Apartment Blogs

Ever stand at the conclusion of the problem, finally at an acceptable and amicable solution, long after rummaging around, seeking out and uncovering the all the facts, and wonder how did we ever get this afar the mark? What system broke down or do we need, and what check and balance failed us or do we need to implement? How could each of the various levels of people passed over this without questioning, how could the Maintenance Supervisor walked past this day in and day out and not keyed in on the issue, and how could the Property Manager actually approved the invoices and paid for the work. All relative questions, yet when interrogated for answers, each surviving party, assuming there are survivors of the aftermath, have a pat answer that fits “Their Perception".

We are happy to announce that you can now easily add video to your blog post!  Here's how:

1. On the right of the blog-writing tool, you will see "Embed Videos".
2.  That will allow you to enter the URL of the video to be added.  We have only officially tested it with YouTube, so to be safe, use that system.  I have listed other websites that the tool should work with below.
3. Enter the Width and Height.  YouTube now uses widescreen aspect ratios, so I find that 444 width and 250 height works best.  If you enter a dimension that makes the page formatting look bad, we may edit or unpublish your post.
4. Click on the icon next to the URL (looks like a magnifying glass) to embed the video.  All done!

As always, if you have any questions, please let me know!

 Other systems that are supposed to work but haven't been tested:

• Google Videos
• Vimeo
• MetaCafe
• JumpCut (Yahoo)
• Vidiac
• Stickam (live streams)

Bob Dylan wrote the song, "The Times They Are A-Changin" and those words ring true in today's market. The marketing landscape has changed and continues to change at a rapid pace. It's now a Web 2.0 Marketplace- a techno-driven, media-fragmented environment populated by empowered consumers. In a world where YouTube^TM videos and Facebook friends are common cocktail conversations, building and sustaining relationships with consumers has become increasingly difficult, forcing marketers to reach beyond familiar strategies and techniques.

Your residents, and the prospects you are targeting, are a lot different than they were in previous years. Today's consumers trust referrals from family and friends over anything else, and where do consumers talk about their favorite products and brands? On the internet! Renters are talking about your communities, sharing opinions and experiences, and making referrals via social media platforms. Online social networking sites have revolutionized the way people interact with each other and gather information. It is essential that wherever consumers are talking about your brand (good or bad), your company be there-interacting.

It is important to have an integrated marketing strategy that consists of print, Internet, mobile and social media. The key to success is to convey a message synergistically at every customer touch point.

This is the second chapter of  “The Sky is Falling” fable. 

Once Upon a Time there was king who ruled a vast kingdom containing many beautiful apartment communities.  His subjects were very much in awe of the king, as he ruled with a fair hand and much empathy. They worked very hard to keep his communities beautiful and occupied.  In recent days, however, competition from neighboring kingdoms had grown fierce, and townspeople were packing up and leaving in droves to take advantage of the “special offers” in other lands.  This greatly disturbed the king, and he called his most trusted attendants together for a roundtable discussion.  “Why do they leave,” the king asked, “why don’t they come to my communities?”  One of his attendants said “Your highness, the neighboring kingdoms have all greatly reduced their rents, and the townspeople are into saving money these days.  You could reduce your rents to compete.” Another, the accountant, said, “Either way, you are losing money and we need to stop all this crazy marketing we have been doing.  We should probably dismiss a few subjects as well.”  The king decided it was time to inspect his holdings.  He would visit each community in his kingdom a week from Tuesday.  The horns were sounded.

At the communities, the horns were heard.  The vice president of property management pulled his portfolio managers into a conference and announced the king’s visit.  “We don’t have much time,” he began, “and we need to be ready.  There is much analysis and much reporting I will ask of you over the next week.  In addition, you must visit each of your communities for a thorough inspection.  We will leave nothing to chance.  I feel confident with this great team we will do well.  By the way, what’s going on with Whispering Woods?  What have you been doing to get occupancy up?”  Whispering Woods portfolio manager said, “They have been doing more outreach, but it is too soon to see its impact. I will visit and make sure something is being done.”  \
Each portfolio manager outlined expectations for the coming week and the impending visit, most of which did not include servicing residents, exceeding expectations or attracting traffic.  The communities were to be spit shined, and every apartment that was vacant was to be ready.  No exceptions.  Repairs were to be made, new flags ordered, windows washed and laundry rooms repainted.  Nothing would be left to chance. The property manager was to study her budget, know her occupancy, renewal and capture rates and in general, was not to rest until the king’s visit was over. Preparations began in earnest. 

After working non stop for 6 days and 6 nights, Whispering Woods was ready for the king.  The community manager and her team had followed to the minutest detail checklist instructions left by the portfolio manager at her visit. The community looked impressive.  The maintenance crew looked tired as they scurried about with last minute tasks.  Though exhausted, the community manager knew her numbers cold.  She was ready for the king. 

The small and pleasant leasing sprite was full of wonder at all the preparations and couldn’t wait to meet the king in person.  She wore her nicest suit and made sure the coffee was fresh and the water chilled.  Then it was time to wait.  She found she was nervous.

Soon, internal tracking systems began signaling the king’s whereabouts via text messages from neighboring community managers.  The first arrived at 9:05.  “He just left Cottonwood.  Lots of them.  Looked at a vacant and the model.  Heading to The Landing.”  At 10:15, “Leaving Landing.  Said they were going to visit a building site and then to Whispering Woods” 

The manager got on her walkie-talkie and said, “The king is on his way.  Be ready.”
They waited some more.  At 11:02, the maintenance technician stationed on the corner radioed in, “Here they come!” 

The king’s entourage pulled into the community.  ‘Which one is the king?” asked the small and pleasant leasing sprite, as she worked hard at looking nonchalant and busy.  “There is the king” said the manager, “the tall one next to the vice president.” 
The king proceeded up the walkway smiling and laughing with his attendants.  He walked into the office and introductions were made.  The leasing sprite waited in anticipation.  Finally, the manager turned and said, “King, this is our newest leasing professional, Sarah.”  The king smiled, reached out and shook Sarah’s hand.  “Hello, Sarah,” he said, “Are you finding that Whispering Woods favors you?”  “Oh yes!” she said.  “Good”, replied the king “I look forward to seeing you do great things and am honored you chose us.”  “Thank you!” she replied, and with that the king turned and the vice president escorted him to the community conference room to discuss the crisis.

The small and pleasant leasing sprite decided at that moment that she very much admired the king, and that she would work very hard for him.

After some discussion, the king viewed the model and a vacant apartment, granted permission for new signage and was on his way. 

The manager alerted neighboring communities, sat down at her desk and breathed a sigh of relief.  “They seemed happy, don’t you think?” she said to the leasing sprite, “They seemed to,” she answered.  With that the manager ordered the entire team pizza, and thought,  “Tomorrow we can get back to focusing on leasing.”

The morale of the story:

If you are the king, understand the impact a visit from you has to a community and the people involved.  All focus has been to exceed your expectations and extensive efforts have most likely been made to roll out the red carpet for you.  If you are trying to ensure quality control, you will achieve this objective simply through your visit. That is a good thing.  Understand however, if the focus is on your visit, it is most likely not on securing residents, resident functions and planning outreach.  In some ways, it is a double-edged sword.

The greatest impact you will have is in how you communicate with those you lead. A simple kind word of encouragement coming from you can have a profound effect on the recipient, and remind them why they chose your company over others. People will go to the mountain for you if you show interest and empathy to them.

Once the deposit and application is received, it is the moment of truth for the prospective resident. They are thinking "Is everything I saw and was told about and promised going to come true?" If you have been on the front lines for awhile you know that the better the move in experience is for the resident the more satisfied they will be long term. Deliver a substandard apartment or don't communicate well and their trust in you and your company will be destroyed. 

In order to provide superior service during the resident's move-in experience we need to teach our employee's how to walk it out. Superior service is far more than just ensuring that your team is professional and courteous. It's their ability to over communicate, build sincere relationships, anticipate their resident's wants and needs and exceed their expectations. 

Here are some great ways to ensure that your resident's move-in experience is superior. 

Have you ever noticed that our residents don't eat dinner in the dining room any more? How do we know that? Because when they move out all the food stains are right in front of the couch and the dining room carpet still looks fresh. So what are they doing in their dining rooms? Among other possibilities, it now seems to me the location of their home office. It is where they put their computers, mail pile, packages to open, bills to sort and file and pictures to organize. So why do we still call it the dining room? It should now be referred to as flexible space.

This simple change in terms will allow your Leasing Professionals to head off an objection before they are ever voices because the flexible space can serve as a solution to some specials space the customer may need in their new apartment home. It is time the marketing teams get on board with this new customer behavior and make the floor plans in the brochures and ads offer flexible space instead of a dining room.

 

 

 

Over the weekend, my husband and I took our 10-month old for a stroll to take in the rather nice weather and also to stop in a coffee joint that begins with a "St" and ends with "arbucks." Because it was late in the afternoon, we decided to order basic decaf coffees to avoid caffeine that may make it difficult to fall asleep later. As I stood in front of the barista and placed my order, he actually rolled his eyes and then cocked his head toward me as though addressing an annoying child and said, "Um, we don't serve decaf after noon," as though this was a given... like not wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Or is it Memorial Day? Whatever.

He continued to stand there and stare at me and glanced at his non-existent wristwatch as though I was purposefully wasting his time. I began to feel that I was on some 'Candid Camera' episode, the whole thing seemed so ridiculous. As I desperately scanned the menu board, searching for anything with minimal - to - no caffeine, he finally suggested a decaf Americano. I went with it. The fact that I paid with a gift card nearly pushed him over the edge, and it showed when he said, sarcastically, "Would you like a receipt?"

I should have said yes.