Apartment Blogs

We talk , talk, talk so much about customer service, that I just had to share this experience.  Over the weekend, I shopped a competitor.  I didn't make an appointment, just walked in.  I should also note that I took my 4 year old twins with me.  With a large piece of sticky candy in each hand.

And the SNAFU started from there.  When we entered the property's office, we weren't greeted.  A voice from an inner office told us to "hang in there a minute".  I love moments like this in life, where you can just see the badness that will be play out in your mind...

As soon as the leasing individual stepped out to us, she said first to one of my daughter s "You'll haven to finish that up, honey before we talk our walk..."  Awesome.  On a positive note, however, she did recognize my daughter...

Apartment residents move for a variety of reasons and many times we have no idea why. It’s kind of a shame, really. Social media/networking can help change that and by default drive down our cost of turnover. Think about it, if you couple the advent of the internet with the understanding that people are innately social - toss in a few platforms where they can observe, connect or participate and you have the perfect recipie for resident retention. And, as demonstrated in the last post you have the recipie for some great GoogleJuice. What we are really after is what Seth’s Blog: Share of wallet, share of wall, share of voice speaks to. [A quick shout out to @sbrewer10 for bringing this one to my attention.

In short, Seth speaks to the point many of us have made over the years - long before the advent of the internet and social platforms - the replacement cost for a resident is far more than the cost of retaining our current ones. Lisa Trosien wrote a great piece over at Multifamily Insiders that speaks to this point.

What kind of experience are you creating today to get a share of the wallet, wall or voice of your current resident base?

Have you ever seen anything that is awesomely bad? You spot one of those songs or hairdo's or outfits from the 60's, 70's, 80's (what the heck, maybe you see someone sporting Hammer pants), and think to yourself, "Someone thought that was a good idea once."

Our human history is full of those decisions that, at a particular moment, seemed like a good idea. And yet, upon further reflection or changing social norms, those decisions come back to bite us on the hindquarters. This sign, I believe, is one of those decisions.

The intent? Probably to let a prospect or resident know that a closed door might not mean 'closed,' nor might an unanswered door mean, 'no one is here to help you.' And yet, I have to say, this sign awesomely, spectacularly, and most unfortunately conveys, "Your time is not as valuable as mine. If you REALLY need to speak to someone, sit around for an unspecified amount of time, and if you're lucky, someone may notice you there."

I had the delightful opportunity this weekend to be treated like a valued customer, and I'm going to tell you all about it because is was so incredibly simple, but so overwhelmingly powerful. I was visiting a local golf course, and I had a question for the woman at the reception desk. Just as I stepped forward to ask my question, her phone rang. I began to swallow back the words that had been forming in my mouth, knowing that she was about to raise her finger toward me in the international sign for, "One moment please."

Rock bottom pricing.  Lower prices.  Going out of business.  4 months free.  Buy one - get one free.  Big discounts.  Bargains galore.  All signs I have physically seen in the last 24 hours.  
Question is, are any of them working?  How do we competitively price product in a market like this?  Should we be fighting for every penny or slashing rates?  Steering a smooth course can be challenging at best.  

Some things to consider when establishing price points at your community/portfolio:

Should you lower the price?  Do you want to be seen as a discounter?  
Consumers don’t care what your “real” price is.  The price and the value is what they write the check for.  Period.  Lowering your price could threaten your brand value, as discounted brands are assumed to be lower in quality.  In addition, current residents, your most valued customers, may find themselves paying more for their apartments than an individual walking in off the street.  They will resent you, and explore other options, unless an equally competitive offer is made to them to stay.  If, for example, the client received one month free at move in, but the current concession is two months, it would make sense to at least offer an additional month free.  From the client’s perspective, that is only fair – particularly as they are being wooed by the concession down the street.

Look at your product from your target market’s point of view.  
Do a thorough and physical, competition assessment. (Sorry, but the market survey is not going to tell you what you need to know.  People pay for and determine value based on the experience received. What kind of experience is being offered at the competitor capturing the leases you should have? Get out and find out.) How are they really pricing their product?  Is there a sense of urgency to buy?  Is the discount on specific floor plans or an all?  Look at it from the consumer’s standpoint – who is offering the best value from their perspective?

Can you prove you are a better value?
Are you better than your competition?  Really?  If so, how, and how can you tangibly share this with the consumer to build product value?  You cannot, for example, say, “We have the best service of all our competitors.”  How do you know?  Not to mention, everybody says that. You have to prove it.  Show the client stats and resident testimonials and be sure to introduce them to other members of the team.  Prominently display a resident events calendar in the lobby.  Find some residents that would be willing to share their positive experiences and turn the client on to them. Prove it.

Are you panicking?  
Exposure is creeping up and conversion rates are down.  The end of the month is approaching.  Before slashing prices and yelling, “The sky is falling!” do a marketing and traffic assessment.  Are you getting enough traffic?  Is the product primo?  What are they looking for?  Is follow up that is relevant to the consumer being consistently executed?  

People care about price, but they also care about savings.  
Show renters how your community will help them weather the recession.  If, for example, you have a tricked out fitness center, don’t forget to share the savings offered in not having to purchase a gym membership.  Don’t assume the client understands this inherently.  Show them, visually and verbally.  Value is built in the details.

Change the way you share the price.
Don’t sell by offering a range of pricing, or by stating, “Our prices start at $$$”.
The client automatically will latch on to the lowest price and will expect to negotiate down from that point.  Rather, determine which floor plan best meets the clients needs and work price offerings from there.

Cheap is not the only thing.
Although the “price buyer” declares it is all about who has the lowest price – that is probably not his only motivation.  
If it were, he probably wouldn’t be in your neighborhood looking for apartments.  He would be at the cheapest place in the entire metro area.  You can always find cheaper if cheap is what you’re really looking for.  The client that is price point sensitive is just looking for the best value.  Show them why you are just that, and don’t be afraid to lose the client, if it really is about nothing but price.

Retrain salespeople.  
What worked effectively last year, likely won’t work today.  Provide support and solutions to your sales team and be as flexible as possible with pricing and policy guidelines.  Listen to their views, and ask them for solutions.  You may be surprised how little they may need to start moving product.

In today’s market, attention to the little things can have an enormous impact on occupancy and morale.  To get you started…

Salespeople
When is the last time you

Asked your supervisor to come along on a tour and offer honest feedback?

Cleaned the model from top to bottom?

Changed up your presentation by taking a new path or trying different questions?

Told your manager which unit you could get $10 more for?

Reminded yourself you are a great salesperson?

Got current with follow up?

Stayed late or opened the doors early for a client?

Said “thank you” for the support and coaching you receive?

Managers
When is the last time you

Determined pricing by actually visiting competitors to gauge customer experience rather than analyzing a piece of paper?

Spent a day leasing apartments?

Asked an accusatory question like, “Why didn’t you get that lease?”

Determined goals with your people, rather than for them.

Reinforced and praised your salespeople when you catch them consistently doing follow up?

Said, “thank you”?  

OK, I'm not even halfway through the April issue of Fast Company and my mind is racing.  I have to share 3 stories I think everyone should read.

1. What Should I Do With My Life Now?

Here comes everybody

Above is the clever title to a very brilliant book written by Clay Shirky and I think it relates to a movement that is happening in the multifamily space. I have noticed more and more major players, as of late, using social media to market their apartments. And, it seems like with every passing hour I am reading a new press release, blog post, tweet or Facebook update about someone trying their hand at it. All of which I think is great news for the multifamily space; that is as long as we have the real end game in mind.

The truth behind it

Yes, you read that right. Consider giving your renewing residents your current concession.

No, I'm not crazy. I've always been an advocate of this ideology. And I've been severely criticized for it my entire career. I first mentioned it to some owners I worked for when I was a brand new Leasing Professional. My owners looked at me as though I was completely insane. If our industry ever needed to reconsider their ‘we don't give concessions on renewals' strategy, now is the time.

Let's look at the math for a second, shall we? The average cost to turn an apartment these days is $2500, so as soon as a resident gives notice we're already at a negative $2500. So saving the resident already puts that money right back into our pocket. If we're giving away a month or two in free rent, we are probably locking the new resident into a longer lease term as well, so you're already getting the renewal resident for a longer lease term. Hopefully, you're managing your renewals with your traffic patterns so you don't end up loading some low traffic months for renewals (that's never smart).

COMMUNITY NEWSLETTERS
Still doing those lame Community News Letters, with silly updates nobody reads? Do they really add any value for your residents? Do you think that residents actually do the crossword puzzles that you or your agency inserts just to fill some space?

How about trying a Community Blog, but one that is engaging, great content, and you can actually track readership. Too expensive, too time consuming you say, Nope it isn’t.

NEWS PRINT IS DEAD
I assume there is no argument that newspapers are dying of slow death. With that come some pretty good journalists looking for part time assignments. They know how to write and report on local events and happenings; things your residents may well have interest in. Reach out, there are some gem writers out there who would love to help.

LOOK WITHIN
We have preached this over and over, Look Within, to your existing resident base and your staff. You will find some writers, and some good ones, that would be elated to help with this, and maybe even manage it for you. When you have Resident Bloggers, you get a Compound Return on your investment, and you are creating Resident Evangelists.


CONSOLIDATE YOUR MESSAGE
If you have several communities in a consolidated geographical area, you only need a single blog. The blog should not be set up by community, no one cares about each of your communities. People care about things that affect their lives, what is going on around town, movie reviews, music, arts, hip and cool new restaurants and bars.

FOLLOW THE LEAD
You don’t need to believe me. I am just an outspoken apartment owner and operator, not a marketing firm yapping at why you should do something. I am purporting this stuff because it works. I choose to direct my marketing dollars in our small boutique apartment management company differently because we have achieved significantly different results by doing things differently. But, don’t believe that, take a look what our friend Mack Collier posted about the subject over on the Viral Garden. (If you need some consulting help getting your blog started, Mack is an excellent resource)

Kodak's A Thousand Words blog doesn't focus on Kodak's products as much as it does photography. Graco's blog doesn't focus on Graco's products, it focuses on parenthood. Patagonia's The Cleanest Line doesn't focus on Patagonia's products, it focuses on the environment, sustainability, and environmental activism. In each case, these blogs understand what content would be relevant and valuable to their readers/customers, and they tailor the posts they write with this in mind. By taking a step back and focusing on wider topics and issues, these blogs become far more relevant and valuable to their readers.

If you are a company wanting to use social media to reach your customers, the key to doing so successfully lies in creating value for these special people. Is your blog tapping into the 'bigger idea' that makes your content valuable to your readers?

 Last weekend, Alan bought a book on photography.  It's one of his hobbies and he wanted some advanced information on how to get even better at it.  He was reading it one morning before work and came across a passage he thought that I would like:

"I have once heard that three human ingredients will combine to produce success in any field of endeavor; Enthusiasm Talent and Hard work.  And that a person can be successful with only two of those attributes as long as one of the two is enthusiasm."  -The art of Photography; an approach to personal expression by Bruce Barnbaum

It made me think about how I hire people.  One of my biggest personal standards is that I strive to set people up for success.  I want to find the best people for the right job and give them everything they need to be successful.  More than that, I want to do everything in my power to empower them to chase that success.  However, I have learned that no matter what I do, I can't give a person inner drive, a friendly personality,  a work ethic, and the ability to show up to work on time.  Those are things I think you have to get from your parents, and if they failed you, I'm not really sure I can help.

One of the key things I look for when I'm hiring someone is Enthusiasm.  Talent is great, but talent without enthusiasm for the job at hand is worthless.  Some of my best hires ever were people without any experience, but they had that real *SPARK* to them.  You know the one I'm talking about.  They were the people who :

• Understood that Everyone on site picks up garbage
• Don't think that there are any jobs "beneath" them
• Make great eye contact
• Have an abundance of both enthusiasm and energy
• Genuinely WANT the job, not NEED it
• Are able to establish a rapport with me right away
• Try to connect with me during the interview on more than a professional level

That's just the first few qualities on my *SPARK* list.  What's on your list?  What triggers your sixth sense in hiring people?

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Heather is a consultant, staffing facilitator, recruiter and trainer in the Seattle area with Career Strategies Inc.  Check out more of her property management ideas at www.behindtheleasingdesk.com .