Apartment Blogs

So far, it is easy to say that the AIM Conference is a huge success.  The presentations have been great and I think there are some great things to take away - sometimes too much for those who are just getting their feet wet!  Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to invite anybody who is here to feel free to come say hello!  I love meeting fellow Insiders out in the "real world", so don't be shy!

Over the last 15 years I've tried a variety of different creative writing formats.  I've done poetry, short stories, blogging, and I've even got an unfinished novel or three laying around in my studio downstairs.  One of my biggest passions as a writing platform, though, was playwriting.  I was convinced that it was my life long niche when I was in my later years of college, and while I was very good at dialogue writing and the incorporation of the theatrical element, there's just not a lot of career opportunities in playwriting, so it remains something that I can do in my fabled "spare time."

When I was playwriting, I would buy books on the subject to try to learn more.  One of the books that I bought was bright pink and called "Playwriting!" and the thing that I remember about this book was the section that talked about making a writer's credo.  This was to be a list that at the top of it said the words "I BELIEVE" and then listed truths about life that the writer had come to understand.  It was/is a valuable tool for me as a writer, and I have also expanded it in to my property management world.  I'd like to share with you some of my Property Management Credo.

I BELIEVE:

• That property management has a place for EVERYONE, and that every person has an important skill set that they bring to an on site team
• That we are forced through these painful professional growth experiences for a reason.  Sometimes it's because we need to learn to deal with something so we know what to do the next time it happens, sometimes it's to show ourselves that we are stronger than we think, and sometimes it's so we can learn to trust a leader/mentor
• That when you hire someone, you do it because you see something in them that makes them special to you.  We don't throw a dart to make a hiring decision.  When you're angry with a person on your team, try to remember why you hired them, what you saw in them to begin with.
• That saying "No" as a manager sucks because people don't understand the flat no.  If you're going to say no, say no with a reason.  Good leaders let their teams buy in to their lines of thought.
• That the "economy" isn't a great excuse for low occupancy.  It might be a catalyst, but your team buying in to the excuse is why the numbers aren't rebounding.
• That if you don't laugh working in this industry then you will cry 
• That hard times are when you see your rockstars shine.  Make sure you let them shine right now, because when it comes back to the day-to-day living part, they don't glimmer nearly as much.  People are usually either GREAT in a crisis, or GREAT with the mundane styles of day to day life.  If you find one who can sit on the middle ground here, let me know, and you should probably promote them.
• That social media is an awesome tool for improving the industry.
• That social media is an awesome tool for destroying the industry.
• That if you believe in your core that something will work, and you give it your all, commit to it and it still fails, then you are a better leader coming out at the end of it.
• That you'd better respect your maintenance guys because they put their hands in places you wouldn't want to.
• That if you make it a habit to not take your lunch each day, you will suffer incredible burnout within a few months.  Leave the office, go take a walk, take your lunch.  It's important.
• That if someone is standing outside your office at 8:55 AM you should open the doors and let them in.  is that 5 minutes REALLY going to make that big of a difference by 4PM that day?
• That as a regional manager, you should treat your porters the same way you treat your managers.  You should try to forget titles and hierarchies when your visiting your teams and just stand back to watch how they function. 
• That titles are an easy way to avoid accountability, and that truth always trumps title.
• That there is good in every person, and when you work with people's homes, you have a higher chance of seeing that good.  After all, Home is where the Heart is.

So those are just a few kernels of my Property Management Credo. What do you think?  Are they basic truths for the universe, or are they just the truths for MY universe?   At your next staff meeting, consider sitting down with your employees and working on a credo of your own.  I know a lot of companies have them, but what about one just for your team, for your property?  It provides a sense of buy in, team building and binding, and it places lights along the path that you all want to travel.

I'd be interested to hear what your teams come up with for credos, or maybe even what your personal credos are.  Please email me at hblume@csi4job.com with your credos and I'll do a post devoted to them in mid summer!

How many of you apartment managers, apartment personnel, investors, contractors are going to the Denver Apartment Association Trade Show at the Merchandise Mart on May 20, 2009?

 Not many? A Few? None?

With today's economy, it's more important than ever to get the best value for your money? Am I right?

You should see the tweets regarding the AIM (Apartment Internet Marketing) Conference! (For those of you not yet on Twitter, well, all I can tell you is this is the next wave you should be riding).  While hundreds of brilliant minds are focusing on internet marketing strategies and trends, here I am thinking about internal marketing and the role the internet plays.

We can't ignore the presence of technology in our world and in our communities.  How we shop, communicate, pay our bills, complete school homework, and even how we work is changing dramatically. In fact, when residents were surveyed regarding their preferred hours of access to the leasing office, nearly 15% of residents said they wanted 24/7 accessibility!

A funny thing happens when we get scared. We stop being funny.

Take a look at your last ad campaign. Was it light-hearted or dead-pan serious? When we take the funny out of the equation, it becomes heavy, dire and  we send signals of fear to the competition and to our target market.

Lighten up. It'll make the ads more interesting and much more memorable. It may even motivate people to remember your product and possibly, convert them to becoming residents.

What happens when the budgets get thin?  Like a boat caught in a storm, we start throwing everything overboard. Ok, not everything. We start bailing water with our hands. Then a cup. Pretty soon a bucket and then our most prized possessions get thrown overboard. 

Your brand IS your most prized possession. Like the boat, you have worked hard to build it. To make it float and sail through the waters. So why, when times get scary do some throw everything overboard?

The most productive choice  is to stay the course and keep your brand in tact. This simple act keeps the boat floating and on course to your destination.

In my consulting practice, the economic crisis of 2009 has brought about the need to change, retool and reinvent everything we do in the leasing and marketing of multifamily rental assets. What worked as little as two years ago will simply not cut the mustard today. In fact, it won't even be close to the results those efforts created 24 months ago. My experience has taught me that this is the time to be at the top of my game so that I can rise to this challenge.

Like everyone else, I need someone I can learn from. This is why I have chosen Madonna as my marketing mentor. For me, Madonna came on to the music scene while I was in my first few years of high school. Even though we wore uniforms, we would try to put a lace band in our hair that would match our lace socks. Every girl running around Fisher Catholic High School wore not less than 6 - 10 black rubber bracelets on her arm and risk detention for a uniform violation infraction. I have to admit, I was influenced by Madonna.

As the years rolled on, Madonna sprinted into a provocative direction and defined herself with her extremely open sexuality. She stared in her movie called "Truth or Dare." She shifted that X rated image and was nominated for her performance in musical movie Evita. Then in yet another grand process to change her ever evolving image, today, she is writing children's books. Do you remember the last book she wrote prior to her children's books? It was sold with a paper cover at the bookstore because of its cover! How does a woman go from pop artist to sexual icon to movie star to author of children's books? She does it by constantly reinventing herself. She can retool her image to fit her business needs. This is a person who is a marketing genius. She has a unique ability to change her image and position in the spotlight year after year.

If we take a lesson from the marketing manual lived by Madonna. Any apartment community, no matter when it was built, can survived and thrive as Madonna has. I am excited to be working on some projects which are being rehabbed. The "before and after" photos of the apartments are astonishing. To follow suit the marketing needs to be rejuvenated often with a new name, logo and market position. However, you don't have to redevelop your buildings to conduct a marketing rehab. And, there is no better time than now to reintroduce your apartment community to the market with a fresh look. This is what it takes to get the attention of today's consumer.

I think Denny's should receive an award for their effort to get America back to their dining rooms. The Tuesday following Superbowl Sunday, Denny's offered a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone who visited. Including the Superbowl ad to launch the campaign, Denny's spent six million dollars on ads, food and staffing. 200,000 American's waited in line for up to two hours for a free breakfast valued at $5.99. Not only did Denny's receive over 100 million dollars in free advertising due to the fact that every media outlet covered the event, they also got old customers and future customers acquainted with the value they offer on a plate.

I drive past apartment communities in every city I visit and many have invested in a rejuvenation effort in years. Their signs have not changed, the landscaping is overgrown, and their exterior colors are out of date. When I open the apartment rental magazines I still see ads with the same old photos and tired words that have not been freshened since the 90's. If Madonna was your marketing director, she would jump on this need to refresh, renew and reposition. The styles we use for new logo's has changed. For just $180, the online designers at www.CrowdSpring.com will send you a minimum of 25 entries for new logo options. This small investment is a great start to kicking your image into the current day.

This is the first of what I hope will be many blog postings on the topic of how to be an effective multi-family trustee, but first a little about me.

 My first encounter with apartments was when I was ten years old. My parents owned several properties and I was tasked with cleaning and painting the apartments when tenants moved out. I later learned to manage the properties and invested in residential rentals myself. Over time I came to learn that no one in traditional financial planning, the banks or brokerage houses understood apartments/real estate  from the owner and manager's perspective and even fewer understood them from a trustee's responsibility. When I bought Atherton Trust Co., a small family office provider, I reshaped it into the industry leader in providing trustee services to people who's assets are primarily in real estate. We were chosen as one of six industry leaders by MFE Magazine in 2007 and I have provided expert commentary to the Wall Street Journal, Inc. and dozens other publications around the world.

Lets make this a very informative blog. I would like you to send me your questions about being a trustee or discuss the issues you have had with trustees with me and the other readers of this blog.

I bounced around all sorts of ideas for the first post at www.theapartmentnerd.com, but really just couldn't comfortable with some gimmicky plan.  So here it is, down and dirty, casual in the car just telling you what this blog is all about.  I look forward to sharing some ideas.

Thanks.

Mj

Apparently our country is in, what experts call, "a recession." "Times are tough out there," is the message I continue to hear over and over. Whether it's a $5 footlong, a coupon frenzy, a "sale," or, God forbid, a going out a business closeout, we're constantly reminded, as consumers, that people are hurting. The conversation seems very price heavy out there. My question is, is that the message companies should be communicating?

I recently had a conversation with an associate I work with about our prices. This person brought up the recession, people losing jobs, the competition offering discounts, etc., etc. as reasons we were unable to achieve more sales. As I reflected on the comments, I admitted that our product needed to have a "competitive" price. That was the only thing I conceded when it came to discussing price. However, what does competitive really mean anyway? Is the price of a Toyota Camry competitive to a Ford Taurus? Is the price of an Apple iPod competitive to a Sansa? I believe we could make an argument that the prices are relatively competitive. Many understand why a premium is associated with Toyota or Apple, but they still may compare their products to other brands. When I was in the car business people would compare all sorts of brands to Lexus. One time a guy compared a Hyundai Santa Fe to a Lexus RX 300. Seriously.

My point is, your price is competitive or relevant to the individual customer. They will buy at a price they can justify a value for. If your product or service is not achieving the price you or your sales team believes it should, then is it a price issue or a product and experience value issue in the customer's eyes? That's where I'm going with this. I don't see Apple reducing the prices of iPods, and I still see Toyota getting a premium over Ford. Why is this, and why don't more businesses choose to differentiate themselves enough from their competition to achieve this? Even small businesses like dry cleaners and restaurants have opportunities to differentiate and really stand out from their competition. And having a better coupon or price is rarely that differentiator.

The next time your marketing team sits down to discuss the next big coupon or discount program, I encourage you to ask yourself why. Why must you feel compelled to offer a coupon or discount? Are you selling iPods or MP3 Players? Are you just a box with a price, or do you offer something more? Coupons and discounts are knee jerk reactions in an attempt to increase sales, do it enough and those knees might just give out.

Just another one of my opinion rants. Enjoy your day.