Case Studies Fore Property Company Enhances Craigslist Ad Posting Efficiency with Entrata Tool

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	Fore Property Company Enhances Craigslist Ad Posting Efficiency with Entrata Tool

Fore Property Company Enhances Craigslist Ad Posting Efficiency with Entrata Tool

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
Applicable Functions	Business Operation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Digital Thread Remote Control
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Depending on the number of times they post, an on-site associate can spend several hours each day posting apartment ads on Craigslist. That’s a significant amount of time, much of which could be put to use on other revenue-generating activities, such as following up on leads. But the real tragedy is when Craigslist “ghosts” those ads based on an algorithm designed to prevent fraudulent ads and spam. When an ad is ghosted on Craigslist, it is visible to the poster but invisible to everybody else who visits the site. Read More
About Customer	Fore Property Company (FORE) is a full-service real estate company that develops, owns, and manages multifamily communities nationwide. As a vertically integrated multifamily real estate firm, FORE has developed and managed approximately 19,000 apartments spanning 38 cities across 15 states. FORE began implementing Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool more than a year ago to combat increasing ghosting rates and improve the efficiency of posting ads on Craigslist. Read More
Solution	The goal for many apartment operators is to keep ghosting at a minimum while maintaining a premium spot on Craigslist in order to drive as many qualified leads as possible. That’s easier said than done, which is why many apartment operators, like FORE, are turning to Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool to do the work for them. The Entrata posting tool created efficiencies FORE couldn’t get with other posting tools available on the market, allowing communities to maintain a premium spot on Craigslist. In addition, the Craigslist posting tool enables apartment operators to post ads that are in line with the unique brand of their company and the apartment community. Traditional Craiglist ads have very little visual appeal other than what can be created with images. Since Entrata built the tool to adhere to best practices and comply with Craigslist terms and conditions, each of the features not only simplifies posting workflow, it also intuitively helps prevent ghosting. The system will actually warn users if they are attempting to create an ad that has a high chance of being ghosted. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Digital Thread

Remote Control

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Depending on the number of times they post, an on-site associate can spend several hours each day posting apartment ads on Craigslist. That’s a significant amount of time, much of which could be put to use on other revenue-generating activities, such as following up on leads. But the real tragedy is when Craigslist “ghosts” those ads based on an algorithm designed to prevent fraudulent ads and spam. When an ad is ghosted on Craigslist, it is visible to the poster but invisible to everybody else who visits the site.

About Customer

Fore Property Company (FORE) is a full-service real estate company that develops, owns, and manages multifamily communities nationwide. As a vertically integrated multifamily real estate firm, FORE has developed and managed approximately 19,000 apartments spanning 38 cities across 15 states. FORE began implementing Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool more than a year ago to combat increasing ghosting rates and improve the efficiency of posting ads on Craigslist.

Solution

The goal for many apartment operators is to keep ghosting at a minimum while maintaining a premium spot on Craigslist in order to drive as many qualified leads as possible. That’s easier said than done, which is why many apartment operators, like FORE, are turning to Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool to do the work for them. The Entrata posting tool created efficiencies FORE couldn’t get with other posting tools available on the market, allowing communities to maintain a premium spot on Craigslist. In addition, the Craigslist posting tool enables apartment operators to post ads that are in line with the unique brand of their company and the apartment community. Traditional Craiglist ads have very little visual appeal other than what can be created with images. Since Entrata built the tool to adhere to best practices and comply with Craigslist terms and conditions, each of the features not only simplifies posting workflow, it also intuitively helps prevent ghosting. The system will actually warn users if they are attempting to create an ad that has a high chance of being ghosted.

Impact #1	The ghosting prevention features of Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool are definitely paying off for FORE. In fact, FORE’s ghosting rates have decreased nearly 30 percent on average at the communities that have implemented the tool starting in 2012.
Impact #2	On-site teams are able to post more often because the Craigslist Posting Tool has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to post an ad on the site. According to Ammons, an associate can now post in as little as five minutes, compared with the 30 to 45 minutes needed to complete a post manually. That gives associates more time to address customer service issues, show apartment homes, and secure more leases.
Impact #3	FORE is now optimizing an important lead source. Craigslist is the largest source of online leads for FORE communities and one of the top sources for converted leads. More new FORE residents list Craigslist as their primary lead source than any other source, and FORE’s ability to post more efficiently is consequently translating directly to more leases.

Impact #1

The ghosting prevention features of Entrata’s Craigslist Posting Tool are definitely paying off for FORE. In fact, FORE’s ghosting rates have decreased nearly 30 percent on average at the communities that have implemented the tool starting in 2012.

Impact #2

On-site teams are able to post more often because the Craigslist Posting Tool has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes to post an ad on the site. According to Ammons, an associate can now post in as little as five minutes, compared with the 30 to 45 minutes needed to complete a post manually. That gives associates more time to address customer service issues, show apartment homes, and secure more leases.

Impact #3

FORE is now optimizing an important lead source. Craigslist is the largest source of online leads for FORE communities and one of the top sources for converted leads. More new FORE residents list Craigslist as their primary lead source than any other source, and FORE’s ability to post more efficiently is consequently translating directly to more leases.

Benefit #1	FORE’s ghosting rates have decreased nearly 30 percent on average at the communities that have implemented the tool starting in 2012.
Benefit #2	An associate can now post in as little as five minutes, compared with the 30 to 45 minutes needed to complete a post manually.

Benefit #1

FORE’s ghosting rates have decreased nearly 30 percent on average at the communities that have implemented the tool starting in 2012.

Benefit #2

An associate can now post in as little as five minutes, compared with the 30 to 45 minutes needed to complete a post manually.

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Overview

Fore Property Company Enhances Craigslist Ad Posting Efficiency with Entrata Tool

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit