You know that kind of energy you feel when you walk into a room full of go-getters who know the balance between work hard and play hard? THAT’S the kind of energy you want from your tech partners. Last week we covered Tech Stack 101, so we’ll skip that, but if you missed it or want a refresher, check out this blog. 

Since many marketers have to-do lists a mile long, impactful, intuitive, and efficient workflows are a sanity-saver. Long story short, your tech partners have the power to change the way you work, and how you start turning your to-do list into ta-done. Here are five ways top-notch partners can make your life, and the lives of your renters and residents, easier. 

1. See You Later, Silos

Updating pieces of information in several places is an inefficient investment of time and money. Data and tech silos increase complexity, threaten data accuracy, reduce efficiency, and thereby increase the cost to your bottom line. An integrated Property Management System (PMS) and MarTech solution simplifies the process. 

This creates operational efficiencies for your sales and marketing teams and ensures you’re able to engage researching renters, or seniors and their loved ones, immediately with a thoughtful, intentional approach. 

In short, by integrating, you’ll be providing best-in-class service to future renters and residents.

2. Integrate to Automate

Best-in-class technology providers are here to help you win with workflow, not to add to your workload. There is a myth that if you work with multiple technology partners, you’ll have to do twice the work to manage critical pieces of information. In order to get the best results from an integration, data fields that are typically only for internal systems may now be public-facing. If they aren’t marketing-friendly, a little up-front work may be necessary to get the most out of an integration. As we see it, you have two choices: either make it a priority to clean up this data in various databases, saving you time in the long run, or work with your best-in-class front-end technology provider to translate external data fields into renter-friendly terms. Of course, sharing information between multiple systems may feel a little overwhelming at first. But, a seamless integration of front-end and backend systems maximizes the impact of automated tools in your stack.

3. Tailored Tech > One-Size-Fits-All

Have you ever worn a one-size-fits-all item of clothing? This is just a guess, but it’s probably not as flattering as something fitted specifically for you. While most fashion advice doesn’t translate to tech — this one does. There is no way around it: by choosing a marketing solution that is under the same roof as your PMS, you’re likely giving up the power of choice for your business. Plus, when it comes to technology decisions that are closest to researching customers, like your website or advertising, you need best-in-class because you don’t want to make customer-facing compromises based on a system focused on your accounting software or other backend needs. 

You can rest assured, best-in-class partners make sure their solutions are tailored for your business needs. This focus on tailored solutions provides your business long-term scalability and flexibility. Additionally, if at some point you outgrow a tech partner, or need to change to meet new business needs, you have the flexibility to do so because your tech stack isn’t all under one roof. Bottom line, by choosing best-in-class partners, you get to control what is closest to your customers and make the editorial decisions for your company’s tech stack. 

4. Emphasis on Great in Integrate

Make your life simpler by choosing tech partners who eliminate silos and reduce complexity. It almost goes without saying that integrations can vary by complexity and performance. They can be straightforward, like downloading a new app. Or, they can be more complex, requiring a best-in-class provider to access customer data from multiple sources. When you’re adding a new tech partner to your stack, here are a few questions to ask to make sure they’re truly best-in-class. 

  • Does this technology solution integrate with your Customer Relationship Management platform (CRM), Storage Management Software, or Property Management System (PMS)? 
  • Is the technology solution up-to-date with the latest data security regulations and compliance best practices? 
  • If something isn’t working, how will it get solved? How will the company prioritize finding a solution for your team and property?
  • What is the tech partner’s background within your industry? Are they learning it from the ground up on your dime?

5. Best-Kept-Secrets of Best-In-Class Partners

Shhhh! Maybe no one has told you this, but your team just got bigger. Maybe it seems obvious because it’s in the name, but it’s worth stating. A best-in-class partner is quite literally your partner. Your tech stack partners should be committed to implementing the right solutions for your portfolio. You aren’t a generic number, and neither are your business needs. Additionally, partners own the development and innovation investment for the technology solution you’re adding to your stack. As technology continues to adapt and advance quickly, your solutions will, too. They likely have a whole team of developers, engineers, UX designers, and data-gurus behind the scenes building solutions grounded in up-to-date best practices. You’ll benefit from their innovation — without actually hiring an in-house development team. 

Select Your Squad

Want to learn more best-kept-secrets about best-in-class partners and technology? Check out our latest report in the G5 MarTech Series: Part 3.