Apartment Marketing
Multifamily: “Act as if” Your Way to an Ownership Culture
Photo by DISRUPTIVO on Unsplash
Organizations are always searching for ways to increase team member engagement and drive success. One concept that has gained significant traction in recent years is the idea of an “ownership culture.” But what exactly does this mean, and how can it be achieved?
An ownership culture is a system of beliefs and habits that encourages team members to think and act like owners within the organization. Team members are empowered to take ownership of their work and contribute to the organization’s success by fostering these characteristics within a company. The culture is centered around six key areas: decision-making, information and learning, organizational fairness, accountability, work and pay, and entrepreneurship.
Building an ownership culture requires a clear and concise company vision, mission, and strategy. It also requires strong leadership committed to investing the time and effort necessary to instill these values and beliefs within the organization. Leaders must also create an environment of transparency, where information is shared transparently. This builds trust and accountability among team members, allowing them to feel a sense of ownership over their work and the company.
One approach to building an ownership culture is allowing employees to invest in the company through stock ownership plans or other investment opportunities. This “skin in the game” approach provides employees with a tangible stake in the company’s success and aligns their interests with the organization’s. It also creates a shared sense of responsibility and accountability, encouraging team members to work together towards a common goal.
Multifamily Customer Service: Resolution
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Customer service is an essential aspect of the multifamily industry, as it helps to foster strong relationships between property teams and residents. One of the key metrics of successful customer service is “speed to resolution,” which refers to the time it takes for a customer service representative to resolve a resident’s issue. Humans don’t like to wait and don’t want to repeat their issue several times before it is resolved. Speed to resolution is more important than ever and can significantly impact resident satisfaction and retention.
There are several reasons why speed to resolution is critical in the multifamily space. Firstly, residents expect prompt and efficient service when they have an issue or concern. They will likely become frustrated and dissatisfied if they wait too long to resolve their problem. This can lead to negative word-of-mouth, which can hurt the reputation of a property and make it more challenging to attract new residents.
Additionally, quick resolution can help to minimize the impact of a resident’s issue on their daily life. For example, if a resident is dealing with a maintenance issue, the faster it can be resolved, the less disruption they will experience. This can help to increase resident satisfaction and reduce the risk of negative reviews.
Furthermore, speed to resolution can also positively impact property management operations. By resolving issues quickly, property managers can reduce the workload of their maintenance team and improve their overall efficiency. Quick resolution can also help prevent minor issues from becoming more significant, requiring more time and resources.
Multifamily Marketing: Design
Photo by Med Badr Chemmaoui on Unsplash
Design is a crucial component of multifamily marketing. It plays a key role in attracting potential residents, creating a memorable brand, and setting your property apart from the competition. According to Founder and CEO Mike Brewer of Multifamily Collective, becoming brilliant at using design in multifamily marketing requires a few key steps.
- Understand your audience: To create an effective design, you must first understand the needs, preferences, and behaviors of your target audience. What do they value in a living space? What are their lifestyle habits? What kind of visual language speaks to them? By researching and understanding your target audience, you can create design elements that resonate with them.
- Define your brand: A strong brand identity is essential to a successful multifamily marketing campaign. Define your brand values, mission, and tone. This will serve as a guiding principle for all your design decisions. Your brand should be reflected in all your marketing materials, from your logo to your property website.
- Use visuals to tell a story: Design is about more than just aesthetics. It’s about telling a story. Use visuals to connect with your audience emotionally, showcasing your property’s unique features, benefits, and amenities. High-quality photographs and video content can give potential residents a feel for the living experience at your property.
- Make it easy to understand: Complex designs or confusing layouts can detract from your message. Keep your design simple, intuitive, and easy to understand. A clean, streamlined design will help communicate your message effectively and make it easier for potential residents to take action.
- Stay consistent: Consistency is key in multifamily marketing. Your design elements, such as color palette, typography, and imagery, should be consistent across all your marketing materials. This will reinforce your brand and make it easy for potential residents to recognize your property.
Following these steps, you can create an effective design that attracts and engages potential residents and sets your property apart from the competition. With a strong design strategy, you can maximize the impact of your multifamily marketing efforts and build a successful brand.
Multifamily War for Talent
*Rudux
Lisa Trosien wrote a great piece for PayLease in 2015. As I read it, I nodded in agreement more than once. The War for Talent is in full motion. And the perfect storm provides tailwinds that will keep it moving for some time. Multifamily construction is off the charts, the qualified labor pool is all but dried up, and expectations are way out of alignment with the real world.
Multifamily Construction
Multifamily permits, starts, and absorption are firing in unison and seeming have no headwinds to contend with. At least in the near term. And all of these new products incite leasing professionals to follow the money. In some respects, Property management companies across the land are victims of their own doing. We build beautiful new communities with the need to fill them fast to get long-term debt in place while interest rates are low. It’s a race. And it has put in place a #gameon War for Talent.
Labor Pool
I will dispute the one point made in the article. Well-qualified talent is not hard to find but requires hard work and effort. The key is beating the streets. Stop relying exclusively on the HR team to do the job. And interview constantly.
Make it a point to shop high-end retail, restaurants, hospitality, and other service-oriented organizations. Pick companies that you know have heavily mandated customer-centric and/, or sales-oriented training in place. Yes – be ready to pay more but also be ready to expect more.
Schedule interviews constantly. Set aside 30 to 45 minutes a week to meet and talk to prospective employees, even if you are at capacity. Always be building your bench.
And be ready to restructure the way you do business. That is to suggest turning the way you drive your business upside down. Do you need a property manager? Maybe you need a Sales Manager instead. With the advent of the Internet and thus the ability to automate nearly 100% of the back office, you can void the PM title. With that in mind, you can afford to pay leasing/salespeople more through incentives or base rates.
Expectations
On the point of tattoos and piercings. Stick with me on this – people like to do business with people they like. Most of the current renter pool is ripe with young talented self-expressing people. And baby boomers who like to associate with the current renter pool and their youthful ways. Suffice it to say; the tattooed-brow-pierced twenty-something is precisely who our current renter wants to do business with. They are interesting. They are people. They stand for something. They are likable. Just because they don’t look like you and like the things you do does not mean they aren’t worth every dime they expect.
Multifamily Leadership: Know Yourself
As a leader in the multifamily industry, it is essential to understand who you are and what drives you. Self-awareness is vital to becoming an effective and inspiring leader.
Let’s unpack the importance of self-awareness and how it can enhance your leadership abilities.
What is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is understanding and recognizing your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It is the foundation of emotional intelligence, which is critical in leadership. Self-awareness allows you to understand how your actions and emotions impact others and how to adjust your behavior accordingly.
Why is Self-Awareness Important for Multifamily Leaders?
Self-awareness is crucial for multifamily leaders because it helps them understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to leverage them effectively. When you are self-aware, you can recognize when you need to step back and delegate tasks to others or when you need to take charge and lead by example.
When you are self-aware, you can make authentic decisions about who you are and what you stand for. Self-awareness also helps you understand your values, beliefs, and motivations. This understanding can guide your decision-making and ensure you are aligned with your organization’s mission and values.
How to Develop Self-Awareness
Developing self-awareness takes time and effort, but it is a valuable investment in your leadership abilities. Here are some steps you can take to increase your self-awareness:
- Reflect on your experiences. Take time to reflect on your experiences, both positive and negative. Ask yourself what you learned from these experiences and how they have shaped your leadership style.
- Seek feedback. Seek feedback from others, including your team members, colleagues, and mentors. This feedback can provide valuable insights into your perception and help you identify improvement areas.
- Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a powerful tool for increasing self-awareness. Practice mindfulness techniques, such as meditation or journaling, to help you stay focused and centered in the present moment.
- Continuously learn. Read books, attend workshops, and seek mentorship opportunities to learn and grow as a leader.