Marketing HELP!!

I have taken on a 680 unit property that is only 60% occupied as the Leasing/ Marketing Director. I need help with new Ideas!! Ideas for advertising and open house would be great!!

Allison - give me the property name/website... any info would be great and let me see what i can offer...

Here are a few ideas I've found work for me:

Craigslist, make sure you are consistent use postlets.com or vflyers.com - always include pictures

Make sure your website is updated at all times along with any other sources you are on

Open House: Get local retailers and businesses to work with you as sponsors, get entertainment such as a DJ, Local Band, Bouncy Castles for the kids etc. Themes are always the most fun to work with

Preferred Employer Program: I offer 10% off my current special price and I can guarantee nobody else is offering the same as I am. Market to them every week like crazy and the word will spread!

Resident retention: Make it worth their while to refer residents to your community, I offer $500 to mine and it works great

Keep a solid relationship with your locator's, they are by far your best source of traffic

Use your residents, if you have a resident who is offering something special, allow them to use your clubhouse (if you have one) or incorporate them into your open house

Good Luck! It is so hard to get the occupancy up these days, I am struggling bad myself right now. Getting the leases is not the problem, keeping people from being evicted or skip is the problem, I loose between 2-4% each month, one month I dropped 8%!! (I have almost 500 units)

Let us also know what you have to work with, do you have a budget, what amenities, location etc

Again Good Luck

What are the stats on the 60% of residents that still live there? Is the intent to reinvent the property or continue to target a similar demographic?

I have a good size marketing budget for this community.

I have already started planning an open house and I am having to jump start relationships with locators again.I also post on craigslist and am trying to get a prefered employer list going.I do not think we have a website that is fuctioning right now?! The property was built in 1983 and I am finding out that most of the residents have lived here from close to the begining. We are really trying to reinvent the property. It use to be an equity property and most people that I have worked with either started at this property or had their first management experience here, so I know what this property can be!! We are revamping everything. Starting to update apartments as we go, landscaping, new staff, taking care of pools and remodeling the models and Resident club house. I have come up with a theme for or "construction" and am having professional flyers made for direct mailing and marketing. I just feel like I am at a creative Block!!

another place to find a beginning ground would be to canvas your area to discern the reputation and perceived belief about your property. what do your local businesses know or think they know about your property? move from there and specifically hit those hot topics. had a property who struggled with a specific reputation for a while until the manager really attacked (positively and proactively) those beliefs to turn it around. they put their entire team behind it in aspects of banners, outreach, business relationships and most of all resident retention/referrals. within 6 months, their occupancy was vastly improved and the upkeep was minimal.

Check out Lisa Trosien's Blog and back posts, AND back copies of articles from Units Magazine (all available on line). I keep her stuff printed out in a binder. It's my LT bible for when I run in to big problems

You can also check out Toni Blake's site and articles at www.totallytoni.com , check out Mindy William's great mag Rent and Retain! at www.rentandretain.com . I also have some good traffic generators on my blog at www.behindtheleasingdesk.com


Lisa, Toni and Mindy are really awesome guides on this, so print their stuff out and make it some bedtime reading

If I can be of any help, please don't hesitate to let me know, and GOOD LUCK! Alliance always does a great job and I'm sure you'll do just fine!

A few energetic and professional Human Directionals can do the trick....

This is a very easy, quick-fix to traffic problems!

Got to go with Mark. What is the reason for 60% occ, poor Mgmt?, increased comp, new prop.

we are spaeking of doing a modified Chrysler type "Warrenty". Give someone a month or two free for lossing their job due to recession not to job preformance. Don't give it to them sell the warrenty to them at $25/ month. you have exposure to this being used, depends on what city and local industry health. Now you are hitting the revenue two folds, one on the extra income or 25/ month and then on the occupancy. I would be leverging the fear in the local and national economy, to show that we have a solution to a potential problem in the future.

Good Luck

Hi Allison,

I did a quick check, and if I am correct you are in TX. Check out a great program called CARES by Apartment Life.

www.apartmentlife.org/

They are fantastic, and can help you recreate that positive vibe and attract the clientele that you want.

They will help do all of your resident events, personally welcome everyone that moves in, do resident appreciation, and everything in between.

It sounds like you have your hands full, and these kinds of positive touches done by amazing people can be the icing on the cake to all of the positive changes you are working so hard to create.

The best thing is that they specialize in this stuff, so you know it will be done well. My husband and I used to work for them, and were impressed from day 1 on their integrity and care for their clients and their clients' residents.


That's my suggestion. Hope it helps.

Kim in Seattle

All are great ideas just got back from seeing Tami Siewruk and Kate Good they are both full of new and exciting trends to generate traffic and produce leases. If you can go see them it is worth your time.

Kimberly Lee wrote:

Hi Allison,

I did a quick check, and if I am correct you are in TX. Check out a great program called CARES by Apartment Life.

www.apartmentlife.org/

They are fantastic, and can help you recreate that positive vibe and attract the clientele that you want.

They will help do all of your resident events, personally welcome everyone that moves in, do resident appreciation, and everything in between.

It sounds like you have your hands full, and these kinds of positive touches done by amazing people can be the icing on the cake to all of the positive changes you are working so hard to create.

The best thing is that they specialize in this stuff, so you know it will be done well. My husband and I used to work for them, and were impressed from day 1 on their integrity and care for their clients and their clients' residents.


That's my suggestion. Hope it helps.

Kim in Seattle

I've used Apartment Life at several properties in Atlanta and they are extremely helpful in promoting resident activities. Honestly, it's pretty affordable too. You pay a small fee, sponsor the events, and provide housing for the people (usually a couple) they provide to work on your property (the rates may vary, so please contact them for exact information).

I think we can all agree that one of the most important things to your residents is making your apartment complex into an apartment community. If that is your goal Apartment Life can help.

Happy leasing!
David

Hello, how about a Tapas theme for your open house? Have different Tapas in each vacant or model you will be showing. Have you considered inviting the prospects on your ALS dashboards? Give them a reason to attend and lease at this event. Get your residents involved by raising the referral fee for that event only. Corporate Housing certainly generate income while you build your occupancy.

Sounds fun! Good Luck to you!