Mark Juleen's Blog

Last week Blackberry/RIM and Best Buy were two businesses that went on a list of dying companies.  It's often hard to predict what the future holds, and we have a tendency to get tunnel vision when it comes to our own businesses.  It's unfortunate these companies have found themselves to be in dire straights, but for me I look at situations like this as an opportunity to reflect on my own business and industry. What may look like a solid model today, may not be tomorrow.  With that, I'd like to share my list of five multifamily marketing/tech models that may be in trouble.

1. The ILS - I've actually been known to say that the ILS is an absurd marketing idea.  While I may have been trying to generate some controversy with that statement nearly 3 years ago, it's interesting to think today I actually believe the ILS model is in trouble a bit.  At least the way the big players look today.  If you look at Apartments.com, ApartmentGuide.com, ForRent.com, Rent.com, Move.com, etc., you'll find their models really haven't changed much since they started.  However, the way people search online is changing.  We may see a few fall off over the next 5 years if they don't evolve in an aggressive way.

2. Pay Per Lease Marketing Model - As tracking becomes more sophisticated we're finding (and concluding) renters are using more than one source to find an apartment.  Is it fair to give all the credit to a single source and pay them a premium for it?  I say NO FRIGGIN WAY!  Marketers are getting smarter and this model is a gimmick that has taken advantage of people for too long.  I think this fad will most definitely pass in the near future as pay per lead or flat subscription pricing will win.

Last August I wrote a post comparing cited marketing sources from 2007-2010 for the J.C. Hart portfolio as a whole.  The purpose of the post was to show off how our shifted marketing spend away from print has resulted in successes from reinvestment into our own websites and search engine optimization efforts.  In the last couple years we have also reduced our ILS spend and allocated more of our marketing budget to our online efforts.  In my previous post I included some partial data from 2011, but wanted to share where we ended up the year.

Last week I was quick to share one of the best online commercials I've seen in awhile.  DollarShaveClub.com's execution on this video was right on and most definitely hit the demographic they were targeting.  What a great way to recognize an issue and put together a product and service that fits a need.  The marketing on top of that was a viral sensation they likely never imagined.

While the video was clever and they definitely fit a need, it had me thinking about why it works.  The idea is sharable.  I wanted to share the video and share the product.  I was excited to share that discovery.  Social media has always been about sharing, but what we're recognizing more and more now is that sharing is the key.  It actually always has been.  The way we share things is just different, and the amount of content options we have to share has multiplied tremendously.  No longer do we hear about something by the water cooler or even just via email.  Now it has the potential to spread like wild fire.  The question is, is it worth sharing?

People make bad decisions.  This is reality.  Unfortunately, when people take to the internet to proclaim their dissatisfaction (due to a bad decision) it can become a PR nightmare for a company today.  Papa John’s took an absolute beating the past few days since the “lady chinky eyes” racial slur debacle.  Here’s a bit of the story:http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/08/us/new-york-papa-johns-receipt/

It seems like these situations are rarely handled well, and a PR superhero has to try and swoop in to save the day.  And when they do we see little success as the damage is already done.

So what do you do if this happens to you and your company?

Duncan, Mike, and I were discussing 2012 and what we’re looking forward to.  I will tell you that we don’t predict for the world to end, but we may see some things begin to fall off that seem tried and true today.  Enjoy my 2012 marketing predictions and listen live to our podcast 12/20/2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST to hear more.

Social

Niche social sites (ie- Instagram, Pinterest, Path, Quora, etc.) will gather more momentum, but stay niche much like Tumblr.  Facebook currency may take on another dimension, but more importantly Google+ will finally become something that we can’t afford to ignore.

I was chatting with Mike Whaling yesterday, and we both agreed there are definitely some quick wins out there to help optimize your brand, stores, properties, etc. online.  It can be time consuming, but claiming your business's pages on Google, Bing, Yelp!, etc. can be quick ways to get some SEO juice for your websites and help promote your business on those additional channels.  Where I struggle from there is with a content strategy ongoing.

Here’s the honest truth, you can’t half-ass it anymore.  Search as we know it today is changing, and if you aren’t trying to be part of or help create conversation then I will predict that drive-by may become your best lead source.  OK, that could be extreme, but the algorithm is changing from a keywords model and more value is being put on conversation and connections with real people to a brand.  Criticize Google+ all you want, but even if that doesn’t do exactly what they hoped it most definitely highlights how Google is giving more credit to social connections.

It seems like the debate continues on and on regarding which ILS model is the best.  At the recent NMHC Tech Conference people were tweeting about it.  At a recent Apartment Guide conference people were tweeting about it.  It seems that at every conference people are tweeting and talking about it in recent years, let alone all the blog posts and discussions online about the topic.  So, I’d like to set the record straight by saying:

We’re all a bunch of suckers when it comes to buying leasing traffic.

Yes, you read that correctly.  We’re buying gimmicks, and I’m guilty myself.  It sounds so great on the surface.  ”Pay only for what you get” is the promise.  I have to ask though, what exactly do we get?

At the beginning of October we held one of our bi-annual training sessions for our leasing teams at J.C. Hart.  As part of that process we generally ask everyone prior what things they are looking to learn and if there is anything they would like us to focus on.  One of the topics consistently mentioned was “Resident Retention”.  As this training was mainly geared toward the leasing process, answering the phone, and building rapport with new prospects we didn’t have time to cover this particular area unfortunately.  However, I did begin to think about that topic and instead of pushing off the idea until the next training I took the opportunity to share my perspective on “Resident Retention” with the group.  It actually didn’t require an entire session to discuss and review, but I do think we can go further down the rabbit hole with this as we move forward.  Here’s my position on “Resident Retention” and why I think this works for any type of business.

1.  It’s about all the in-betweens – What’s that mean?  Once we create a strategy, method, or process for anything then it becomes the status quo.  The customer expects us to do those things as a minimum.  It’s no longer a surprise to them and the value of the strategy or process get reduced.  We bring value by surprising the customer in-between all the process driven interactions.  Of course the basic blocking and tackling is necessary, but what are you doing in-between the standard protocol and how are you keeping that fresh, new, and full of surprise?

2. One-to-one beats mass - “We create as much information in two days now as we did from the dawn of man through 2003.” –Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google  Think about that for just a minute.  We have to filter so much content and information today that we instinctively seek out recommendations for what to read, what to buy, and what to do next.  There is so much clutter in our world now that the most effective way to communicate with people is one-to-one.  Give someone your personal attention and it will go so much further than the next mass message you send to them.  Think about all the opportunities you have to communicate one-to-one and expand on the last mass message you sent or create an in-between moment.

In listening to phone calls I wondered how often we get the question, “How much are your 1/2/3 bedrooms?”  I can tell you from the calls I’ve listened to that it happens a bunch.  The problem is, so many people want to just answer that question for the customer right away.  Here’s why I think you should redirect that question when you’re talking to a prospect on the phone.

1.  They already know your price.  We know they found your website, an ILS listing, or some ad that shows your pricing.  What they are looking for is to confirm what they found in those listings is accurate (including other information beyond price).

2.  They really want to know if you have one available for their moving date.  Again, they are looking for some type of confirmation on something they may or may not have found in your listing.  This is actually more important to them than price, again, because they already know your price.

First off, if you don't use RentSentinel for their Craigslist posting tool then you are really missing out.  Also, just because you have a tool like RentSentinel, it doesn't mean that it's being used consistently.  It needs to be monitored and measured for success.  I had one of my late night work sessions last night and started digging into the analytics that RentSentinel offers.  All I can say is, WOW!

Here are a few of my discoveries:

- It's no surprise that posting more often can drive more traffic.  We have one property that has posted nearly 2000 ads on Craigslist in the past year.  No wonder they haven't dipped below 94% occupied all year long and are currently trending to 99% occupied.  All while pushing rents 5-6%.