most meaningful. What do you believe in? What do you want to achieve? What difference do you want your work to make in the world? Start asking yourself those questions and you’ll start to get at the heart of what’s important to you and your company. The challenge of self-discovery I truly believe that 80-90% of branding is embracing self-discovery and being open and vulnerable about your authentic self. Showing who you are at your core can be scary, but people will connect with it on a much deeper level than when you talk about the specific services you offer and how much you charge. It builds trust in an industry where trust is everything. You can’t make people care about what you say until they know you care about them. And how can they trust that you care about them if your real, authentic, vulnerable self isn’t showing up? The scariest part about this all is acknowledging that your business and services aren’t for everybody. When you build a company that’s very specific to who you are, some people are going to decide that it’s not a great match. And that’s okay. Leaning into that takes confidence and courage. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially if your business has been unbalanced, and focused on growth-at-all-costs in the past. But it’s essential to growing with purpose. You can’t please everyone all the time, and trying to do so doesn’t build a strong brand. Often saying no to one prospect is more important as saying yes to another. When you develop the courage and strength to embrace that, you’ll be more effective at the work you do. There’s no other you Remember, the more unique your brand is—and the more personal it is—the more it will resonate with people. When you’re developing a brand, you’re not positioning yourself against your competitors. You’re communicating who you are. Your goal is to get so good at understanding and communicating your brand that it resonates when people see it. The Rolling Stones didn’t do rock-and-roll. The Rolling Stones did The Rolling Stones. And that’s why they’re still selling out arenas 60 years later. There are other bands out there, but no one does what the Stones do as well as they do it. When I’m running with a couple of my friends, we know we’re not going to win these races. Let’s face it, we’re older than a lot of the other competitors, and we’re enthusiasts, but not professionals. But we’ll often joke with each other that we can definitely come in first in the category of over 40, over 6 ft, with a certain shoe size, based in Mesa, AZ, etcetera. And we’ll just keep narrowing down the criteria until we’re the only ones in it, so we know we’ll finish first. That’s what you want to achieve. If you do it right, no one can be who you are and do what you do. You will be number one in a category of one. You can’t compare my company to anyone else, you can’t compare my fees to anyone else, because my brand makes me unique. What makes you unique? Want to learn more about positioning your brand? Start with your core values. Watch this webinar that I recently did with Second Nature’s Andrew Smallwood on creating core values that matter.

Calendar icon March 11, 2025

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Leading with your Logo: Why Visual Branding Still Matters

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. A brand is far more than just designs on a page. It needs to be lived and carried out in everything that your company does. But your visual branding—including your property management logo, colors, website, and photography—are the physical representation of your brand. If you want to build a successful property management company, developing a logo and visual representation that exemplifies your personality and who you are as a company is essential. It cannot be skipped. It’s how potential new customers will identify and connect with you, so it’s worth the effort. A chance to make a good first impression You’ve heard the cliches about how you only get one chance to make a first impression. But when we look deeper at what that means, the stakes are actually even higher. When people intersect with your brand, they’re making huge judgment calls on very limited information in a short amount of time. They’re trying to make a determination on whether they can trust you, and in property management, they’re trusting you with one of the most important financial assets in their life. They’re looking at every single piece of evidence that they can possibly consume as to whether they can trust this new—very important—relationship. And they’re always looking for a reason to say no. Think about when you’re showing a home. Chances are, the resident who’s getting a tour knows within about two minutes whether they want to live there or not. They get a first impression, and if they see one little flaw that turns them off, they’re checked out. Your branding is the same way. So when you think about the visual representation of your company, you need to eliminate every flaw that you can, just like you would in a rental listing or home showing. Consistency above all else Yes, your logo is important, but it’s not the end all be all. The real value isn’t so much in how your logo looks, but in the consistency of how you use it. Consistency builds trust. When your audience gets used to seeing your logo and colors used in the same way across multiple channels, they feel more familiar with it. They get comfortable with you as a business. That’s why we put our logos on everything from swag gifts to pens and stationery. On the other hand, if you’re inconsistent about how you use it, you’re going to breed distrust. Just like your customer service delivery needs to be consistent, so does your visual branding Think about your team’s email signatures: even if the smallest thing is different across team members, it hurts that sense of trust. Someone receiving emails from three members of your team is going to be thrown off when all of their signatures are different. There are plenty of other places to build consistency, too. The photos of your staff on your website should be consistent. They should all be high quality, taken from the same angle, ideally with the same lighting and background. In an industry where people have a lot of options in who to work with, the slightest perception of mistrust can jeopardize your chance of working with a great client. So efforts toward brand consistency are never wasted. Attention to detail is vital All of these seemingly small branding elements add up to shape opinion. The details matter more than you’d think, and you can’t let them slip. Letting them slip carries much more cost than taking the time to get the right in the first place. Ideally, a potential client should look at your website and think, “Wow, if they’re this disciplined with these details on the website, they’re going to be disciplined about the work they do on my property.” Discipline and consistency around your visual brand also shape a baseline level of professionalism. I’ve seen more than one property management company who lets the details slide. As a potential client, I’d be thinking, “If you can’t put a logo on a PDF correctly, what are you going to do to my house?” You need to appear competent, capable, and professional so that people can trust you, and attention to detail is a big part of that. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met get to a deep level of obsession over the tiny details until they get it right. That’s something I’ll be vulnerable about and admit I’ve struggled with. It can be hard to get out of the big-picture mindset of a business owner and really focus on the details. But you can’t afford not to. Your brand represents your value When you buy a physical product, you can actually hold it in your hand. You can look at it and see what, exactly, you got for your money. In a service-based industry, your customers can’t do that. Instead, they tend to fill that gap with the experiences that they’ve had with you and your brand. Instead of seeing something on a shelf, they remember their interactions with you and the way you represented yourself visually. In a lot of ways, your brand is a symbol of the value you provide. You need to adopt that mindset and lean into it. You need to be as consistent with your brand as other companies are with their products. There should be a quality assurance process to make sure that you’re nailing the details and presenting yourself consistently. Otherwise you’re jeopardizing your value. Add a personal touch to your visual brand Just because you want to keep consistent with your branding, that doesn’t mean it can’t evolve. After all, your company and your personality are always changing, so sometimes your brand needs to keep up. At Mark Brower Properties, we just visited our visual branding and decided to make some changes, including an update to our logo. Our old logo used block letters, but now the “Mark” in Mark Brower Properties has been redone as a hand-written version of my name. Our updated logo It’s very similar to how I write my name when I’m signing things. And it brings the personality and human aspect to the brand. It reflects who I am. In my experience, people are afraid to commit to being open and vulnerable about who they are. Too many small business owners feel the need to portray themselves as something that they’re not, rather than being honest. But the reality is that audiences really love when people are themselves. People do business with people, so when they see vulnerability and a personal touch, it goes a long way. Make sure that you’re consistent with your property management logo and your website, but even more importantly, make sure that they actually represent you. Final thoughts Look, I know what you’re thinking reading this. You have way too much on your plate to go analyzing everyone’s email signatures to make sure that the logos are the same size. I completely understand that. But at the same time, this stuff really is important. Think about it this way: in business, there are production tasks, and there are tasks that increase production capacity. Meeting up with a resident so they can sign a lease? That’s a production task. Implementing electronic signatures so you don’t have to drive out and meet the resident just to get a lease signed? That’s a task that increases production capacity. Branding is a task that increases your production capabilities. It helps build an engine that will bring more residents and more property owners in the door. And every small detail adds up. The benefits compound. And when done well, they help build an authentic, trustworthy brand that people want to do business with. Build your brand by managing your reputation Want to learn more about how to manage your business reputation? Watch Second Nature’s recent webinar with LeadSimple on reputation management.

Calendar icon March 6, 2025

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How to Write Your Property Management Company Core Values (Examples and Best Practices)

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. People buy who you are, not what you do. You need to lead with who you are as an individual and as a company, rather than just the services you offer. Developing, sharing, and living out your core values is vital to showing your potential clients that you’re genuine. Your core values don’t just define your property management company's mission and culture, but also how you interact with both residents and owners. Let’s dive into some tactical ways that you can create effective core values, and along the way I’ll share some of my experiences writing core values for my own property management company. Understand the purpose of your core values Your core values underpin your property management company’s mission and vision. When done well, they guide every decision and action that your company takes, across policies and processes, team members, and client agreements. When everything rolls up to a strong set of values, you can make more consistent decisions and run a more effective business. The vital factor here is that they can’t just be something you write and then tuck away in a drawer. You have to live them every day in everything that you do. How many core values should a company have? Whenever business leaders try to write core values for the first time, they inevitably want to know how many they need. This is a question that, for a long time, I struggled to answer. It’s always bothered me that, in the hierarchy of things we believe in and value, we have to draw a line somewhere to say, “These are the things we care about, and the rest don’t make the list.” As a business owner, I have dozens of things that I care about and believe strongly in, so why narrow it down to just a short list? It’s important to get very specific about your core values because they’re a reflection of who you are as a business. For that reason, they should show the things that you currently do, rather than being aspirational. Having a manageable number of values also helps make them more memorable, which makes it more likely that your team members will keep them top of mind and embody them in their daily work. In psychology, there’s a theory that people best remember lists of five to nine items. I’d recommend using this as a guide for how many core values to develop. The good news is that the values that don't make the list can still be important. You don’t have to completely abandon all other beliefs and values just because they aren’t core values. Core values vs. Brand Principles One thing that helped me come to terms with a more limited list of core values was understanding the difference between core values and brand principles. When I started working with a fractional Chief Marketing Officer in 2024, we worked on clarifying that difference. Core values are often somewhat abstract. They’re character traits or belief systems. On the other hand, brand principles are the tactical ways that you bring those core values to life. They describe how you manifest your core values. Some of my company’s brand principles include: Own the outcome Highly responsive communication Exceptional service Transparency These are clear ways that we can live out our values, but they aren’t core values themselves. We’ll get deeper into my company’s core values later. How to write your company core values So how do you actually get to writing your core values? Several years ago I had the opportunity to join a small entrepreneurship group, and one of the activities we worked on together was writing our core values from scratch. Here’s how we did it. 1. Brainstorm core values The common starting point for core values is to brainstorm a list of potential words or short phrases, then group similar ones together. For example, honesty, integrity, and truthfulness might be grouped. I recommend taking a slightly different approach. To start brainstorming, take inventory of the people in your life who you most admire and most respect. Ask yourself why you respect them so much. What about them makes you trust and admire them? On the flip side, think about the people who bother you, or rub you the wrong way, or don’t come across as trustworthy. What about their behavior makes you feel that way? Use those traits and behaviors as the basis for your core values. I like this approach because it’s not just looking at the values, but also the antithesis of those values. It gives you better context and substance so that you really have a well-rounded perspective as you write. Consider ChatGPT I also think that large language AI models can be really useful, not in giving you your specific core values, but in helping you along the way. You’re obviously not going to ask, “What are some good core values for a residential property management business?” Instead, come up with a sophisticated prompt. Ask the tool to walk you through an exercise to clarify your core values. For example, “The outcome of this exercise is that I will have a list of 6-8 most important core values that can be a useful framework for hiring and firing decisions and employee reviews. I work in the residential property management space. Please ask me a series of questions to help me uncover what my core values are.” This can replace a lot of the process pieces of traditional brainstorming methods, and help you find your values faster. 2. Narrow your list Once you have your brainstorming ideas grouped, you should identify the single word or phrase from each group that best describes your company. After you’ve got just one word or phrase per topic, it’s time to make the tough decisions. This is where you have to decide what’s truly most important to your business, and, as I said before, tease out what’s actually a value versus what’s a business principle. 3. Write your core values Here’s where you want to actually define the meaning of each core value. You want them to be clear and concise so that everyone in your company can easily understand them, including the behavior that’s expected from each. I strongly believe that phrases, rather than words, bring color, texture, and meaning, which will help your staff truly grasp them and live them out. Who should be involved? I am a strong believer that diversity of opinions drives better outcomes. Even when it means slowing down a project, I think getting a lot of opinions is worth it for the improved outcome. That said, with values, there’s no room for diversity. There can’t be tolerance for team members who aren’t aligned on values, or else the values lose meaning. As a leader, I am the keeper of the values. Part of my job is to make sure that everyone on my team is aligned and believes in the values. They can’t be designed by committee. The one place where it is very helpful to get input is in the brainstorming phase. Your team members will often have a better sense of what values you’re actually embodying, which can be hugely informative. Remember, the truth is what we do, not what we say, so it’s valuable to get opinions on the values that you’re currently living out. Perfect is the enemy of done One pitfall that I often see in small businesses, both across the board and with values specifically, is perfectionism. This is especially true for founders and entrepreneurs, and it was definitely true for me. I spent weeks and months thinking through my values, revising them, and trying to perfect them. The truth is, you need to accept that your values are going to get about 70-80% of the way to perfection, and not second guess them. Overanalyzing can be devastating, because it only delays the process. You should find a framework that works for you and stick to it, rather than adding revision after revision at the end of the process. Best practices for writing core values for a property management company In truth, your core values should always be a reflection of who you are and how you run your business. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Be who you are right now, not what you think your audience wants to see. Your value stems from who you are, and you should lead with that authenticity. Here are some ideas that might help inspire values that align with your business: Focus on how you create value: If your company is truly focused on resident experience, for instance, that's something you want to be represented in your values. Reflect transparency: Does your company put a heavy emphasis on being totally open with what happens when things go wrong? If so, consider having something about proactive and vulnerable communication. Display competence: Are you engaged in the right routines to stay on top of the industry trends and acquire the best tools to serve your clients? This could inspire some of your values. Encourage diversity of perspectives not diversity of values: Be inclusive of different perspectives in most areas of your business, but when it comes to values, don't budge. Get them right and hold the line on who you are. Property management company core values examples In some ways, I hesitate to share my company’s core values directly. That’s not because they’re particularly private—in fact, we publish them directly on our website (as should you). What gives me pause is that I don’t want you to be influenced by my core values at the expense of being genuine with your own. That said, if you’re looking for an example of property management core values, here they are: Speed of trust: We believe trust is built through transparency and reliability, ensuring swift and honest communication Integrity: Honesty and ethical practices form the foundation of our business relationships Reliable: You can depend on us to manage your property with care and precision Humility: We approach our work with humility, wanting to learn and grow, open to new ideas and uncovering blind spots Partnership: We foster long-term relationships based on mutual respect and shared success, working closely with our clients, tenants, and community. I developed these as a second round revision of our core values, about seven years after writing our first set. With a new fractional CMO and a company that had evolved significantly, it felt like the right time. Reviewing and refining your core values I think it’s healthy and important to revisit your core values from time to time. We often see core values as being written in stone. In reality, changing them over time doesn’t mean that you’ve somehow lost your way, it just means you’re keeping a pulse on your identity. In fact, you should always be evaluating whether your values are still true to who you are. It’s always beneficial to the business to have a mindset of questioning things and looking at them from new angles. If that leads you to revise your core values, then all the better. But to me, the process is as important or more important than actually updating things. The discussion and engagement are key. This is another good opportunity to involve staff in the review process, because you can get a better sense of how much they understand and embody those values. Living your values Your core values should inform everything you do. You need to instill a culture where everyone at the company is true to the values, no matter what. You’re not going to convert someone to your core values after you hire them. Hire for core values and go from there. Similarly, if someone on your team doesn’t align with the company’s values, it may be time to reevaluate whether it’s a good fit. Whenever you have feedback sessions and performance reviews, you should be considering your values. You need to constantly review whether your behavior—both as individuals and as a business—manifests your values, or doesn’t. If not, it’s time to make some changes. We’ve recently been revising our policy manual. As we’ve done that, we’ve had our core values up on the screen so that we can look at every single policy we have and say, “does this truly align with our values?” If not, then why is it a policy? How can we rewrite it to make it more in line with who we want to be? If a core value or brand principle conflicts with a policy in any given situation, the winner is the brand principle or the core value. I was recently visiting the offices of a company I work with and I saw on the wall a laminated piece of paper. It looked something like this: It was a table, and down the left side it listed the company’s core values. Across the top was a ranking system from “Doesn’t display values at all” to “very much displays values”. And in each box on the grid, they had written specific examples of what kinds of interactions you would have that represented each value well or poorly. It was extremely clear and extremely powerful, because it showed exactly what the behaviors look like. It was a perfect illustration of how your core values take shape in each and every little interaction that you have. Who is this really for? A lot of property managers are struggling just to tread water. Especially for smaller or newer companies, that just comes with the territory. So you might be asking, “Hey, I barely have time to make coffee in the morning, never mind enough time to write core values. Does this whole thing even apply to me?” The answer, to me, is that it depends on where you want to go. In my opinion, any company who wants to continue to grow and hire new team members needs to prioritize core values. If you’re a sole proprietor with a couple of assistants, 100 to 150 doors, and no plans to expand, maybe you don’t need to go through this exercise. In a lot of ways, when you’re a team of one, your core values live within you. You may not need to write them up. The benefit of clarity isn’t as high when you don’t have staff. On the other hand, if you want to grow to 400, 500, or 1,000 units under management, it becomes increasingly important to clarify and clearly articulate what your core values are. Part of the recipe for having a very successful property management company is having clarity on core values and brand principles. The larger the organization is, the more intentional you have to be on how they’re articulated. Make your company core values Second Nature Remember, the key point here is the craft values that resonate with your staff and your residents, and that will help to strengthen your brand. It’s about being genuine and sincere, not being someone you’re not. If being resident-centric is one of your core values, consider how Second Nature’s Resident Benefits Package can help demonstrate your commitment to a positive resident experience.

Calendar icon February 18, 2025

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How to Handle Bad Reviews: Tips for Property Managers

Mark Brower is the owner and designated broker of Mark Brower Properties. He has over 20 years of experience in property management and investing, and lives in Mesa, Arizona. Mark is a Second Nature Triple Win Mentor. You’re going to get bad reviews. That’s just a fact of running a business. It’s impossible to please 100% of people 100% of the time, and inevitably someone is going to turn to Google Reviews or social media to air their grievances. But if you know how to handle bad reviews, you can actually turn them into an opportunity. In fact, even the worst reviews from current or former residents can be chances for your business because they can help you grow, improve your level of service, and delight those unhappy residents. With more and more potential residents turning to online reviews for information, it’s business critical to manage them well and see negative reviews as an opportunity for growth. So let’s dive into how I handle negative reviews at my property management company, and how you can do the same. How do negative reviews impact a business? We all know that social proof has an enormous impact on businesses. Prospective customers are looking for evidence about your trustworthiness, reputation, and level of service. Over the last twenty years, people have continuously moved more towards doing their own due diligence before they decide to get on a call with a salesperson, and online reviews have been the key piece of that. People have more information than ever before, and they feel like they can trust it. What makes property management unique is that choosing a place to live is such a huge commitment. It’s one thing to weigh what kind of mattress or computer you’re going to buy. It’s another to decide what home you’re going to live in. And that means that the stakes for property managers are even higher. One of the biggest pieces in building trust is openness and honesty, and that means showing your prospective residents the truth—the good and the bad. In a recent survey of nearly 30,000 apartment renters, nearly 70% said that they look at online reviews to help make their renting decision. Crucially, 86.2% said they were more likely to consider a management company that had mostly positive reviews with a few negative reviews mixed in, rather than all positive reviews. Part of being a strong business leader is being upfront and honest, and that means taking the good with the bad, and taking responsibility for both. A negative review isn’t going to ruin your business, but how you respond to it could. What to do when you get a bad review Bad reviews can be scary. They’re never fun to see, and they can send property managers into a spiral if they’re not careful. Keep your cool One of the most important things to do in response to a negative review is to control your emotions. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have emotions. In fact, you should get emotional! But you need to channel that emotion into vulnerability, and take a critical look at your company to see what went wrong. Personally, my initial reaction to a one-star review is pain. I feel anxiety and pain in my gut as soon as I see it. And that’s because I have a very low tolerance for negative interactions with my company. I want everyone to be as happy as possible with us. So when that doesn’t happen, it hurts. Some people have told me that I should turn off notifications and have someone else on my team deal with reviews. I couldn’t disagree more. As the owner of the company, I need to lead by owning the outcome myself. But when I feel that pain, I always try to channel it inward, rather than outward. It’s not productive to get defensive or argumentative, especially when your response is public. Instead, I let that pain drive me to improve my business processes and look for where we went wrong. Always respond That said, it is important to respond to reviews. Personally, I don’t post a public response immediately. Instead, I call them directly to take ownership of the issue and let them know I want to fix things. Then, while I wait for a response, I look to learn as much as I possibly can about that person and our interactions with them. I’ll spend an hour or more looking through our email correspondences, phone logs, and past maintenance issues. My goal is to truly understand their point of view, see things from their perspective, and make sure I fully understand the situation before I reach out to them. Private vs. public responses I do respond publicly, because people want to see that you’re addressing concerns and taking action in response to complaints. When I call them. I want to see how I can resolve their problem directly. Most times they don't take my call, and then I text them. If I need to, I’ll call and text the next day, too, because I’m not giving up. If I still don’t get a response, that’s when I’ll leave a public comment, because you can't go too long without giving some kind of public reply. Here’s how I reply if I haven’t had the chance to talk directly with the resident first: Apologize: I’m so sorry to hear that this is going on. I never want someone to have a bad experience with my company. Make it clear who’s responding: This is Mark Brower. I wanted to make sure you heard from me directly. Thank them: Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Ask for more information: I'm going to try to reach out to you because it's important to me that I understand your experience. Here's my cell number, and here's my email address directly. And please watch for my call. I want to learn more about this. The reason that I like to reach out privately first is that not all reviewers are comfortable sharing details publicly. It helps me get more information on what’s going on and learn how things have gone so off-course. But responding publicly helps build that trust that you’re committed to solving problems. It shows that you take ownership and lead by leaning in. Thank the reviewer and take responsibility One of the most important steps I mentioned is thanking the reviewer. People want to feel heard, especially when they’re facing a challenge. When you thank them, rather than getting defensive, you’re showing them how much you appreciate their honesty, and building that sense of understanding and trust. And you should mean it when they thank you, because they’re doing you a favor. They’re bringing a serious problem to your attention so you can fix it. My biggest piece of advice is that you have to start with a premise that people that have a bad experience are reasonable and rational. There is always a reason that they’re unhappy, and treating them as if they’re being unreasonable won’t help anyone. Instead, take responsibility for the problem and assure them that you’re working to make it right. And never throw your team under the bus. Even if there was an error made by one of your employees, you should recognize that, ultimately, it rolls up to you. Blaming someone on your team only creates tension and resentment internally, and gives an unhappy resident a reason to lash out at that person. How to resolve resident complaints It’s one thing to connect with a resident to apologize, and to reply on Google Reviews. The hard part is actually figuring out how to resolve the underlying issue. Make things right Hearing people out and making a direct commitment to address the issue goes a long way. But fixing the problem is really what they’re after. That means taking a hard look in the mirror to find out what went wrong. Maybe the issue stems from a vendor you hired who didn’t reach an appropriate level of service. Time to reevaluate how you’re vetting vendors. Maybe you didn’t clearly communicate expectations or requirements. Time to take a look at how you can be clearer. Maybe your resident didn’t understand how your processes work, and that put them in a frustrating position. Take a look at your onboarding process to see where it can be improved to set them up for success. The key is to take ownership, recognize that it’s your problem to solve, and go solve it. Finally, there’s sometimes controversy around financial compensation. I will say clearly that I do sometimes reward unhappy residents financially, if it’s appropriate. In my view, if my team's behavior caused harm in your life, I'm going to make that right. What I never do is tell a resident, “Hey, I’ll give you $200 if you take down your review.” In my view, that’s inappropriate and unethical. It’s the polar opposite of taking responsibility, and it’s not the right way to do business. Communicate Communication is absolutely essential. Once someone has voiced that they have a problem, you want to over-communicate with them about every step you take. Even if you aren’t getting a response, keep providing them updates so that they know they’re being listened to and that a resolution is in progress. You should be clearly communicating when: You’ve seen the review You’ve uncovered the source of the issue A team member of vendor has been assigned to it Someone has been dispatched to the property, if necessary The issue has been handled Every time there’s a development, keep your resident informed. It helps prevent any further negative reviews, and shows them that you’re taking things seriously. Follow up After the issue has been resolved, make sure that you don’t leave it at that. Check up on them periodically about the problem and make sure that it hasn’t resurfaced. Ask them if there are other problems that you can help solve. Give them special treatment and smother them with customer love. This is where my competitive nature comes out. I make it a contest with myself to fix the relationship with the resident until they decide they want to update their review. I will never ask a resident to change what they posted. What I will do is make them feel so special and so appreciated that they’re driven to change it on their own. There’s no better feeling than someone who left you a bad review coming back and updating it to say, “Hey, I connected with Mark about this. He solved my problem and he’s been really fantastic about it. I really appreciate how responsive his team was.” That is one of the most satisfying things I’ve experienced as a business owner. Should you delete negative reviews? My general advice is not to delete negative reviews. Like I outlined earlier, prospective residents appreciate seeing both the good and the bad. They want honesty and integrity, and deleting reviews is counter to that. The only real way to have reviews deleted is by paying some company hundreds of dollars to do it on your behalf. I never engage with those kinds of companies, and I don’t think you should either. If you’re getting spammed with bad review after bad review, all from the same angry resident, that’s one thing. If they’re just repeating the same complaint, there is a process through Google Business to have duplicates removed. There is an avenue if you want to pursue that. But I think it’s unethical to remove reviews that are accurate and factual. Plus, it hurts your business anyway, so just don’t do it. I have seen business owners—not necessarily property managers—actually threaten people who leave bad reviews. They claim it’s defamatory and threaten legal action if reviews aren’t removed. I think that is a terrible practice, and using legal threats to preserve appearances is the absolute wrong thing to do. Instead, take my approach of trying to delight someone so much that they feel a sense of responsibility to delete their review on their own. Make them so happy that they realize, “hey, this isn’t a fair portrayal of my experience,” and they remove it or update it. But leave that choice to them, don’t make it for them. How to prevent bad reviews You can never fully prevent bad reviews, but there are steps you can take to make them less likely. As a business leader, if you claim to own your outcomes, you should be setting up your business to eliminate 99% of pain points. And in property management, that’s not easy, but it is possible. Understand the most common reasons for complaints Start by understanding where your complaints are coming from. Negative feedback doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. I see the one one-star review as a really powerful signal that something is not only a little bit wrong, but several degrees wrong. If someone writing a one-star review online about us is the escalation path in our business, we've got a big problem. One of the most important steps is to see where your residents are having problems further up the funnel, before they become public complaints. Take a look at your maintenance request history and see if there are common items that need to be addressed more regularly. For example, if a water heater is more than ten years old, you should be taking measures to prevent it from flooding the property. When you turn a property, you should be doing a one-time pest treatment to make sure there won’t be future issues. Get ahead of common complaints before they become bigger issues. Ultimately, your company should have a system in place to prioritize and identify what the biggest issues are that you’re facing, and to address them before they reach that breaking point. Create a great first impression It’s absolutely vital to create a good first impression with your residents. That’s why you need a rock-solid onboarding process. You should include things like a utilities concierge to make move-in smoother and set people off on the right foot. But you should also make sure your overall process is setting up clear expectations for both you and the resident, that you’re giving them the tools they need to have a successful time in the home, and communicating clearly. Think about what your residents and owners need A huge part of being a successful property manager comes down to empathy. You need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your residents and owners and anticipate their needs. Keep in mind that their needs are going to change based on the specifics of the property, their age and ability, and more. Make sure you’re meeting them where they are so that you can keep them happy and give them a good experience. Regularly gather feedback Your company should have multiple layers of feedback and response for your tenants. You should have an escalation path built into your processes. If a tenant has to write a one-star review in order to get their issue escalated, that’s a business process failure. Your feedback process should be clear and intentional. Resident surveys and digital comment boxes can give you insight into where you’re doing well and where you’re not. And then you need to use that information to take action. You need to have the discipline and willingness to chase down those threads and really get to the core of the issues in your business. That not only unlocks really powerful learning, but also validates residents' experiences. Learn and grow Michael Podolsky wrote in Forbes recently, “Any business with a continuous growth mindset should welcome negative feedback.” Use that feedback to make change and take action. That’s what a true growth mindset and extreme ownership approach are about. Want to learn more about managing your business’s reputation? Join our upcoming webinar.

Calendar icon February 4, 2025

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