Apartment Blogs

Yo, check it dog, what's happenin'.  So, here's the deal.  Execs & Regionals, we are the judges.  Managers & Leasing Peeps, you are the artists.  Start watching American Idol and look at it from this perspective.  You're going to find that as artists you have an opportunity to maximize your talent (and you have the talent).  When you get this far in the competition it's not that you don't have the talent, it's that you have a choice.  A choice to bring the "Wow factor" or to just sing within yourself.  It's a choice, and as execs/regionals (judges) we have the choice to encourage bringing the "Wow factor" or to just push for the status quo.  The rules and guidelines and scripts that your management company provides just allow us to be average and sing within ourselves.  It's about going beyond, making it your own, finding out what kind of artist you are to make it work, stand out, and bring the "Wow factor".

As seen @ Tidbits from The Apartment Nerd

 For most metros across the U.S., today's dismal apartment market performances look like bumps along a road that will lead to stronger fundamentals over the coming few years. Throughout Texas, for instance, it's hard to envision a scenario where job production doesn't crank up again during the next economic cycle, attracting additional households that will absorb the glut of apartments seen now. Diverse markets like the Bay Area, Denver and Boston, too, are examples of spots where debate about the outlook mainly just centers on the likely timing of the comeback.

Even some of the nation's apartment markets that rank among the worst performers at present simply are coping with punctured bubbles that don't seem to have permanently derailed them from long-term trends. For all its current troubles, Phoenix very well could add more jobs than any other metro across the nation during the next decade, and the resulting additional residents eventually will fill up the metro's vast excess housing inventory. In the Inland Empire, as well, the economic and demographic trends still point to a favorable future performance.

But there are other locations where it's appropriate to wonder whether long-term history actually tells us much of anything about the future. Maybe recent difficulties mark a tipping point setting the metro on its way to a role in the overall U.S. picture that's quite different from the position seen in the past.

Ever since I started in the apartment industry, one thing has bothered me:  Problems with occupancy, specifically for well-run communities.  Although supply and demand should level out across a large enough market, when you are talking about an individual community, I couldn't seem to get my arms around why a well-run community should have any problems whatsoever.  There are so many poorly run apartment communities in existence that it seemed odd that any well-run community couldn't have enough supply of prospects to fill up possibly twice the number of apartments that they had. 

But that ultimately was the problem.  No matter how amazing the community, they had a finite supply, which means that they physically couldn't lease double the amount of apartments.  Instead, they were capped at the number of units they had, and using normal courses of business, they couldn't progress beyond that point.  So because they had a finite amount of product, they couldn't pull ahead in any way, which also meant that any hiccup could quickly bring them back to the masses.  In fact, it doesn't even take a "hiccup", as on average 20% of residents are un-savable, meaning they are going to move regardless of your service.  This means that the great community is going to be only 80% occupied at the very best, without an influx of new residents. 

Now I know what some of you are thinking:  Every business has to replace lost customers to some extent.  This is true, but the problem is often in the timing of the sale.  Since there is a finite amount of product AND the customer often has a small window in which to lease at the community, this creates problems with matching new residents with lost residents.  For example, let's say that you lose 15 residents in February and have 20 qualified new move-ins.  But since you can't oversell and place all 20 prospects, you lose 5 potential customers.  Then in April, the reverse could be true, with only 15 qualified prospects to 20 move-outs.  Taking the average for the two months would show business harmony between move-ins and move-outs, but in reality, you are down five residents. 

Fire or Homeowners Claims:
1. If there is damage to the building, make any necessary temporary repairs to the building to protect the property from further damage. Save ALL bills as they are a property part of the loss.
2.If there is damage to personal property, list all items that are damaged and, if possible, obtain an estimate for repairs.
3. If a theft occurs, call your local law enforcement agency immediately.
4. Do not sign ANY paper or statements unless requested to do so by a representative of your insurance company.
5. If anyone is injured, do not admit liability or fault. Discuss the accident only with a known representative of your insurance company.
6. Promptly notify your insurance agent.

Regardless of the type of policy tenants/owners/assocations have, call your insurance agent after a loss. Your agent will help you make appropriate decisions and can direct you to reputable remediation experts.

Between floor mats, sticky gas pedals, and some questionable braking systems, Toyota has not exactly had the best first quarter ever.  Working in an industry where I hear people complain about the online ratings being brutal, I'm sure that those of you who've felt the sting of Apartment Ratings can sympathize, at least on some level.  Cars, apartments, Walmart - Bad PR is always the same. (Except for Walmart... they deserve to wiggle on the hook a bit.)  Turning around a problem is all about how you react to it.

  Did Toyota drop the ball on this one?  Okay, yeah they did.  Run away gas pedal = uber scary and media hype-ability. 

It WAS bad.

But they fessed up. 

See, this is the part where you get to start turning the bad stuff around.  Denial is easy, but not productive and not helpful to your reputation.  A real step 1 is ALWAYS the same: Fess Up.  Toyota had to recall over 400,000 Prius Hybrids and the total vehicle recalls tallied around 8.5 million.  Expensive, but to save their brand, it was necessary.  They might have acted a bit slow for the needs of the immediate gratification American society, 55% of whom, according to a recent Gallup poll, aren't happy with the response time.

Step 2: Resist the urge to tell people how they're totally blowing this out of proportion.  Look, I ran the numbers here.  We are talking about 19 unarguably tragic deaths in a span of 10 years, counted across 20 MILLION cars. That puts your actual odds of being killed by this defect at infinitesimal when compared to going down in a plane crash - 1 in 6,137 flights a year - being hit by lightning - 1 in 56,439 a year - or dying in an earthquake - 1 in 120,161.  But did they throw that out there?  Nope.

Instead, they moved to step 3: Focus on what we CAN do and the good we have done.  Granted, their ads aren't talking about the types of cars right now, gas mileage, etc., but what they are focused on is rebuilding consumer confidence.  They're talking about safety.  Sure, that's usually Volvo's shtick, but hey, it works.  At least they realize that the fundamental TRUST is what they have to rebuild.  People might forget over time, but trust takes effort to heal.  And it's working.  According to that same Gallup poll, 60% of Americans think it's safe to be in a Toyota.  53% of Americans who don't own a Toyota think they are safe, and among owners, that figure rises to 80%.

Are these steps going to sweep everything under the rug and make it go away? Certainly not, but they are going to go a long way in restoring and retaining customer relationships.  There's not a step that Toyota made that we in the apartment industry cannot also take in responding to criticism.  Take a moment to ponder this before you access that manager account on Apartment Ratings.  You might just change your response.

You read it right -GOOD Customer Service is DEAD. Where is the LOVE?

(Video: Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love?)

This weekend, I volunteered to be the high school Lacrosse team parent representative for their coupon card fundraiser. It’s a good deal really - $20 and you get a whole lot of “buy one get one” free dinners and golfing opportunities. I figured, with my sales expertise, we would at least sell our quota. What I didn’t count on was a little girl in pink pigtails named Lexie.

Due to a scheduling oversight, we were double booked for front-of-store space with none other than the Girls Scouts. It was their last weekend for cookie sales and they were out in full force. Five little girls, all uniformed and ponytailed up, ribbons matching their outfits, ready to do their part or earn their badge or whatever their motivation was. They were supposed to stay across the entrance from us, and their parents did. But the little girls...

Sales were brisk at first. (I believe the Girl Scouts were still setting up at this point). Members of the Lacrosse team would politely ask exiting shoppers to support the team and purchase a coupon card. People would wander up, they would talk a little bit, I would offer a testimonial about the card’s usefulness and that it would pay for itself, and 70% of the time the deal would be closed. Then we were hit with the giant cannonball and before we could recoup, Lexie and her team had taken over.

Two little girls carrying posters, one that said, “Help the Children”, and the other, “Last Weekend this Year”, planted themselves in the middle of the store exit and started yelling, “Help the children!” and “Last chance to get your Girl Scout cookies!” at the top of their lungs. Only it was even worse than that. Not only were they adorable looking, Lexie, their ringleader, had the most irresistible lisp, so it sounded more like this - “Help the childwen! Last chance to get your Girl Scout cookies foweverrrrrrrr”. Lexie got in front of every single person that walked out that door and with her cute smile, would say, “Would you like to buy some Giwl Scout cookies?” People veered left toward the table in droves, leaving my teenagers in the dust. Her accomplice had very large brown eyes, and when people would ask, “Are you selling lots of cookies, girls?”, she would shake her head, look distressed, and say, “Well, we’re not selling very many...” and off to the table their carts would turn. Near the end of her shift, Lexie incorporated a sense of urgency into her pitch. “5 mow minutes to get your Girl Scout cookies this yeawwww”. One of the boys muttered under his breath, “liars”. I thought, “5 more minutes and Lexie goes away. She most definitely has a promising future in sales.”

Then came the second assault. The second shift didn’t have Lexie, but they obviously had a parent with a marketing mind. They picked the two most adorable, and planted them in the middle of the exit with a tray of free samples. “Free cookies!”, they yelled in their sweet little girl voices. You don’t even have to guess what happened. My boys were suffering the agony of defeat.

What’s a savvy marketing mom to do when faced with such odds?

I quickly reviewed my 4 P’s - people, product, price, promotion.
People - Gangly teenagers, that tend to avoid eye contact, and would rather be sleeping in than standing at the grocery store were no match for adorable and innocent little girls in pigtails and pink bows willing to talk to anyone, and spend an hour shouting a consistent message over and over. On this front, they had us, hands down. Plus, they had Lexie.

Product - Immediate and tasty gratification with an outstanding brand reputation and awareness factor versus a piece of cardboard that may or may not benefit the buyer - whether or not is up to them. They had us here, as well.

Price - $3.50 versus $20. Since we were essentially a point of purchase display, point goes to the Girl Scouts.

Promotion - We had a sign, (that the boys made, so you can imagine its marketing impact), and the boys wore their team attire. They had banners, (that one of the mothers obviously created), free samples, a sense of urgency message, and uniforms & accessories designed to maximize “little girl appeal”. A total and complete annihilation of the Lacrosse team. “Little girl appeal” trumps teenage boys every time. My son even admitted they had gotten to him earlier in the week - he couldn’t say no and bought 2 boxes.

I had to admit, it was a complete and total defeat. We simply could not compete for the same customer. But where to find a different customer? We tried approaching people as they walked in before the girls could get to them, but that didn’t work real well. And then it hit me. Every one of those Girl Scouts had a parent there. And every one of those parents was witnessing the slaughter. The next time one of the mothers wandered by, I stopped her, complimented her on her daughter, and asked if she had seen the coupon card. Next thing I know, I had sold the card. I instructed one of the boys to visit the Girl Scout table, buy a box of cookies and then ask if they would like to buy a coupon card. Guess who came back with a few sales? I told the next guy in line for my shift to hit up the next group of Girl Scout parents. We didn’t need to sell volumes, we just needed to hit the right target.

When your competition is walloping you hands down, (and let’s face it, sometimes this does happen), stop competing for the same audience and find a different one. Look around you - who is the competition not serving? It is my bet that Girl Scout parents have no desire to eat even one more Girl Scout cookie this year, and that they are really ready to be done standing in front of grocery stores hawking cookies. It’s time they went out for dinner, and I have a fabulous card that offers 2 for 1’s at some really nice restaurants...

Lori Snider is an accomplished speaker, marketing consultant and sales expert serving the multifamily industry.  Her blog, www.rentplicity.com offers commentary on sales, marketing and retention for the multifamily industry.  You can also find her at www.lorisnider.com.    

I've been sharing an analogy with some friends comparing social media to football.  You really could compare business or marketing in general to football, but you can just think about that however you want.  Anyway, check out this week's post and let me know your thoughts.  Is anyone writing your playbook, or are you just going out for a pass?

 

As seen @ Tidbits from The Apartment Nerd