As certain fortunate markets begin to see the light in higher demands and ease of concessions, this may be a good time to re-evaluate our business. As we have been fighting the economy, the home market and dreaded concessions, we have gotten away from the primary focus of attempting to become and survive as something other than what we really are: A home for residents offering carefree lifestyle with convenient services and amenities.

After running across the book, Get Back in the Box: Innovation From the Inside Out, by Douglas Rushkoff, I found that many of us in the “battle mode” have panicked trying to create business and improve numbers by being so creative that we may have lost track of the our core essential of our business. Rushkoff states, “Hardee’s thought a half-naked Paris Hilton would help sell burgers. What it really needed was a better burger.”

A good point and even better question: Can you confidently say that your community is the best “burger” maximizing every opportunity and dollar? Maybe what we need to do is re-focus on becoming better managers, marketers and service providers. Sometimes we make it much more difficult than it needs to be.

I challenge your organization to get back in your box and find out again what your vision and mission are and honestly evaluate whether or not they are still appropriate for today’s market. Once you are back in the box, research and study to find out who exactly is your customer? What do they really want and are we meeting that expectation? Why did they choose your community? And then finally, how can you make the communities achieve the highest potential? The results and responses may be surprising but better to know the true reality in order to make improvements and changes accordingly.

Getting back in the box is a great place to start.

Amy Kosnikowski, Principal of Quintessential Marketing and Training, is a national speaker, educator and marketing solutions expert focused on improving the ROI in multifamily real estate assets.  Contact Amy at 704.496.4107 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..