Apartment Marketing
Apartment Rentals Surge in U.S.
Jul 27th
Apartment Marketing & Management: Recap
Jul 22nd
Make Your Community a Stop on the Tour Route
“If you’re marketing to families, why not host field trips to your community from the local schools. This can be an educational opportunity for children to see how a community runs. Have your head service technician explain maintenance. Let the grounds people show off their work and explain their positions. Your office staff can talk about job skills and career opportunities …” Read More
A Tiny Apartment Transforms Into 24 Rooms
“Our good friend and top Brainstorming Facilitator, Tina Cavaco, sent us this AMAZING link! In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the ‘Domestic Transformer.” … Watch The Video Here
Social Media Success for Apartment Communities
“I have a few thoughts to share on the topic of social media today, and I should tell you up front that I intend this post to provoke conversation, and I hope you’ll participate! You all know how passionate I am about the need to begin using social media now, because I truly do believe it will play a major role in not only our relationship/retention efforts, but also our marketing strategies. I also happen to believe that its value…” Read More
The Power of Place
“If you’ve had doubts location-based social networking services were going to really catch on, you should know that Foursquare whizzed past the one-million member mark back in April and just passed 1.8 million; and raked in $20 million in venture funding just a couple of weeks ago. That buzzing sound you hear is the Power of Place, about to go mainstream.” Read More
Build the Model Organization of the Future
“Before you invest time and money in traditional strategic planning consider this – only 5-10% of strategic plans are ever implemented. The reason most organizations engage in strategic planning is to reduce anxiety. It’s like taking a couple of aspirin for a headache. In this case the headache is the future. The aspirin is a couple of days locked in a room putting checkmarks in the appropriate boxes.” … Read More
Partnerships That Work
“I created and facilitated a one-day workshop called ‘Partnerships That Work.’ This class was designed for Apartment Community Managers and their Assistants and focused on synergy, teamwork, and delegation. Our challenge and reason for needing such a workshop was that Assistants either felt as though they were not being trusted with enough to do while other felt as though the Manager was dumping …” Read More
Better Training Through Skill Gap Analysis
“One of the best things you can do to improve your team’s training plan is to add Skill Gap Analysis. This step helps the trainer to identify gaps in performance and areas for added training and development.The first step in conducting a thorough Skill Gap Analysis is to create a picture of what ideal performance looks like. This step-called Competency Profiling-takes a look at the attitudes …” Read More
Five Multifamily Training Ideas
“The Idea – As part of our new manager training we have implemented a Manager Mentor Program. After each new manager comes in for a day of training on company policy and procedures, we select a Resident Manager from the Property Manager’s portfolio to provide another eight hours of training at their community or at the new managers community. Both managers are provided with an Agenda ….” Read More
Form An Alliance at Brainstorming 2010: Reality Check!
It’s not your typical seminar, conference, or workshop. Unlike any other national Multifamily event, only Brainstorming connects you to the vast power of many individuals working together with one goal: to solve your toughest challenges! You’ll receive thousands of ideas worth millions to your company, communities, and career, guaranteed to repay your investment and more! Register for Brainstorming Now!
July Door Hanger Special
Stock up now! All our fabulous door hanger designs (except one – the Halloween design) are on special until July 31st! Buy any two packages at our regular low price of only $25 per pack of 100, and get a third pack absolutely FREE … that’s a whopping 33% discount, making NOW the best time of the year to buy and stock your shelves! Call 727-784-9469 with your order or Click Here to Find Out More!
Post It For Instant Lease Renewals
Jul 20th
Here’s a guaranteed way to get your residents to visit the office when you have trouble getting them to respond to your letters and calls at lease renewal time. Have you ever noticed that when the UPS person leaves a sticker on the resident’s door, they come running to the office? A post-it note from you will have the same effect. The message should read: “We have a package for you in the office.” Present the resident with a renewal gift upon arrival. My favorite gift is a mailbox filled with candy, and a note reading “Don’t change your address. Stay with us. Renew your lease today!” Order mailboxes through Oriental Trading. I love this one so much; I use it on the very first renewal contact!
Write and tell us your “Quick Tip” success story. If you have a clever and successful tip, we’d like to hear it. If we select your idea to use as a quick tip, we’ll print your idea online or in an upcoming Quick tips calendar or book Plus we will send you a special gift.
Social Media Success for Apartment Communities?
Jun 30th
I have a few thoughts to share on the topic of social media today, and I should tell you up front that I intend this post to provoke conversation, and I hope you’ll participate!
You all know how passionate I am about the need to begin using social media now, because I truly do believe that it will play a major role in not only our relationship/retention efforts, but also our marketing strategies. I also happen to believe that its value on both of those fronts is already beginning to take hold.
I don’t need to tell you that idea isn’t universally held. We’ve all seen our share of debate on the merits of social media right here online; and even among the detractors, there are varying degrees of buy-in… some will concede that while social media has a place in resident retention, it’s not a valuable or proven marketing tool; and if not now, *maybe* one day in the far-flung future. I disagree that it isn’t yet a viable as a marketing tool based on my own experience— I believe it’s possible for any business, apartment communities absolutely included in that count.
Success is, admittedly, still a very subjective term when it comes to new media. We’ve all experienced its benefits when it comes to connecting with others; and we know as marketers that connection breeds commitment—a key ingredient to the success of your brand. It stands to reason that anything that facilitates a better connection with your customers is going to benefit your relationship/retention efforts. But just as we’ve always had to work a little harder to gain a customer in the first place than we’ve had to work to keep one who’s already experienced the value of our product; it also stands to reason that marketing via social media is going to take more work than just being there. Now, don’t read me wrong here … I am absolutely not implying that anybody who isn’t seeing the sales benefits of social media just isn’t working hard enough. I am saying, however, that we’re all still learning the ropes; and perhaps if you’re not seeing the benefits yet, you just haven’t hit upon the right combination of tools or strategy for your brand. Social media isn’t, after all, any one thing. It’s a diverse and growing set of opportunities. Imagine trying to crack a safe when there are a few more numbers on the dial each time you turn it, and you’ll get a good idea of what it can be like. That’s just one reason why I’m so committed to educating our industry on what’s out there, what’s coming next, and the potential all those opportunities represent.
When I hear the arguments now that social media is important to keep an eye on, but isn’t yet a proven marketing tool and therefore not yet worth implementing or even getting educated on, I frequently laugh; and I’ve been asked more than once how I can be so amused at something I’m so passionate about. Mostly, I’m remembering when—way back in 1994—we started writing about how important it was for property management companies and apartment communities to have internet access, get to know the “lay of the land,” and begin to build an online presence; because if their customers weren’t on the internet yet, they soon would be. I can’t tell you how many times we heard “why should I do that when the internet isn’t even proven as a marketing tool?” Then we watched as the early-adopters began to reap the immediate benefits of great online positioning while other companies and apartment communities struggled to catch up—and heard time and time again that “it’s taking us more time, effort, and expense to adapt than it would have taken us to prepare.”
Yes, great marketing is a science. It’s important to carefully measure the hard reality of what you put into it against what you get out. But it’s also an art, requiring at least equal attention to softer ingredients that include creativity, intuition, the ability to spot a trend, and the occasional leap of faith … but I’m not going to ask you to set the science aside. So here’s what I want to know: is social media working for you as a marketing tool? Is it worth the time it takes? Are you getting rentals that you can track back to your social media efforts?
Let me know your thoughts.
Tami
Apartment Marketing & Management: Recap
Jun 25th
Reduce Vacancy Loss: Step Up Your Move-In Dates
“You have 24 Notice to vacates for the month ending. How do you rent the apartments quickly and get the new resident to move in as soon as possible? I was faced with this situation several years ago when I had just begun as the new Manager of a community and knew that something must be done to get occupancy back up to the level that the community had enjoyed in the past.” Read More
Keep It Real, Keep The Faith, Keep The Resident
“Ours is a business of cycles; and believe it or not, the time is going to come again to raise the rent. In case you’ve forgotten what that’s like, let me remind you that just like every great relationship, the one between you and your residents requires a carefully maintained balance of give and take. When they signed the lease…” Read More
Growing Tomatoes Increases Traffic
“Grow your own tomatoes! We used this as a tag line on all our ads, then showed prospects the two community gardens we had prepared for our residents to grow their own tomatoes. It was a big hit! People called to have a look at the community and several said: any landlord that would care enough to have a garden for their residents would care enough about me as a resident.” Read More
Going Mobile
“Let’s face it, the world runs on lattes and 5-hour energy these days. People constantly en route from one destination to another, and during these transits they are going … mobile. What once was a sedentary task, web browsing has evolved: users are accessing the internet via phones and mobile devices from the convenience of wherever they happen to be.” Read More
Green Is Lean
“Global warming, oil spills and other environment disasters seem to be on everyone’s mind. Business magazines write about “green” businesses. Movie stars drive hybrid cars to look “green”. But most companies overlook the single biggest opportunity they have to go green by simplifying, streamlining and optimizing their internal operations.” Read More
Go For The Dogs
“This simple idea becomes a habit when you have a pet friendly community. Take a small Ziploc bag full of treats in your pocket when you make community inspections. I keep a large container with dog biscuits in my office. I walk around the grounds and stop to visit with the residents and their dog(s) get a treat!” Read More
Six Truths About Marketing With Social Media
“Yeah, I know you’ve heard it all … that Social Media Marketing slices and dices, is the answer to world peace, and will make your teeth up to three shades whiter with only one use. But from the sea of hype that we’ve been sailing-filled with assertions about what social media is and isn’t and what it can and can’t do-are beginning to arise some proven truths.” Read More
Brainstorming Keynote: People Are the Killer App with Geno Church
Even with all the new focus on social media tools, many organizations struggle with how to incorporate these tactics into a results-driven strategy that truly connects a community of brand ambassadors. Don’t miss this dynamic storytelling session centered around the theme of stories as the ultimate connector between company and customer. Register for Brainstorming Now!
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