CORPORATE GIANTS ARE OFF AND RUNNING
Attending BlogWell in Chicago last week was a refreshing and pleasant change to most of the Social Media seminars I have attended the past couple of years. The participants were very different. It was not about Marketers talking to Marketers or Social Media folks talking to Social Media folks. The presenters were all large corporate organizations, such as Proctor and Gamble, Home Depot, Mayo Clinic, Molson, Sharpie, H & R Block, and the US Coast Guard. They were all highly passionate, just like the Social Media folks we have come to know, but all, bar none had traversed the long and arduous journey of convincing their corporate marshals of the validity and worthiness of Social Media.

GETTING THROUGH THE DIP
Their stories were varied, but all of them had a common thread, they no longer are expending energy to convince the executives at their respective companies about the viability of Social Media, they had gotten through the dip. They are working hard to figure out how and where to apply it, and they are all learning as they go. None of them talked much about metrics, but all had a knowing that they embarked on the right path. I wonder just how long it will take for the executives in our beloved industry to stake their claim with Social Media?

A CONDUIT TO A CONVERSATION
Social Media is not about the various tools and venues such as MySpace, facebook, and twitter. Those are the tools, or the means of connecting. Social Media is about connecting and creating relationships and participating in the conversation. Participating in those conversations can and will help you dramatically improve your Resident Retention results. Our residents WANT us to communicate, but on their terms and timing and only AFTER we have been granted Permission to Do So.

CONNECTION PAYS TENFOLD
The apartment business is and always has been about connecting with our residents. Unfortunately we haven’t done such a good job. Based on the dismal Resident Retention results in our industry, there is a lot of room for improvement. Perhaps we give it lip service, but very few companies actually have a successful retention program in place.

Has your company earned bragging rights to Resident Retention? If so, we would love to hear your story, and what was in your bag of tricks!

Recently, on a trip to my home state of Wisconsin, I found myself with a few extra hours and an opportunity for lunch with my old college roommate (and maid of honor and godmother to my oldest), Katie.  It was one of those impromptu opportunities that you just know before you get there is going to be fun, fun fun.  Not to mention, Katie is hilarious.

As usual, both of us were running late, and we didn’t get to the restaurant in Oshkosh until after 1pm, so the sparse crowds didn’t surprise us.  Heck, it’s par for the course, these days.  That actually may have been a good day. Our server was Lisa and she quickly got a handle on our wild and raucous entrance by letting us know if we signed up to be VIP’s we would receive a substantial discount on our lunch.  No catch.  Just sign up.  Of course we did, and Katie wanted to know when she would get her VIP sash, that is, unless there was a crown available, then she would prefer that.  We all laughed and continued on with the VIP humor until I am sure most were nauseated listening to us.  During lunch Lisa informed us that it was her last day, and she was about to start her career as a social worker in Wausau. I’m sure it is a very exciting and stressful time for her, and looking around the restaurant, probably a financially challenging one as well.

Needless to say, it was a long lunch.  Like most close friends that don’t see each other often, Katie and I had a lot to talk about.  Somewhere after lunch and before dessert, Lisa appeared with two (handmade with loving care) VIP sashes.  She made a big production of presenting them to us, and of course we proudly donned them and wore those paper sashes through lunch.  It was a lunch I will never forget.

People like Lisa know how to make every customer feel like a VIP, and inherently understand how to enhance an experience and exceed expectations.  Lisa knew, because of the type of people my friend and I are, that we would wear the sashes and would think she had gone “over the top” for us.  Others might not have found it as meaningful.  She knew that too.  The point is, she responded to our needs and expectations of what great service should be and she delivered.

Today, for one day, commit that each client you serve will get VIP treatment, whatever that means to him or her. Get creative. Watch what happens.  

I am a proud apartment renter, and today I received my lease renewal offer as it slid through my front door. I thought it would be a good example to share with the group and see what people think! (My comments are in italics)
 

"Dear Brent Williams, (my fiancee, incidentally with her name spelled wrong):

The lease on your apartment #XXXX will expire on 03/31/2009. We are currently offering the lease renewal terms and rates shown below.

1. You may sign a 12 month lease renewal for $XXXX per month. (a $96 increase)
2. You may sign a 6 month lease renewal for $XXXX per month. (a $107 increase)

This offer will expire on 3/31/2009. If you do not choose to renew your lease, you may remain month-to-month for a new rent of $XXXX. (68% higher than the 12 month lease offer)

 

 

I was visiting a property a couple of days ago and once again I was confronted with a particular bugaboo for me- Entry doors.  You have all seen this: dented up doors, smudged and dull; finish flat with that ugly stipple left behind by lazy painters who painted the doors with a roller; numbers partially covered with various old door colors; the door trim painted the same color as the door; the siding around the door scuffed and dirty with wear;  and the ceiling painted in the tan color of the body because it’s easy for a painter just to run his sprayer up the wall and overhead.  It drives me absolutely crazy.

A couple of discussions on this board inspired me to write about selecting software products. Not all purchases need go through a detailed process, but if you are considering a major investment such as a new property management or accounting software, a carefully planned selection project would behoove you and your firm.

As with any project, the first step is to plan. The basic steps I use in a software selection project are:

1. Initiating & Planning
2. Define List of Requirements
3. Develop Business Scenarios
4. Vendor List
5. Request for Proposal
6. Vendor Short List
7. Develop Decision Criteria
8. Vendor Demonstrations
9. Product Analysis (a.k.a. scorecard) and Reference Checks
10. Negotiations
11. Plan implementation

In my experience, the key to a successful selection project is a carefully defined list of requirements and detailed business scenarios. Gathering the requirements can be daunting but it is a critical step. Involve users at your company. This will get your better requirements and help you to garner buy-in from the users. The requirements should be detailed and sorted into logical groups (e.g. Accounts Payable). List the requirements and identify them by level of importance, such as critical, important, and nice to have.

I think it would be wonderful if we could all share some interesting/great/cool/fun ideas that we are seeing on site. So I am going to start off with two that I really like:

1. Blue jeans for the leasing office staff. Yes, blue jeans. But not just any jeans. Ann Taylor and Talbots are now carrying very nice 'dress denim' that looks great! And think how excited your teams will be to be able to wear jeans to work. They look professional, are reasonably priced and are COMFORTABLE. Love this idea!

2. Okay, this is sort of 'cheating' because I didn't really see it on site, but I DID see it on a site staffer's email. Jessica (the Assistant Manager at her property) had a perfect 'sig line' with everything in it that you need. It was followed by:

Well, there are some companies (one in particular) that may not appreciate this post, but they are getting an unfair share of our marketing dollars in my opinion.  Here's my tip of the day to help you reduce the number of "I just want my $100 so I'm going to say I heard about you on Blah.com" people.

Don't ask them "How did you hear about us?"  Ask, "Have you been here before?"  You will be amazed at how many people will say, "yes," or tell you they've driven by before.  You can then ask a follow-up question like, "Did you research us online, or find information about the community anywhere?"  This way, source one = referral or drive-by, source two = whatever.com or guide. 

I know people feel really passionate about Craigslist. I've met Leasing Professionals who would seriously DATE Craigslist if it were a person. Most everyone I know is completely enamored of it. And quite honestly, I'm getting just a teeny bit tired of it. (Well, in the interest of full disclosure I never get tired of the Best of Craigslist or the Missed Connections. Those are always way entertaining)  So, why, you ask, am I growing weary of hearing about Craigslist? I'll tell you.

Because in the same breath, everyone always says the SAME THING:

ohmygodwelovecraigslistitgetsussomanyleasesanditsfree!!!

Hey, guess what? It's far from free. And before you argue with me (and I am sure you will argue with me, which is totally okay), hear me out, okay?

Last week, before speaking at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas, I strolled through the casino at The Wynn Hotel, looking for a bite to eat.  The Wynn is a first rate hotel that I became a guest at through a fantastic Hotwire offer.  The rate I received indicated the hotel definitely was not seeing the volume of traffic they are used to.

Anyway, I found a café, sauntered to the counter, and stood squinting to see the wall menu printed in the most visually daunting font imaginable.  I was not alone.  Three other people squinted alongside me.  The counter worker appeared and informed us they did not open until 11:30 (ten minutes away), then proceeded to stand at the cash register and stare glassy eyed out onto the casino floor.  I looked around at the people standing behind me and thought, “How difficult can it be to take an order, provide a beverage and get my cold sandwich started now?  You have business in front of you.  Take advantage of it before we turn and leave.”   Then I turned and left.

Through the years I have waited numerous times for businesses to open.  Once, at Sam’s Club on a Saturday morning, I waited with 22 other people.  I had nothing else to do (like buy something) so I counted them.  Another time, I waited with a group at Marshall’s for 20 minutes before the doors were unlocked at precisely 12pm.  I certainly understand the need for staffing and organization, however, I just can’t understand how anyone can look out the front doors, see customers standing and waiting and not feel compelled to let them in.  What a refreshing change it would have been had the manager at Marshall’s opened the door at 11:40 with a “Welcome! We are glad you’re here – there are some fabulous buys to be found in the purse department.  We won’t be able to ring you up for a few minutes, but please come in and peruse.”   They could take a lesson from the coffee shop I visited this week at 5:45 am.  I had a long drive and noticed the lights were on, so I ran up to the door and knocked.  The barista came to the door and said, “I can’t get you anything fancy as I am just opening up, but I can get you a cup of coffee.”  I gratefully accepted her offer.  

The next time you find yourself saying, “We don’t…” stop yourself, and try to find a way to say, “We do.”   Flexibility is key.

Late last year, Starbucks rolled out a fancy new card, it's Gold Card, for $25 dollars. Not only can you whip this fancy little card out and impress all of your friends, but you also get 10% off most purchases, along with a few other small benefits. This Gold Card was also supposed to be an upgrade above the standard registered card, which is free and gives you free refills and a free syrup for drip coffee. So since it costs $25 and is supposed to be an upgrade over the FREE card, it's supposed to actually be better, right? Wait, not so fast. It turns out that people who shell out the cash for the fancy Gold Card don't get the standard benefits of the FREE card, which means that for drip coffee lovers, you get a WORSE deal with the Gold Card than you do for the free registered card! And they had to pay $25 to get that horrible deal!
 

Now granted, all of this was in the fine print of the card, but would the average person even consider they wouldn't get the original discount? I sure didn't (even though technically, I got it as a gift). So when they pull out the card for the first time, buyer's remorse smacks them across the face as they realize this sad little fact.
 

And who are the people most likely to get the Gold Card? Their most loyal customers, of course. Maybe Starbucks didn't do it intentionally, but they just got their loyal drip-drinkers to pay for something that is essentially worthless. Is that how you repay your customers loyalty?