Looking back over my life in the context of Christmas gift giving I have come to notice that the act in and of itself is becoming less and less personal. In my youth, I received actual physical gifts, in my mid to late twenties gifts came in the way of a gift card and this year I had a code sent by email for gifts on Amazon to be delivered at a later date.
I can’t help but to think that as we adopt technology more and more into the mainstream of the apartment marketing business, it will become not unlike this years’ Amazon gift. Impersonal and lacking in emotion.
Now some of you would argue that the coveted 18 to 34 year old market desires to be communicated with via email, IM and or the tools provided by Facebook, MySpace and the like. I would agree with you and in the same breath say that in that case a card in the mail carries more weight than it used to given the advent of all this technology.
People will always cave to the personal touch. Think about it your own personal relationships. Did you enjoy the last time your spouse sent you a text in the middle of the day more so than the foot massage he or she gave you after a long day at the office? Did you enjoy the 334th email forward your Mom or Dad sent you this year more so than the hug they gave you at Christmas?
That being said, I think one way to be different in today’s market is to be more like we were 10 years ago. That is certainly not to suggest that all the above mentioned tools don’t have a place in the apartment business. They do. And they will morph into a more and more successful way to communicate going forward. It is to suggest that the hand-written thank you note will always have affect and relevance.
I have put together an agenda for a team meeting tomorrow and it includes one item.
- Thank you cards
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