The woes of winter and slower traffic will soon be a distant memory.  Are you ready for the sudden switch to spring and a groundswell of traffic?  If not, these 10 tips on this Spring Marketing Checklist will help you get in shape for leasing season!

• Time for a fresh face!  Schedule new photos!  Right about the time the grounds contractor is taking the pansies out they look their very best!  That’s about the same time that the skies are crystal blue, the summer haze has not set in, and leaves on trees are multiple shades of green, rather than dark summer shades.  Schedule new photos with all your vendors at that time, or if it’s in the budget, get professional photos made.  Switch out photos in all your ads and internet listings.  
• Paint your office!  Consider new flooring also!  Often your Carpet Vendor Partner will install carpet at a discount in your office if you have done significant business with that vendor the previous year.  Sometimes the painter will too.  If not, do it anyway!
• Freshen up signage.  Clean off any mildew and cobwebs that have settled in over the winter.  If it’s a painted sign, repaint it in fresh colors.  One Maintenance Supervisor replaced rotting wood posts and repainted all the property signs in brighter colors, saving the property over $1,000 in budgeted sign replacement dollars!
• Print new guest cards in a spring color.  Prior to printing, ask your staff if new sources should be added or other changes made.
• Review ALL your ILSes, website, google, yelp, etc.  Take a fresh look at each and change wording, bullet points, photos.  Make sure the critical information is accurate and clear.  
• Change office hours in all ads!  Most communities change their hours when the time changes, so be sure your ads, collateral and signage reflect it!
• Shop your staff!  Reward what they’re doing well and encourage improvement where needed.  
• Set some leasing and marketing team goals.  Believe it or not, leasing team close ratios typically decline during the peak leasing season!  Their time per client and per phone call decreases too!  Since traffic typically picks up and there are so many more leads, leasing pros are busier and unconsciously they may not spend as much time per client.  So keep them sharp and set team goals for excellence!
• Brush up on some “old” skills! Dust off the leasing training handbook and have a different team member share a training tip each week at staff meetings so the old tried and true techniques
• Change up something!  Add a new flower pot to the entrance, with ivy cascading down the sides, or add window boxes to the office windows. Replace a dingy doormat. Light the trees in front of your office with colorful up-lighting. Update banners and flags.  Do something different!  Is your web address on your signs? Add it.  Brainstorm a creative new banner with your leasing team that DOESN’T offer a special or say “now leasing.”  Send a new spring message, like “Stop and Smell the Roses in Your New Home” or “Get Some Fresh Air at ___ Apartment Homes” or “Spring is Lovelier at ___ Apartment Homes.”  Or tell your unique story, such as “Biggest 2 BR in Town!” or “Rated #1 in Customer Service” or “Our Residents Live Longer – Discover Our Fabulous Fitness Center & See Why!”  

Are you ready to swing into spring?  It’s time to shed those winter blues in the spring so your community will be in shape all summer long!