Retail spotlight: 3 ways you should be driving tenant retention

In the current economy, competition for tenants is stiff. The holiday sales bump was significantly smaller in 2012 than in 2011, and demand for space in shopping centers is way down. How, then, can you keep the tenants you have satisfied, in order to keep them – period? There are a few ways to drive efficiency for your tenants in these lean times while driving your own costs down; let’s take a look at three of them.

1. Accepting payments online – Commercial banks accept online payments; utilities accept online payments. The expectation has been set, and it’s worthwhile to fall in line in order to drive tenant retention. By using an online payment system to accept rent and CAM payments, you’re saving your tenants time and resources, and you’re getting cash in hand faster.
2. Accepting sales data online – Since online payments have set the bar high for online interactions, allowing retail tenants to enter their sales data online will save them staff time and resources – demonstrating an awareness of their business needs. In addition to driving tenant retention at your properties, automating the sales data process will save your staff hours of time each month they’d otherwise spend chasing down these figures. Accepting sales data online is a win-win!
3. Automating work order processes – In order to retain, it’s critical to maintain. And your tenants are on the front line, since they occupy the physical space you’re responsible for. Allowing them to request repairs, maintenance and HVAC overtime online will help them help you keep your facility in good shape, with a minimal investment of time – and making the history of those requests available online allows them to hold you accountable.