Tag Archives: complaints

Avoid These Facebook Fan Page Mistakes

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Struggling to see a good ROI on your business Facebook page? If you’re committing one of most frequent Facebook for business mistakes, you could be undoing all of your best social marketing efforts. Here’s a list of the top five Facebook errors businesses make–and how to avoid them.

Having a “set it and forget it” mentality. One of the most frequent mistakes businesses make with Facebook is to create a page and ignore it. When it comes to Facebook for marketing, there’s no such thing as “if you build it, they will come.” Facebook marketing takes serious time and effort, and you won’t build an effective page or fan base overnight. Remember that social media marketing is most effective when you’re using it to cultivate genuine interactions with customers. Customers expect timely responses from your business on Facebook, and they expect you to keep things interesting with regular and useful posts. Fail to do these things, and your fans will tune you out.

Not doing the homework. If you’re new to Facebook, do yourself a favor and explore the site’s full functionality before you jump into full-fledged Facebook marketing. Facebook offers many unique tools that allow businesses to introduce themselves to the social media space; yet one of the most frequent mistakes businesses make involves diving into the platform without really knowing how to use it. From simple mistakes like neglecting to display a profile pic properly or forgetting to fill out the “info” tab to overlooking the power of Facebook Insights for analytics, there are many ways to misuse Facebook for business. Do some homework before you jump in, and you can ensure you maximize your Facebook presence.

Failing to learn the rules. Becoming familiar with Facebook’s official terms is just as important as understanding how Facebook works. Some of the most common terms violations that small businesses make on Facebook include setting up their profiles as personal (rather than business pages) and violating Facebook’s online contest rules. Violating the site’s terms can get your rental property kicked off of Facebook entirely. If you’d rather not see all your hard, community-building work go down the drain, you’d better know Facebook’s terms forwards and backwards.

Too much shilling, not enough sharing. Of all the Facebook errors a business can make, over-promotion is probably the worst. While there’s definitely a time and place for promotional messages on social media platforms, it’s best not to forget that social media exists to connect people. When you’re using Facebook for business, sharing interesting, engaging content is much more important than tooting your own horn. Effective social media marketing hinges on authenticity, and that means sharing useful links, status updates, blog posts, videos and photo albums with your Facebook fans–not using your Facebook wall as if it were a traditional advertisement.

Ignoring negative feedback. Another one of the most common Facebook mistakes involves shying away from uncomfortable fan interactions. Some businesses delete or ignore negative comments, but that’s a mistake. Ignoring negative comments only makes your followers more angry, and that anger can snowball quickly–especially if the angry fan has a large social network. That’s why it’s important to develop a strategy for responding to negative Facebook comments that allows your brand to demonstrate good customer service. Show your fans that you’re committed to listening to them–in good times and bad–and you’ll create true brand loyalty.

If any of these Facebook mistakes sound familiar to you, don’t fret. Remember that the social media universe can also be very forgiving–as long as you interact with your fans in an authentic, transparent way.

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Tips for Resolving Tenant Complaints

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An inevitable part of a landlord or property manager’s job is dealing with tenant complaints. But you can work to ensure a more positive outcome for most issues with some preparation and planning for how you’ll deal with them.

 Lay a clear foundation

The most effective way of preventing conflict in the first place is to make sure that everyone starts with the same set of expectations. Getting your tenant’s signature on a well-written apartment lease should help accomplish this.

Make sure that the lease agreement you use clearly spells out all tenant rights, responsibilities, and limitations of tenancy, including behavior that is not allowed. It is especially important to detail the rules in areas that are common sources for tenant complaints, such as issues involving noise, guests, parking and pet behavior. Also be clear about repair issues: what the tenant will be responsible for, what repairs the property owner will handle, and the process for getting repairs made.

 Detail property condition before move-in

Don’t let there be any doubt about what the apartment unit looked like before the tenant moved into it. A careful walk-through with thorough documentation is a must to establish a baseline for condition of the unit. Print out a detailed checklist for every part of the unit which both you and the tenant will sign.

 Communicate well

Being a good communicator means not only delivering messages with clarity, but also responding quickly and completely to tenant needs. When your tenant contacts you about a potential problem, get back to her immediately via whichever method she used to contact you. Even if you already sense that you know the resolution the situation requires,  respond respectfully and get to the bottom of the issue using diplomacy and tact.

 Be precise

Before you take a position on the tenant’s complaint, be sure you know the lease agreement to the letter and that you respond in a way that is in complete accordance with it. If the dispute is between two tenants, interview them both and investigate the situation neutrally. You’ll need all the facts to deal fairly with the issue. For all communication with tenants on contentious issues, take thorough notes of phone calls and in-person conversations, and save emails, so that there won’t be any confusion later about what was said to whom and when.

 Create a schedule

If resolving a problem requires you to take action in some way, be an example of coordinated follow-through. Work with the tenant to find dates to make repairs, for instance. Once you have a plan, stick to it, or all your good efforts will look insincere. Be sure that the steps you outline for yourself include a follow-up to make sure that all parties are satisfied.

 One of the many roles a landlord or property manager must fill is that of problem solver. To make sure that you do the best possible job, strive for mutual understanding with your tenants and work in good faith to fully address their complaints and concerns.

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How a Property Manager Can Assist Your Renting Efforts

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When you have more work than you can handle, consider hiring a property manager to help you take care of all the details that go into renting your properties. Considering the many headaches a property manager can save you, you might discover the extra expense will pay for itself in no time.

 

Finding tenants

A good property manager can find the right tenants for your vacant rental properties without you having to do the footwork. He or she can handle the advertising of available properties via all the avenues you use, or take on a part of it, such as social media. Your property manager can also show units to potential tenants and process tenant applications, including their background and credit checks.

Property maintenance

Another time-drain for a landlord is property maintenance. A property manager can take the headache out of the process by dealing with the tenant, determining the cause and solution of the problem, and getting repairs handled. A property manager can also make sure that repairs to your property conform to local health and safety codes.

Tenant complaints

One of the least pleasant aspects of a landlord’s jobs can be dealing with unhappy tenants. A property manager can act as the landlord’s buffer zone by receiving and solving complaints, whether they are about other tenants, maintenance or repair issues, or some other aspect of residency. Having someone else on the front line for unhappy tenants can relieve your stress significantly—a priceless benefit.

Rent issues

Processing rent and following up on late rent are duties that can be handed over to a good property manager. He or she can also create financial reports on the property, assessing how well it is performing and whether or not you are charging the right rent for the local market.

Legal details

A good property manager will also be versed in all the legal aspects of renting property, from handling security deposits and eviction proceedings to keeping up with local and federal codes. Their expertise can save you the time and legal fees that make all the difference between being a successful landlord and one who is stressed out, losing money or embroiled in avoidable litigation.

Why be on call 24/7 and have to wear a dozen different hats when you can hire a property manager to do it all for you? The right one can save you time, money and aggravation. Consider whether this is a worthwhile investment for you.

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