Multifamily marketers have several “must-do” tasks to accomplish every day — responding to leads, screening applicants, giving tours, implementing marketing campaigns. But too often, one task they consider optional is one that should be mandatory because of the high value it delivers.

Which task? Maximizing lead conversion.

In the pipeline that includes marketing, lead, tour and management tasks, the lead component is most pivotal because you control when and how you respond to each lead. Doing it right impacts the other steps in your pipeline — marketing, tours and management — and can make each of them even more effective.

Here are key best practices for lead responses you should adopt to improve your business all around.

1. Reply immediately with the information they requested

If you respond to leads in the first 1–2 minutes of receiving their inquiry, you’re 40 percent more likely to engage with them than if you wait a day or longer to reply. If you wait even 30 minutes to respond, your likelihood of making a connection with that lead plummets to about 10 percent. You might as well hand the contact to another property because 20 percent will move on to another listing.

2. Follow up five times

About half of multifamily marketers don’t have or use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to follow up with leads; about 30 percent follow up just once and never again. The magic formula that generates the most effective results with prospective renters is to make five contacts over four days. Data shows that this frequency returns the most value for your marketing dollars.

Start with an introductory phone call, then send a follow-up email with the main points you covered in your conversation or mentioned in your voicemail. In other follow-ups, ask them for questions or feedback about the unit they’re interested in, send them more information about the property and amenities, or request a convenient time to schedule a tour.

3. Contact them the same way they contact you

Give consumers every option for contacting you — text message, phone call or email — and then respond using their preferred method of communication. The data shows that if you receive a text message inquiry, but return it with a phone call and voicemail message, the value of that lead is cut in half — because you ignored the lead’s preferred way to be contacted.

4. Organize your leads

Organizing your leads in your CRM helps you automate many lead management tasks — including categorizing leads, converting them to tours, and then converting tours to leases. You can also better track your cost per lease and marketing ROI and stay in touch with past residents to generate referrals and reviews.

In the race for tours and signed leases, you have to be both the hare and the tortoise: Respond quickly when leads contact you and be methodical in your follow-up. Communicate with prospective renters the way they most prefer to be contacted. Organize your leads for better management. Reaping the highest value of your marketing investment starts with adopting best practices that show leads you value their time and their business.

This post was originally published on February 8, 2017.