Our recent survey (October 2023) revealed some fascinating insights into a very common conundrum for business owners: growth vs scaling.

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Our data revealed that growth is the overwhelming priority for our property management survey respondents in 2024.

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81% of our clients also agreed that WeconnectU has helped improve the scalability of their operations.

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While these two statistics (the prioritisation of growth and achievement of scalability) may appear unrelated on the surface, they actual reveal a very important truth about how our solutions are actively assisting our clients in achieving their business goals.

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They also underscore our commitment to help shape a better property management industry through our four promises: greater compliancy, greater manageability, greater scalability and greater profit.

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Let’s take a look at how and why.

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Growth vs scaling – what’s the difference?

Growth and scaling are often used interchangeably, but there are some very important differences between the two.

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Business growth refers to the process of increasing a business’ size, revenue and (typically) market share. Its focus is on attracting more customers, expanding into new markets and increasing sales as a path to greater profitability. The trouble is that growth (without the right foundations) tends to bring a corresponding increase in business costs, which can quickly erode any increase in profits.

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Scaling, on the other hand, is all about optimising operations to handle increased demand without requiring a significant increase in resources. This is achieved by improving infrastructure and operational efficiencies (often through automation) to deliver more output “bang” for the same input “buck”.

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Why scalability is the key to growth

For property managers, adding more communities to the books should be relatively straightforward given the explosion of demand the industry is currently experiencing. More difficult is finding a way to deliver the same quality of service to a greater number of communities without spending all the additional income on more internal resources.

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This is where scalability becomes a real gamechanger.

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More efficiency, less cost

Scaling means streamlining your operations, processes and use of technology to improve efficiency, reduce cost and get more from your existing resources. Done right, this empowers your teams to deliver top-notch service to more communities without investing dramatically more time, money or effort.

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Greater sustainability

By unlocking your business’ ability to handle increased demand without increased internal resources, it becomes possible to avoid the service-delivery and/or revenue ceiling that stalls most business growth trajectories. This, in turn, unlocks long-term, sustainable profitability, which can feed a self-supporting and fully scalable growth cycle.

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A sharper competitive edge

Strategically scaled businesses can often outperform their competitors on both cost and service delivery metrics. This can be a very powerful business advantage, helping sales teams secure a larger market share while cementing existing client relationships for long-term financial security.

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How to begin scaling

Clearly, scaling is the way to go if growth is your objective. But how do you actually go about scaling a property management business?

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Step 1: Evaluate your operations

To improve efficiency, you first need to understand where your current systems are falling short. Look for gaps and bottlenecks in your existing processes, resources and systems and identify the areas in which improvements could deliver the greatest efficiency dividends.

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Step 2: Set your objectives

You’ll also need to decide where your priorities lie. Are you looking to support business growth, improve revenue, increase customer retention, outperform your competitors, or all of the above? Knowing what you hope to achieve will inform your scaling strategy and focus your efforts for more targeted results.

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Step 3: Understand your market

Identifying market gaps and opportunities is also a good way to focus your scaling strategy on areas that will deliver the greatest ROI. Start by learning your customers’ needs and preferences, and then expand your research to cover current market trends and competitor offerings.

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Step 4: Introduce strategic efficiencies and automation

Once you know what you need to achieve and where to focus your efforts to achieve it, it’s time to streamline your processes and automate repetitive tasks to achieve your desired efficiency goals.

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Step 5: Invest in technology

The right technology is pivotal when scaling. Ideally, your chosen solution should actively support scalability, providing all the necessary workflow optimisations and automations to streamline your service delivery while simultaneously improving your ability to provide a next-level customer experience.

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WeconnectU’s commitment to supporting sustainable growth

Since our very first conversation about creating our own property management solutions, WeconnectU has been on a mission to build a more resilient, sustainable and professional property management industry.

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A big part of that is empowering property management businesses to grow sustainably through better scalability, ultimately helping property managers rekindle their passion for their business in an environment in which their income is no longer limited by their ability to shoulder a heavier workload.

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As our survey showed, we’re already making a real impact in this area for our existing clients, and we’ll certainly be putting our all into helping our WeconnectU family achieve their growth goals in 2024.

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If you’re looking to make growth a priority for your business, we’d love to discuss how WeconnectU can support your sustainable growth journey and bring you that much closer to the property management business of your dreams.