"They can show exactly where in the community each available home is located, and they can also zoom out and show how close we are to schools or bus stops. We get a lot of questions like that, and SightMap provides a great visual."
Tawni Cone
Marketing Director
ICO Multifamily Property Management
“They can pull SightMap up right from their desks, and it’s nice because it highlights the vacants,” Cone said. “They can show exactly where in the community each available home is located, and they can also zoom out and show how close we are to schools or bus stops. We get a lot of questions like that, and SightMap provides a great visual.”
Also, in the event that a prospect isn’t quite ready to commit during their visit, they can always circle back online and check SightMap to see whether the home they toured is still available.
“When a prospect finishes a tour, we refer them back to our website so that they can finish the process online if they didn’t leave a deposit,” Cone said. “They can still see what’s available, what’s been taken, and go apply.”
"For our websites, we wanted that real-time availability for prospects. SightMap definition has that, and the fact that integrates with our software is huge."
Tawni Cone
Marketing Director
ICO Multifamily Property Management
THE BONUS
Adding TouchTours at lease-ups
In addition to SightMap, ICO is using Engrain’s TouchTour product at its newer communities.
"We added touchscreens to three of our newer communities, and anything new from here forward will have TouchTour screens. All of our lease-ups will have them."
Tawni Cone
Marketing Director
ICO Multifamily Property Management
Cone said TouchTour allows walk-in prospects to gather information and initiate their tour experience while waiting for more personalized attention.
“We get lots of people who walk in the door at our lease-ups, and when leasing agents are busy we hope that they’ll get directed to our touchscreens and can kind of help themselves until a leasing agent is available,” Cone said. “It’s a really nice feature to have in our lobby or clubhouse.”
THE RESULTS
SightMap, TouchTour differentiate the prospect experience
The ability to display real-time availability has not only been a game-changer for ICO’s community websites, Cone said, but the SightMap and TouchTour technology has applied a more modern feel to the overall prospect experience.
“The managers really enjoy having it at their sites,” Cone said. “Before SightMap, we would actually probably hand prospective residents a paper map. So, it has brought us up to date a little bit more, which is nice. TouchTour has made us more branded and memorable. One of the main reasons why we added it is that it made us different from our competitors. It sets us apart.”
Cone said that ICO just changed its tracking system in part to better assess the influence SightMap has in regard to online applications. She expects to be pleasantly surprised.
“We have a lot of traffic on our website and we get a lot of applications from our website,” Cone said. “Having SightMap definitely helps. We have seen improvements since we’ve installed it. We’ll be looking closer at the analytics moving forward, and I’m looking forward to seeing what that tells us.”
"One of the main reasons why we added it is that it made us different from our competitors. It sets us apart."
Tawni Cone
Marketing Director
ICO Multifamily Property Management
