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Home Insider Blogs Tamela Coval's Blog ASKING FOR IT. "Bring it." Nuggets are out there.

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Mar 19
2010

ASKING FOR IT. "Bring it." Nuggets are out there.

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Posted by: Tamela Coval on Mar 19, 2010 12:07

Tagged in: Twitter , Tracking Traffic , Technology , Student Housing , Social Networking , Social Media , Search Engine Optimization SEO , RSS , Residents , Resident Satisfaction , Resident Retention , Rent , Property Management Companies , Property Management , Occupancy , Niche , MySpace , Multifamily Investing , Multifamily Insiders , Multifamily Executive , Multifamily , Move , Lease Termination , Lease Renewal , Facebook , Craigslist , Community Policies , Communication , Closing Ratio , Brand Monitoring , Blogs , ApartmentRatings.Com , Apartment Training , Apartment Search , Apartment Residential , Apartment Marketing , Apartment Leasing , Apartment Industry , Apartment Community Website , Apartment Community , Apartment

Litmus Test - Ric Campo, CEO of Camden, national REIT based in Houston, BELIEVES in litmus tests.

Camden is awaiting waves and raves. Multifamily Executives are asking for it. They're sticking their toes into the water...they just want Reviews and Communication through Social Media done RIGHT. They are seeking new ways to bridge the Consumer & Community Gap.

Check out these recent Tweets;

A national Apartment Management Company sent out this St. Paddy's Tweet..."My Lucky Day! I just turned my first negative Resident Tweet into a Positive!"

And this one during March 19th's weekly Friday afternoon Twitter #AptChat.

"Rented on of our apts recently? If so, let other renters know how you like it by rating it at http:..."

In an ironic twist and despite the ever-growing frustration with various apartment ratings sites, several Multifamily executives are not only willing to put their properties up for review, but they are actually asking for it.

“Regarding apartment reviews, it’s not that somebody has to do it, it’s that somebody has to do it right,” said Mark Juleen, VP of marketing for the JC Hart Company based in Carmel, Indiana.
 
“Ratings and reviews have been out there for a long time in the form of ApartmentRatings.com and now Yelp.com. The problem is, these companies aren’t fostering open communication between the renting community and the apartment community.”

 Companies eager to engage in the two-way dialogue taking action today include Camden, Mission Residential, Mills Properties, Gables Residential, Urbane Apartments, and the JC Hart Company.

“We believe in our product, our people, our services and our renters,” explained Ric Campo, CEO of Camden, a publicly traded multifamily REIT based in Houston. “We look at consumer ratings and reviews as a litmus test of how we’re doing. Do we think all the reviews will be good? Of course not. We look at this feedback, we take it very seriously, and we work to improve and foster open communication with existing and potential renters.”

“Our apartment industry’s fear of ratings and reviews is a misconception, and the prospect wants to see them,” said Eric Brown, co-owner of Urbane Apartments based in Royal Oak, Mich. “The apartment operators response to a review is the ‘golden nugget.’ It’s a significant marketing tool and advantage to those brave enough to try something new and different.  Prospects want to know how you will respond to their problems.”

What do you think?  Is your company ready to embrace apartment ratings, or is it still in  “fear mode”?
 

Tamela Coval is Senior Vice President of RentWiki, a leading social media-based ILS, which is currently beta testing new apartment ratings solutions at the request of a few select clients.


Comments (1)Add Comment
154
written by Lori Snider, March 21, 2010
Bring it on - as long as it can be a fair dialogue! Good post!
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