16 Ways to Compete with Big Property Management Firms

November 11, 2022

How to Thrive up Against Big Companies

As year 2022 comes to a close, the economy’s direction is a concern for some business owners.

Even if the government gets its policies right, and supports the economy, small property managers and landlords face the challenge of competing with large enterprise-level competition.

A few are finding that challenge too much to bear. Yet what if they upgraded how they do business and overcame their competition’s advantage?

Can small businesses innovate, specialize and scale up more responsively than big companies can? It could be SMB’s advantage is found in flexibility, innovation and respect for opportunities.

What Does Manage Smarter Mean Anyway?

In general, big companies have an advantage because of:

efficient digital management systems
staff has more time
specialist skills
management has more money, overcomes any cost events, and can focus funds where needed
better marketing and lead generation which makes landlords believe they’re getting better value

Given the financing, marketing, staffing, and even pricing advantages big firms leverage, small property management companies need to look into their own business model and figure out opportunities.

Keep in mind that big companies have unsolvable challenges of their own in a changing marketplace.

If they’re grabbing up marketshare, winning clients, and increasing profitability, it’s important for you to discover what they’re doing to achieve it. As it turns out, you can systematically erode their advantage, and build strengths against their weaknesses (property management branding).

Masters or PhDs Not Needed

You don’t need to be a Harvard business grad to build a competitive edge. In fact, today’s SaaS software platforms provide a wonderful service management solution that helps you do everything expertly and efficiently. The skill is built into the software.

Your tenants see the same professionalism, messages and results that big companies deliver.

The big secret is that SaaS software technology is what big companies use to get their advantage. They adopt technology willingly. You could open up to this same solution.

If you lack the business training, managerial skills, experience, marketing knowledge, and haven’t mastered property management software technology yet, you can improve.

There is online training, mentors, customer service help, and learning resources available to build your expertise while you work.

ManageCasa™ as an example, helps you complete tasks with no expertise. And it gives you great insights into property performance, cost issues, trends, and more.

Why Are Small Businesses Not Faring Well Enough?

A quick look at the dark side (CBInsights Findings) shows some typical reasons why SMBs experience difficulty.

However, if you’re bright, have a good team, and have a passion and determination, you might be able to get past each of these troubles. No small business owner gets everything right, but with determination, each wrinkle can be ironed out (thus paving the way for new capital funding, hiring superstars, competing harder, marketing strategy, adjusting the business model and overcoming burnout).

Sure you’re tired and discouraged at times, but your rejuvenation will come (maybe with a nice vacation).

Screenshot courtesy of cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top/

16 Powerful Ways to Compete with Bigger Companies

Learn these 16 tactics and execute your compete strategy:

capture service niches (e.g., accounting, maintenance, home renovations, inspections, marketing/advertising, rent collection, evictions, etc.)
focus on niche properties (multi-unit houses, single detached, apartments, high rises, mixed retail)
focus on geographic regions in your marketing strategy (districts within city where you can respond quicker and prioritize)
develop a unique brand and promote it strongly (uniquely local but with big brand appeal, and owners become aware of your company)
more personal, human service to tenants (building lifestyle comfort and tenants build a connection with the same service pro/CSR)
give your services a brand name (so owners understand the value better)
focus your content marketing (blogs, videos, social posts on specific topics and show expertise/authority)
introduce specific staff and highlight their competency (good hiring practices, expertise, transparency/credibility boost)
give your website some panache and make the style resonate with your target audience (big corporations can’t do that)
mission statement (show purpose and that your company is here to stay)
create professional designed downloadable pdf (client case study to demonstrate and validate your firm)
boast about your property management software platform (which lets you innovate, scale, communicate, manage the books, and help keep tenants leased)
present your president/owner as a likable, relatable but still professional person they’d like as a friend (the corporate CEO is stuffy and unapproachable)
connect with owners via Linkedin (professional connection where you can post content that interests them)
highlight efficiency, licenses, special skills, experience, and experiences (corporations will never do that with their employees)
network with renters, owners, and other pros on social (local connections build strength in local business community, accesses opportunities, and show a personal interest in them and complement their successes, since large corporations won’t do that)

Local, nimble, responsive, engaging, personable, and helpful almost to a fault, small businesses satisfy emotional needs better which can build more loyal relationships that keep owners and tenants in place.

Automation and Service Integration

Service automation is important today and your technology provides that.

The top small property manager decision is to use a software such as ManageCasa™ and let it educate you, train you, grow your confidence, and create even better service provision and capabilities.

This unique, next generation platform is a foundation that guides you to learn, understand, respond effectively on service, make better decisions and control costs.

Key Activities of progressive, entrepreneurial managers include:

taking on more properties to grow revenue
focus more on current clients to help them grow profit and improve asset value
focus more on current client’s maintenance and asset management
reduce costs, go more virtual to increase engagement with tenants and present a better brand of service in their eyes
improve staff performance and enjoyment of their work
reduce tedious, redundant, repetitive work to allow staff to focus on more important and increasing their competence and skills
focus more on marketing and lead generation
automate accounting, rent, routine communications and tenant rent payments to free up significant time and control staffing costs

Each landlord and property manager has different challenges ahead in 2023/2024.

When you look deeper into ManageCasa’s many specialized and powerful features, you’ll see how it can easily resolve them. From accounting automation to tenant self-service to monitoring expenses and cash flow, ManageCasa keeps you on top, effortlessly.

Why would you prefer ManageCasa™? Let’s take the top 5 reasons to start:

affordable software – the low price per rental unit account makes it less costly than competitive offerings
all in one management solution — with an integrated suite of services managed simply from your main dashboard
powerful accounting — manage your property accounts with a dedicated software (not a general purpose accounting package)
automated payment system — tenants save time using popular payment systems and bank account integration
scalability – using this powerful SaaS platform, property managers can easily scale up to serve more landlords
grow services — build revenue and impress landlords with additional services that add value

Software Magnifies your Staff’s Talent and Capability

Small business people might not fully appreciate what many young tech entrepreneurs are obsessing over — that software erodes big business advantages. Software is how they gained that advantage and your adoption of ManageCasa removes that advantage.

In truth, many of these big companies are overstaffed with less skilled people, have higher cost profiles, less time to solve specific landlord issues, and adjust to additional small landlord accounts. Your small company have some amazingly talented people already and you can hack your way to growth.

Keys to Success in Property Management Business

We discuss this a great deal on ManageCasa blog. Here’s just a few helpful posts covering essential topics where you’d be wise to focus your time in 2023:

Nothing works more powerfully than opening a property management software account here on ManageCasa. You can trial the software, demo the software, and ask questions to our CSR’s or sales team.

Questions are golden. If anything is stopping you from sustaining your property management company, and growing profit, find out what that is.

Let nothing stop you from achieving the success you envisioned. You were right to build a company in this lucrative and sustainable industry. Let ManageCasa™ be your foundation of success.

Try a 14 Day Trial of ManageCasa.