Why support is now the real feature in property management software

Principals, senior property managers, and agency decision-makers are asking fewer questions about features and more questions about support when choosing tech. Not because functionality has become less important, but because feature-packed platforms alone are no longer enough.

For years, property management software companies competed on technology.

The transition from desktop to cloud created a wave of innovation as providers rushed to deliver new capabilities, more integrations, and increasingly sophisticated workflows. More recently, the battleground has shifted again, with legacy providers scrambling to replicate emerging payment technologies pioneered by challenger brands to retain their departing customer base.

But while software companies have been busy fighting the features war, something far more interesting is emerging.

Features and functionality are no longer a major differentiator. The advantages that scaled software providers enjoyed a decade ago are gone.

While there are certainly differences between platforms, the reality is that the gap between the major providers and the challengers is now significantly smaller. Modern development tools, cloud infrastructure and increasingly accessible engineering resources have levelled the playing field. Features that once required years of development and millions of dollars of investment can now be replicated in the blink of an eye and for a fraction of the cost.

As a result, the hundreds of millions of dollars that software companies have collectively invested in trying to win the functionality race no longer create the competitive advantage they once did.

Which raises an important question. If multiple platforms now perform the same essential tasks, what ultimately drives customer satisfaction? Increasingly, the answer appears to be support.

The reality is that most software works most of the time, but occasionally, all technology breaks. Buttons stop working, workflows shut down, and momentarily, the gremlins take over. And when that happens, the conversation immediately stops being about software and starts being about people because humans use software, not robots.

When there is a problem, property managers don't want a chatbot or an automated response. They don't want to search through a library of articles, hoping they can find the answer or plead to a Facebook group of other users.

What they want is a software support professional who is easy to contact, who will listen, understand, and help. They need someone who understands the platform, the problem that has arisen and most importantly, how it affects their own customers. The reality is that not all bugs can be fixed immediately, but most property managers don’t expect that. They just want to be heard and reassured that the problem is being addressed.

Yet many software companies appear to be losing touch with their customers when it comes to support. In the pursuit of greater profitability, software providers increasingly push users towards AI-powered support, automated ticketing systems and self-service resources. While these tools have their place, they often fail to recognise a simple reality about the property management profession.

Real estate is fundamentally a human job. Property managers spend their days working with people, working on solutions that technology cannot solve. Maintenance emergencies, rental arrears, difficult conversations with landlords, frustrated tenants, compliance obligations, routine inspections, and the countless unexpected situations that arise when managing people's homes and investments.

There is nowhere to hide.

Property managers answer their phones. They respond to emails. They reply to text messages. They tackle issues head-on because that is the nature of the profession. The irony is that the very people who provide support to their customers and service providers are increasingly being left to fend for themselves when they need software support.

Why?

Because many technology companies still believe that product is the differentiator, but the market is telling them otherwise. Customer reviews can often reveal a different perspective on the realities of post-sales support. Sure, some of the worst reviews are clearly written in anger, but take note. There is sometimes a consistent thread that is worth paying attention to.

You see, today, building software and recruiting an engineering team is relatively straightforward. Building a truly customer-focused support culture is not.

Customer success is not simply about filling seats with operators and measuring ticket volumes. It requires people to understand property management, why and how they use the platform and of course, every detail of the platform. They also need to genuinely care and take pride in their role.

That combination is difficult to create and impossible to fake.

This is increasingly shaping customer sentiment, and in many cases, defining brand reputation. For agencies evaluating property management software, features and functionality will always matter. But it is often hard to gauge what the customer experience will be like once you’re committed.

In today's crowded proptech marketplace, the marketing noise and scramble to drive sales is starting to lose their potency. Property managers are paying more attention to what their peers are saying, tapping into the experience of existing customers and working out whether software salespeople are chasing a cheque over delivering value.

So, if you’re frustrated with your incumbent software provider or if you’re being courted by a sales executive who’s promising you the earth, take time to read the reviews if you’re thinking about switching. Pay attention to the sentiments of actual customers or users. And if reviews are hard to find, there’s probably a reason that they have been hidden.

And unless you have a clear and compelling reason to switch, sometimes you’re better off staying with the devil you know.

Alex Whitlock is REB director and Managed co-founder.