Apartment Reviews – Reimagined

Looking back

 Back in October of 2007 we wrote about participating in the conversation via rating sites and even suggested incorporating a mechanism into your property management website to make it easier. Here is a bit of a revised excerpt from that post;

 “If you are still of the mind that dismisses the value of sites like apartmentratings.com, listen up. The feedback outlined in the brief above [Deloitte] should move you to action as soon as possible. I truly think we should all open up our company websites to include a consumer and resident feedback mechanism. Instead of internal score keeping, make it completely transparent. My only suggesting is that you have an editor just for the sake of carving out names and character attacks as we know they will come despite our best efforts. Even with that in mind you have to be courageous enough to leave the meat and more importantly act on it.”

 Two years later

 Here we are nearly two years later in the midst of the conversation marketing buzz and while a good many of us are participating there is still a hesitancy to move that conversation to our websites. Even those that have don’t really have a great deal of participation in terms of consumers reviewing them.

 Two years from now

 Not only is the writing on the wall but the ink is dry and the conversation is going on with or without you. And, the benefits are immense when you bring the conversation to you;

•  You have the ability to increase your credibility
• You have the ability to participate
• You have the ability to influence
• You have the ability to increase your Google Juice
• You have the ability to innovate with your consumer
• You have the ability to create evangelist
• You have the ability to generate further participation
• You have the ability to create loyalty
• You have the ability to create an environment where people feel they are part of something larger than themselves
• You have that ability to respond in lieu of react [there is a big difference]

The more important point here is: how do we increase participation to an Amazonish or iTuneish type level? Do we ask former potential, existing or former residents to review their experience relative to their specific unit such that every unit takes on its very own unique rating? Would that allow us to price higher rated homes differently than lower rated homes. I see it as a great mechanism to allow us the opportunity to really maximize our rents. Maybe the lease rent optimizers out there employee a unit rating lever into their pricing algorithms. The ideas are endless – acting is the key.