I often see posts on here regarding doing "out of the box" marketing....

I often see posts on here regarding doing "out of the box" marketing. There's nothing wrong with trying something new and different that's cost effective and just overall effective but I think that we sometimes go after the "new and shiny" before making sure that the basics are being done.
I've been in the industry for over 30 years; 10 onsite (activities/leasing space) and the remainder in marketing. Regardless of whether it was 20 years ago... Show more

Mary Gwyn, Rick Ellis, CPM and 5 others

Guest Insider Amen!

Guest Insider Great reflection, Karen. I can identify. I am writing a new program on how to ensure corporate culture aligns with what you expect your people to do and two of the three major insights come from brilliant but dead 20th century psychologists and professors!! Its the underpinnings, baby!

Guest Insider And most times you are pronounced dead before you are pronounced brilliant.

Guest Insider I love looking at conversion data to identify where in the pipeline we can target improvements and adjust or enhance our available tools.
Rarely is there a need for more leads. Often, it's about taking the extra time and adding attention to detail to properly leverage the leads you already have.

Guest Insider Spot on Karen!

Valerie Sargent So true!

Karen Kossow I've been watching a lease up I've been working on since last October not pay attention to anything that I've shared regarding the basics. They get TONS of initial leads (most of which have been sadly ignored). About 1/3 are probably qualified because it's an affordable community and the others think they can game the system, but with what we're getting that should be more than enough. I've repeatedly voiced my concerns and held back on doing things that I KNOW would help (ex. prospect e-blasts (focused, featured apartments, varying content each blast)- if we're not responding to them the first time...) and the person with operational oversight for the property (lots of affordable experience, no lease up experience) has ignored my concerns when voiced. This week the owners were told that "marketing" would come up with something splashy (again... not needed... great product, plenty of initial leads, very healthy advertising spend to get those leads and it's working) to get the rest of... Show more

I've been watching a lease up I've been working on since last October not pay attention to anything that I've shared regarding the basics. They get TONS of initial leads (most of which have been sadly ignored). About 1/3 are probably qualified because it's an affordable community and the others think they can game the system, but with what we're getting that should be more than enough. I've repeatedly voiced my concerns and held back on doing things that I KNOW would help (ex. prospect e-blasts (focused, featured apartments, varying content each blast)- if we're not responding to them the first time...) and the person with operational oversight for the property (lots of affordable experience, no lease up experience) has ignored my concerns when voiced. This week the owners were told that "marketing" would come up with something splashy (again... not needed... great product, plenty of initial leads, very healthy advertising spend to get those leads and it's working) to get the rest of the apartments leased.    
So.... "marketing" stopped asking about the fixes to the issues and just did what she knows is right (featured apartments e-blast, turned self-scheduling back on (I'd been forced to turn it off) etc.) and operations will have to fix what's broken to make it work. Throwing me under a bus is never a good idea (we sit in an open area so I hear most of said person's calls with the client and I've never heard that we're getting plenty of traffic said).

Guest Insider Absolutely!

Guest Insider I have found the need to be clear the root of the problem you are trying to solve and to ask “does this solve the true issue?”. Often we are busy putting action into place but doesn’t accomplish a long term solution.

Victoria Cowart So on point! Insert applause

Kristina Janis Yes ma'am!

Cynthiann King Right!

Guest Insider I could not agree more!

Jerry Norman Nailed it! I've been a Marketing Director in Property Management for 42 years, and "back to the basics" works every time! It may go out of practice, but it never goes out of style.

Eric Sharpe You must start with a solid foundation and customer experience.

I like to do a walkthrough of that experience in person. Act like I am renting a place and then make sure to catch any issues or "potholes" along the path. Sometimes you catch a link that doesn't work, and other times you find the wrong information being sent out.

The main thing is that tenants deserve a great experience from the time they send in a guest card to the time they pack their bags and move on to their next life stage.

Brian Maguire Its the part "They get TONS of initial leads (most of which have been sadly ignored)" that gets me. This has always been an issue in any sales organization and it's not unique to property management. This is where I would start and work outward from there. "Build it and they will come"...they came but they were ignored. Go back and get 'em.

Karen Kossow Brian Maguire it drives me absolutely crazy! And trust me.... my response when I was asked to "do something splashy" for said community my response was "how about we respond to the leads we're getting".

Can't comment or like? Make sure to log in or register for a free account!

Event starts in:

Latest Surveys

New Insiders