It’s not as archaic as the dial-up modem, but viewing marketers as those who design flyers and assemble balloon bouquets is a thing of the past. Previously regarded as nothing more than a cost center, multifamily marketing teams are morphing into more strategic roles.

The evolution of technology is largely responsible for this shift, as marketing teams are now expected to drive enough leads to match – or exceed – the budget-growth goals set by operations teams.

As new marketers join multifamily, they’ll need to bring with them a diverse set of technical skills not previously seen in the industry.

An understanding of lead-to-revenue management: A hot lead can be something of an ambiguous concept in multifamily, which has a longer lead-to-conversion timeline than most consumer products and services. Not all renters who are considering your community are ready to lease immediately. Even those who have submitted a notice to vacate their current apartment require nurturing and, in some case, saintly patience.

But continuing to effectively market to these individuals – while striking the balance of not over-pursuing – can lead to a profound difference. For instance, a prospect might be locked in a lease at another community but will consider yours when their lease ends in three months. Those who understand lead management will be much more successful driving lead-to-lease conversion among these renters, as well as increasing their funnel velocity. Modern marketers know that the funnel isn’t a straight shot from the top to the bottom, so continuing to nurture leads at every step of the sales cycle is critical.

Familiarity with multi-touch attribution solutions: Attributing a lease to a single source is no longer an effective means of measuring marketing impact. In the past, apartment operators often credited a conversion to either the prospect’s first or last touch point, which left out a large part of the renter journey. Today, prospects are leveraging a multitude of resources online before they ever become a known lead. The ability to assign weighted credit to each touch point throughout the lead-to-lease cycle is vital and can lead to smarter marketing investments. Thus, marketers who have implemented multi-touch attribution technology will add significant value to their organizations.

Leading the revenue conversation: Marketers still have to convince operations teams that they should be viewed as a strategic partner. The best way to do this is by leading the revenue conversation, not reacting to it. Modern multifamily marketers must understand not only marketing but also the entire renter lifecycle and how the business can more effectively align with it. Viewing their impact on customers in a more holistic way will empower them to build revenue accelerating processes and leverage technology to optimize those processes. This changes their role in the organization, positioning them as critical contributors.  

The marketing evolution is underway, and those that build a modern marketing organization quickly will benefit from a competitive advantage.

For more information on this topic, check out the Improving Marketing Investment through Attribution panel at this year’s NAA conference.