HOUSTON, TX - J Turner Research, a leading marketing research firm exclusively serving the multifamily industry, today announces the company’s new Facebook application which utilizes actual resident feedback to populate online ratings and reviews, promote a positive online reputation and enhance the community’s digital marketing strategies. The application aggregates customer satisfaction feedback collected by J Turner Research’s resident satisfaction surveys and centralizes them into a database, enabling onsite managers to quickly and easily review, select and post comments to the community’s Facebook wall.
“The new application delivers an effective means of managing a community’s online reputation by collecting and broadcasting unbiased feedback from actual residents, reinforcing a community’s commitment to customer service,” said Joseph Batdorf, president of J Turner Research. “Senior management primarily use resident survey feedback to improve operations and ensure a pleasant living experience for residents. Our new application provides onsite staff with the same information to proactively market positive resident testimonials and reviews through this growing social media channel.”
The application seamlessly utilizes resident survey data collected at the property by the research company’s “Turner Apartment Loyalty Index” or TALi. A subset of the entire resident population of the community is surveyed every month using the TALI program and residents are asked to provide a review of their experiences living at the property for use as a social media and marketing testimonial and to enhance property operations and customer service. J Turner Research compiles the responses and provides the feedback to the property for use in operations planning as well as to post resident satisfaction testimonials directly to a community Facebook wall. The J Turner Research application is also fully compatible with Facebook Timeline.
“Over the last few years, residents have turned to the Internet to share personal reviews of communities,” added Batdorf. “Unfortunately, some apartment review sites have evolved into nothing more than a sounding board for disgruntled and overtly dissatisfied residents. This application gives onsite managers a tool to effectively counterbalance negative reviews with unbiased feedback from the residents who continue to enjoy living at the community.”
J Turner Research conducted pilot tests of the application with various multifamily companies to determine the effectiveness of the tool. To date multiple multifamily companies, including Bozzuto Management Company and Essex Property Trust, have implemented the application and have experienced an increase in resident responses and “likes” to positive testimonials taken from resident surveys.
“With the J Turner Research Facebook application we are strategically posting the great things people are saying about our communities for everyone to see,” said Essex Property Trust director of marketing and communications Darcey Forbes. “We focus on being customer centric, and posting favorable comments is an opportunity to utilize positive testimonials from current residents that can be compared against comments on other ratings and review platforms where perhaps we don’t have as much control.”
“We believe that communicating with our current and prospective residents online is just as important as face to face interactions. This tool provides yet another way for us to utilize social media as an effective communications channel,” said Julie Smith, president of Bozzuto Management Company. “We have collected survey data from residents for years and only now are we able to broadcast unbiased reviews from satisfied residents living in our communities. The application is controlled, simple and extremely effective.”
Based in Houston, J Turner Research specializes in developing and executing innovative and affordable research services for the multifamily industry. The company utilizes e-mail based surveys to accurately measure perceptions of prospective residents, current residents and employees to help owners understand how to optimize operational and marketing efficiencies.
Voted Property Management Company of the Year in 2011 by Multi-Housing News, and in 2000 and 2009 by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Bozzuto Management Company offers the finest in apartment living and management services. With more than 115 properties in exceptional locations throughout the East Coast, Bozzuto Management provides a resident experience that is truly beyond compare. The company is a subsidiary of The Bozzuto Group, a full-service real estate firm headquartered in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Essex Property Trust, Inc., is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast communities. Since its founding in 1971, Essex has developed a clearly defined approach for creating value and managing risk. The Company's approach has three components - a sound real estate strategy, an experienced management team, and a strong financial condition. These three factors have contributed to the Company's historical results and future growth potential.