Everything is marketing and in that respect we don’t even scratch the surface in today’s post. We are only aiming to make a few points on the relationship side.
Apartment marketing is thinking about and communicating with people in a more intimate way. It’s block and tackle kind of stuff. If we take the time to know people’s names, their kids names, their likes, interests and motivations – they will love us for life. Even when we muff it up.
Apartment marketing is actively servicing the people who made a mindful choice to live in our communities – giving them every chance to rock your house. Read: give them the tools and provide for them the activities that make their lives a richer experience and they will tell your story for you.
Apartment marketing is asking for feedback. Listening to it. And, most important making their feedback a part of their future experience as often as you can.
Your – remembering that everything is marketing – multifamily maniac,
M
0 Responses
Hey Mike, Good Morning
I sure agree with you that “Everything we do SHOULD be marketing”and I really get what you are saying, however nearly everything we do in this industry screams the contrary. Our behavior each day is what counts, and it just isn’t up to par.
Just start with your company Policy and Procedures, and divide them into three buckets;
1) It protects the company
2) It is Marketing in Everything We Do
3) It was intended to protect the company but it really doesn’t, and or it only happened once so we drafted a policy that has been in place forever.
If you are honest with this exercise, most items fall into Bucket #3, a few into Bucket #1 and hardly any fall into Bucket #2. Until our internal organization and or the company culture is Marketing in Everything We Do we will continue to burnout staff and only achieve mediocre status at best.
E
Thank you for taking the time to add a thought here – it has been awhile.
I could not agree more. It is interesting – just this week, we sat down as a team (lead by Kirk Mills, the President of our company) and talked about becoming an excellent company. What that looks like. And, what we need to do to get there. One of the tasks we came up with is to give a good hones assessment of where we are today. That is pull every single policy, procedure, report, process or otherwise and bring it to the next meeting.
In thinking through your comment and the exercise we are doing, I can tell you our #3 bucket is overflowing. And (read with passion) I think we are a somewhat forward thinking organization.
I am jazzed that we are taking the time to dig up our sacred cows and shift course. And, know I will be pushing the everything is marketing message through and through.
Hope the balance of your day rocks – looking forward to seeing you soon.
M
In the world of housing in general, and especially in the world of affordable housing, it is a sad fact that nearly everything we do is governed by policies, procedures, and laws. More important, our applicants and residents tend not to understand many of the regulations related to funding, fair housing, and landlord tenant law. While we, as responsible operators/business owners/inverstors are compelled to duly enforce and follow such guidelines, we are not required to do so in a manner contrary to the spirit of Marketing in Everything We Do.
I agree completely with @UrbaneMedia:disqus so far as that #3 bucket item – we tend to think in terms of protecting the company from the problem applicant/tenant to such a degree that we can end up treating the whole of our tenants (“customers” to coin a phrase) in a manner that is inconsistent with good marketing principles.
Perhaps the most important thing to bear in mind is that, even more than many industries, it costs less to retain a valued customer than it does to attract a new one. Especially so in the affordable segment of our industry.
For many operators, daily activity tends to fall into three areas: “Marketing” to attract new residents, Maintenence, and “Enforcement” of rules and regulations. All to often, “Marketing” is limited to attracting potential renters to our site and getting them into a unit. When we think about current residents we tend to think in terms of “enforcement”.
If we can train ourselves to think more in terms of “retention” and less in terms of “enforcement” it is a win for all.