Your multifamily company's corporate side is a brand, too. Corporate branding, at its simplest, is creating and adhering to a visual and verbal brand identity for owners and operators, developers, and third-party management.

Do you want to:

• Make a name for yourself?
• Grow?
• Attract investors?

With solid corporate branding, all of that will be a lot easier. Your reputation can grow (positively), your consistency will create a basis of trust for investors, and your apartment communities may become a well-oiled leasing machine.

According to G2, consistent brand presentation across all platforms increases revenue by up to 10-20%. Capture that ROI with a rebrand that makes everything more streamlined for those inside your company—and those looking at it from the outside!

Branding starts with asking the right questions:

• Who is your primary target audience?
  • Investors?
  • Owners seeking third-party management?
  • Residents in your communities?
  • 
    

Your answer here determines your next branding steps; branding is built around who you're serving—and why you're the best one to serve them.

• What is your company's main goal?
  • Develop and manage communities until leased up and then sell?
  • Be resident-facing with a mini-ILS of your property portfolio?
  • Acquire properties and rehab them for long-term hold?
    
    

Your answer to this question will determine the tasks and steps you need to take to achieve your main goal.

• How Much Attention Do You Want or Need?
  • Are you more behind-the-scenes?
  • Do you want to be known and recognized?
    
    

Depending on how you want to appear or want to be known, you'll have to work on visibility and consistency more carefully if you'll be more "out-front". If you're behind-the-scenes, you can turn down the amount of collateral you need. Any branding can still help with consistent company culture—which will come through in any interaction.

Take each of those bits and outline your next steps—do you need a new logo? A brand voice? A visual identity? A new mission and vision? Every branding guideline you cement now will help you stay clear and consistent in everything you choose to do for your brand in the future. 

Now for the fun part: Getting everyone else on board. Grab your corporate branding "What, Why, and How" (see above!), and put it into a slide deck.

And THEN:

1. Gather Your Corporate Stakeholders

Everyone that's necessary should be in the room where it happens. If they have decision-making power or vetoing power or both—they should be included in the process. A quick checklist of the most-wanted VIPs that should be invited to participate in your corporate rebranding:

• Executives
• Owners
• Marketing Team (everyone!)
  
  

Executives have the ultimate power here. What they say goes. Of course, they've helped assemble the team, so they should be open to new ideas, especially when it's backed by logic and possible ROI. (Plus—a better brand attracts better talent. According to Firstpost, 75% of job applicants say they evaluate employer brand and reputation before applying.)

The Marketing Team is the brains behind this corporate rebrand (yep, we're heavy-handed with the flattery here). They see what's going on in and outside of the industry, and they're ready to make a move, but need a little more buy-in before they can sign the contract. They should be the main points of contact with any agency helping with the rebrand, too.

2. Showcase The Competition

Next, find a competitor that has executed a successful rebrand—one that you like. Definitely choose one example inside the multifamily industry so it feels like you're comparing apples to apples, and not something far beyond the achievable—and then choose one in an adjacent industry, like commercial real estate or hospitality to show some fresh ideas.

When you showcase these branding strategies, highlight specific aspects and the reason behind its success. Then connect it with your corporate goals.

Employing visuals and case studies will also help bring home the point: If you were to rebrand your corporate side, you may be able to achieve the goals (higher retention) you've set out to accomplish. If nothing else, you've at least broached the topic, and this will set you up for further discussions around branding.

3. Prep For Next Steps

You've gathered the crew and you've shown off what thoughtful branding has done for the competition. When your stakeholders ask, "What now?" it's your chance to jump into action.

Bring the proposals you've gathered from agencies you admire. Talk about their history, experience, and what they've said they can do for you—and at what cost. Outline how the investment in this now will help you reap dividends later.

Next, refer to relevant articles about rebranding. Send out links to webinars that outline the purpose, goals, and success from companies who have rebranded. with the what, how, and why of corporate branding.

A corporate rebrand is an all-hands-on-deck situation—we're happy to help bring you to the discussion and decision zone with your stakeholders, and walk you through what a rebrand could look like (and do) for your corporate side.