Is Your Apartment Community "The Voice"?

Recently NBC launched a new show called “The Voice” and it inspired me on so many levels. From the shows concept, marketing with the use of Social Media, to the coaches them selves.  While watching this fantastic show, I could not help but see how I could use this as a learning tool.  I also saw so many ways that the Multifamily Industry is similar to The Voice.  The makers of the show and NBC seriously had the formula down pat on the marketing side and knew how to keep your attention.  How does this work for our industry?

‘The Blind Audition’- This is my favorite part—before they ever get to your community or even call, prospects judging you from your advertising.  One of the things about the Voice that really impressed me was how they used Twitter, FaceBook, Blogging, YouTube and ITunes to market their show and artists. Each media was different so it kept you going from one media to another, to read/see more about the show.  They kept it fresh and exciting all at the same time. Do you stick to what everyone else is doing or do you jump out of the box and become different?  It is very important that the way you advertise, immediately sets you apart from your competition. Can your community advertising pass the Blind Audition?

‘The Battle Round’-Congratulations you have passed the Blind Audition now instead of 32 properties you are up against 8 other properties. How you answer the phone will determine if you move to the next round. This is very important! Are you upbeat, positive and willing to answer your future resident questions? Many of us get so busy with the everyday stuff that we forget that we are auditioning for an audience with a future resident every time we answer the phone.  Stop what you are doing, breathe, and smile before you answer the phone! Your prospect will hear the smile and feel your undivided attention.  (For great tips on “Leasing With a Smile” visit The Training Factor, Jonathan Sarr's blog.) Make sure you answer all the questions your potential resident may have. Push to make the appointment. This is your moment to shine. If you don’t make it through the ‘Battle Round’, you will lose the prospect.

‘The Sing Of’- Whew that was tough but you did it you made it threw the battle round!  Now it’s time to compete with the top four communities your future resident is going to look at. At this point anything can happen, you can make it to the semi-finals or you can go home. I prefer to make it to the semi-finals and then take it to the finals by winning. You have succeeded in scheduling the appointment during your phone call. Did you immediately follow up with an email, text message or a hand written thank you card?  I know you’re thinking, ‘why would I do that before they came in to the property?’  Simple you want to make a statement; you want to stay in the front of their minds! With all of our awesome technology why not use it to our full ability?  Instead of sending a regular email, why not send a video email of you or team in front of the community sign with balloons or in the apartment they will be living in?  If you do this, include a shot of one of the things that the future resident said was important to them~~like big closets.  This will help increase the comfort level of the future resident when they finally get to the property.  You are continuing to build a rapport with them. How you follow up to your phone conversation, prior to the appointment sets the tone for their visit.

‘The Semi-Finals’- GREAT!!  Your future resident just called and they are on their way to your community! Now it’s narrowed down to the final four communities!  They loved your video follow up. (If it was on ITunes you definitely would be number 1 on the charts!)  Your future resident comes in and they are ready to get the show on the road. Put a smile on your face and get to working on making sure these future residents do not leave with out placing an application. You know the tour will be awesome because you made sure the apartment you are going to show them looks great and smells great. In fact, the entire property looks like it could be on a postcard! The best part is you have a special gift just for them in, waiting the unit.  People LOVE surprises especially if it is a free one! Who says you have to wait until they move in to give a gift?  Keep it simple, something small, like a candle or pot holders with your community name on them, just something that will remind them of the Community and you.  Be memorable! Remember the video follow you did pre-tour well now it’s time to create the video tour. Yup, you are going to give the future resident the video camera and ask them to record their tour of your apartment home so they can show it to their friends and family when they leave.  When the tour has ended make sure you record THEM holding the gift in whatever room it would most likely be used.

‘The Finals’- WOW!!  This is it! You made it from the Blind Auditions, the Battle Rounds, to The Sing Off, and the Semi-finals to The Finals! Your future resident just told you they loved the community and the apartment! But wait~~they are saying that it is between you and one other apartment community! They want a day to think about what they were going to do. You try one more tactic~~ the Look and Lease Same Day Special.  They tell you they appreciate it but really want to make sure they make the right decision, after all, this is where they will live for the next 12 months. So what do you do now to make sure you come out as “The Voice” of all the communities?  Remember that video you recorded of the tour? Put the video up on You Tube make sure you mark it private and only the future resident has access to this. Then send an email/text message to the future resident saying that you have a special video that you wanted to share. The future resident will be able to review how they felt and see what they loved about the apartment all over again! Yup, I know crazy and brilliant at the same time!  Give the future resident some time but make sure you call them before you leave for the day to see if they have any questions. Keep following up with the future resident. Be memorable!  In the end only one community can be “The Voice”.  It is your job to make sure it is your community more often than not.

What are you doing to make this happen? See what is working and what is not.  Sometimes it can be something as simple as the way you answered the phone, to the apartment appearance, or even how you are advertising.  Remember the first thing people see is your advertisements.  If you have a ‘boring ho-hum just like everyone else’s’ advertising approach, then you have already lost the blind audition. Do not be afraid to stand out and be different. Be memorable!!

Why be dull when you can be extraordinary?

I want my property to stand out from everyone else’s in every way from my print ad, social media presence, to my sales pitch, and curb appeal. So how do we do this, how do we make a statement to our prospective renters that we are a different management company or community? It is very easy, so easy that you are going to hit your head with the palm of your hand for not thinking to use a little trick that Lisa Trosien talked about in a recent webinar presented by App Folio. Are you ready? Here is the top secret advice: Care about your residents and their voice by sharing what they have to say about your community!

It’s very simple!  Your greatest asset is your residents’ voice. They already live at your community and know what your management company can offer them. So why do we not use this great asset? Are we afraid to be the first in the market for our area to be different or are we just comfortable being the same?

I like to think that we can overcome our fears of trying something new.  Goodness knows I have tried many new things in many areas of my life. I can tell you what I would do if I had the ability to make my community stand out from everyone else.

First, I would have a testimonial board in my leasing office. I would position this where the first thing the prospect sees is my resident’s testimonial of the community.

Second, in my leasing office I would frame pictures of my residents in their apartment, using the amenities or at a community function. This simple and inexpensive decoration will show that you like your residents; you mean what you say in your sales presentation, print ad, and social media advertising.

Third, I would have additional resident testimonials in the model or mini models. I would put some over the bed in the master bedroom, bathroom mirror, refrigerator and the front door to read as they are leaving the unit. I would even incorporate Toni Blake’s “I Love This” picture book of the residents around town or around the community. I would leave it open on the coffee table as an attention grabber.

Fourth, I would create a slide show of pictures using the testimonials of residents, their pictures and pictures of the community to send as an email follow up.

Lastly and most importantly, I would incorporate resident testimonials and pictures of community events into my print ad, internet marketing, and social media sites.

These five things will set you so far apart from your competitors that you will be remembered. Why would you want to be the same as everyone else when you can be extraordinary? I challenge everyone to do something different with your presentation of your community.

By Jolene Sopalski

Link's To Names Mention in Blog:

Lisa Trosien http://apartmentexpert.com/

Toni Blake http://www.totallytoni.com/

Professionally Edited by Barbara Savona of
http://www.watchyourbusinesssprout.com/

It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer!

It’s a Bird, A Plane, no wait it's a Baby Boomer! by Jolene Sopalski Edited by Alisha Kruger

Marketing to seniors has to be one of the hardest markets but it can also be one of the most fun!

How do we go from seniors being hard to market to, to being easy?

Ooops, I’m still working on that, if you find out, PLEASE let me know!

I have been working at a Senior Community since October 2010.  (Not very long so I have first hand knowledge-fresh insider look at the struggles & what is working NOW) The senior community is like it's own little world in our industry! Talk about a culture shock going from Multifamily Housing to Senior Housing.

So, how do you market to seniors?  Here are some tips that I have learned and what I have research in. Maybe it will help you out when marketing to seniors!

1) Do not underestimate a senior’s knowledge of the Internet! I have learned this the hard way and let me tell you after getting an ear full from my residents and my grandmother; most seniors today are not Internet and social media illiterates of the past. Today's seniors are one of the largest groups using technology to socialize and for entertainment. Some ways to tap into this market are:

YouTube your seniors having fun at your community: Create a short film or series documenting what you can offer your residents. Remember you want this to be entertaining but stating your message to the viewer. YouTube videos will increase your name being in the top of Internet organic searches. They will always be viewed first before a website.

Facebook your community with a business page: Make sure you tell all your current, past, and future residents of your community to "Like" your page. Include your resident activities on your page in the events section. Have pet photo contests on your facebook page. Put special deals just for your residents to see. The key to a facebook community page is to get your residents talking about your community to their friends etc.

Mobile Apps- Seniors love technology and will buy the newest gadgets out there. Recently when I went into Verizon I was shocked at how many seniors were there (averaging 3 to every 1 young adult.) Make sure your community is accessible via mobile applications. Maybe you can create one that can be downloaded from your community website?

Text Messaging-This is a great way to do an immediate follow up with a prospect. I heard once of a leasing agent sending a video of herself in front of the apartments thanking the prospects by name for visiting her community. Now how cool is that! What a great way to keep it personal and use technology. Plus my residents love that they get a reminder text about their rent and when we are having a resident function.

Community Website- Make sure your website is user friendly and looks inviting! Don't be afraid to put pictures of the interior of your units up or of your staff with cute fun sayings about your community. No one wants to live in a boring community  (FACT!) so why should your website be boring?

2) Seniors LOVE Resident Activities: The first question out of any senior mouth is what kind of activities do you have and how often. I had one phone call where I told a prospect we had resident activities three times a week and the prospect said she was looking for a more active community and hung up. After this phone call, I reevaluated our resident program and it started to make sense why they were not coming out. The activities we had were boring!  Remember, seniors don't like to feel old; they want to have fun & socialize! Give them a party! Make sure your activities are age appropriate yet fun at the same time. Don't forget to include some activities where their children or grandchildren are invited. (WiI or BINGO!)

·        Pet Fashion Show- Almost 50% of my property has pets.  You can host a Pet Fashion Show charity event by featuring the pets in a calendar to be sold for a $2.00 with all proceeds going to a local Animal Rescue Shelter. (or charity of your choice) Your seniors will buy this because they will be proud of their pet featured and they need a calendar to put their doctors’ appointments on. Also, this calendar can be sold to others in the community.

·        Arts & Crafts- Who does not love Arts & Crafts? You have residents with many hidden talents who would love to share them. You can have a Scrap booking day, Jewelry Making, Mosaic Art, Knitting, Crocheting. Whatever you think of there will be people who will come because they like to use their hands and minds. One of the favorite events that we did this year was handmade Christmas cards for the Soldiers overseas. I had a great turn out especially by our retired military who shared great stories of their military life.

·        Science Fair- Have a good old fashion science fair with your residents. See if you can get local celebrities to be judges. The residents will love this I mean who wouldn't love being able to create experiments and show them off.

·        Cook Offs for all the seasons that you can think of. These are fun and are always enjoyed by everyone.

·         Pool Parties- Yes seniors love pool parties during the summer. Have a Luau with hula dancers giving lessons and roast a pig. Have a best Hawaiian shirt contest and a pineapple carving contest. Pool Dive in Movie Night!

·        Farmers Market is also a great way to have your residents involved and let them see local culture also. Remember some may not get out as much so this would be a treat if your community can host one.

3) Know Your Demographics: It is really important to know who you are marketing to. If you don't know your potential clients how can you sell them the value of your community. Seniors want to know what they are getting for the price of rent. Sell your community, company and yourself before you give the price.

4) Follow Up! Seniors are not quick to make decisions it can take them six months and yes they will start looking a year ahead of time. That is why it is important to have the correct information on your guest cards and to follow up with them. You always want to be on their mind, as they get closer to the time of move in. A Follow Up can be a call, text, email or card just saying, “how you are doing?” Something that always makes my seniors happy and I get a return call on is when I send them a birthday card. I don't even stop sending it to them when they become a resident.

I hope that this helps you in the journey of marketing to seniors. One of the best things about this industry is the on-going learning! If you have any ideas or comments about marketing to seniors, I would love to hear them!

STOP ask yourself do you do your follow up calls or thank you cards?!?!?!?

  STOP ask yourself do you do your follow up calls or thank you cards?!?!?!?

If you answered no to that question then I want you to hold up your right hand and pledge the following “ I will  start following up with my prospects no prospect will go un-followed up”. Good now if you are one of the ones that said yes I do my follow up calls and thank you cards I want to give you a big hug so just picture me giving  you a hug.

Why are follow ups with prospects so important to you and your owners? They are important to us because our prospects are the key to our success in this industry with out them leasing our apartments there would be no need for us. So why would you let them walk out of your office and never make contact again with money? All to often we use the excuse there's just no time to follow up. I really don’t like hearing there is no time to follow up on a potential lease because that is our job. I want to share with you some tips on following up on prospects that will hopefully increase your leases, make your owners happy and make it easier for you to follow up.  Always keep in mined that you are not the only property that your prospect is looking at so you want  to stay in the game by following up with them. You may not get the lease for many reasons but they will remember and either come back after the lease they sign at the other place or refer someone to you.

 Thank You Cards–  Thank You Cards should be sent out with in 24 hours of showing the property. These can be lots of fun to send out and adds a personal touch to your  relationship with your prospect. I love getting greeting cards in the mail especially on my bad days so think of it this way you just put a smile on someones face. The key to the greeting card is to make sure you stand out and they remember you. Include a personal message about your tour what they liked about your community and a picture. Give them a special incentive to come back. You can hand make these cards, go to the dollar tree, vista print or maybe your company has some already. Post cards also work great for thank you cards.

 Phone Calls/Text– Phone Calls/Text should be done with in the first 24 hours, then with in 72 hours and then five days from the initial visit or till they say no I don't want to rent from you (sadly this dose happen). With everyone having texting capabilities it is sometimes preferred way of communicating. I know that when I get home I don't like to answer the phone I prefer texts so I like to do both a phone call within two hours of leaving my property if I’m able to and text by the first business day. When you are making these follow up calls make sure you include the hot points they loved about your community and even try to give them an incentive to comeback. If you have a hard time remembering when to phone or text you can set it up in Microsoft Outlook for a reminder call and your company software program.
 Email– Is also a great way to follow up with a prospect. There are all kinds of free e-cards that you can send to your prospect. This is also good to invite the prospect to any future resident activities that you will have on your property. What better way to follow up then invite them to a resident party?!?! Email is also the most cost effective for your owners but the email follow up may get lost in the spam filter so I advise not to rely heavily on this but to pair this with any of the follow up procedures.

 Now I like to include a few other tips that I do with my follow ups that have work for me. I like to get the prospect birthday from their drivers license and I put on my desk calendar and my outlook calendar their birthday. Depending if I have their mailing address or email I will send them a birthday card from me to them. Every one loves birthday cards and this will still keep you in the forefront even if they did not lease with you the first time. I also like to do a follow call, greeting card or email at the six month point of visiting (again calendar or outlook email) just to see how they are doing and to let them know we still have a home for them when they are ready. Also most of us are on sixty day notices so I will at the 90days before its been a year of coming to our property try to contact the prospect again. So as you can see I have done a year of follow up and the results are phenomenal.

 Making sure that you and your staff are following up on your prospect is so important that it should be mandatory and be held accountable for not doing it. Our prospects equal money and by following up we are going after the money. I hate letting money leave my wallet for silly things so why would we do that to our community or owners. FOLLOW UP with your prospects its that important.

 

Feel free to follow up with me on your thoughts and ideas for follow ups.

Jolene Sopalski

Leasing Specialist

WRH Realty Services

jolene.sopalski@gmail.com

*Originally posted on Multi Family Insiders on September 22,2010*