#apartmentmarketing
#apartmentmarketing: Persistence
“There are no magic wands, no hidden tricks, and no secret handshakes that can bring you immediate success, but with time, energy, and determination you can get there.” – Darren Rowse, Founder Problogger
A ton of rhetoric has been penned about social media as it relates to apartment marketing, resident retention and the such. Some of it is really good and some of it is just fluff and fill. Some has merit and some has not the sense god gave a billy goat.
Apartment management brass tacks
Toss it all aside and get back to the brass tacks of good old fashion property management – what do you have? Boring, mundane, uncompelling and anti-dramatic and melodic methods of madness. Anyone who has been in the business for a very long bit of time would agree that property management is not rocket science. Just a couple days ago I was sitting diagonal from a finance quant who thought he hit the nail on the head when he made that very statement.
Personality
At the end of the day – it’s the culmination of personalities laced with wit, wisdom, humor, elevated emotion and a purpose larger than life itself that bring about the want to persist with the quest of managing property. And, those who do it well would admit that it’s what gives them life.
It’s the time that they love to spend.
It’s the energy that they love to exude.
It’s the determination of pursuing a worthy goal that keeps them coming back for more.
Admit it – There’s something about this business!
What is it for you? What keeps you coming back for more? I dare you to tell me in the comment section below! Double dog…
M
#apartmentmarketing: Social Media Proof
The next time you hear a social media myth, question it. Ask for the proof, and ask out loud. – Dan Zarrella
So much flying around out there in the way of experts, guru’s, master’s of the universe and the such.
My new default gauge for validation; can I talk to a client that used your service prior to social media taking front and center? And, if that answer suffices; then you can show me your social media results and pass along another client testimonial or two.
#apartmentmarketing: Enchantment
When you enchant People, your goal is not to make money from them or to get the to do what you want, but to fill them with great delight. – Guy Kawasaki
I read somewhere that if you are blogging or doing social media without the intent of selling more stuff, you are a hobbyist. I call bunk on that thought.
I’ve been blogging for nearly seven years now. And, I can tell you I don’t do it to sell more things. Moreover, I can tell you I don’t do it for a hobby. The work ethic alone in terms of keeping it up makes it much more than a hobby. I do it to be enchanted, to be enlightened, to be better at what I do.
That is not to suggest that there are some diary writers out there that are cataloging their life for no other purpose but to just do it.
I look at it like this – blogging has been a gateway to some very amazing relationships, educational opportunities and otherwise. For me, it’s value comes not in the way of consulting gigs, widget sales or other offerings but rather in the relationships I get to partake in. Now one could argue that all that leads to sales. Maybe so. But it’s not the premise for every blog and neither is every blog a hobby. Even some of the corporate types.
I would even go out on a limb to say that those who don’t set the premise as a sales oriented one but rather one of – exposure to some cool people I can learn from – end up selling more stuff.
Thoughts?
#Apartmentmarketing: The Niche
Increasingly, the mass marketing is turning into a mass of niches. – Chris Anderson
Question: Do we need to hire, train and promote subject matter experts in order to reach the ever segmenting audience?
Pic: Courtesy of Everything Technology Blogging
#Apartmentmarketing: Attention Economy
Instead of one-way interruption, Web marketing is about delivering useful content at just the precise moment that a buyer needs it. – David
Meerman Scott
Seth Godin quipped that engagement is hitting people with the right message at the right time so as to have them take action [engage]. I think we have to take that word engage and thus precise moment further. To truly engage, at least in my head, you have to be enchanted, you have to be moved, you have to yearn for more so much so that you have no choice but to act on your desires. It the deepest throes of emotion. Words like love, anger and the many nuances of each come to mind. It’s not just a like, unlike, +1 or the such. It’s deeper.
Mr. Apartment Manager Man; “I am done.”
It’s not unlike the gentleman I met with last Friday evening. He, unfortunately, was moving out of our Central West End Community. Reason? In his words, “I am done.”
You see about three weeks ago, the entire roof of his five story building blew off and landed in the parking lot beside and the street in front. Thank the one that governs it all that no one was hurt as it could have been really bad.
In response to the situation; our team entered every apartment in the building and place plastic over beds, electronics and the such. Most were thankful. Not the gentleman I met on Friday. His beef? We did not leave him a note to let him know we had been in his apartment.
Engage
Somewhere in the wake of the roof being pulled off the building by straight lined winds; his attention got engaged. The premise aside; he was moved by an aggressive deep seated emotion. He engaged with some ill language and barbed personal remarks for the onsite team and the rest of our Mills management team. He got so engaged that he ended up leaving the property.
The Point
I think we are headed toward true engagement – we are not there yet. We use the word but in it’s loosest of senses. We are in the early innings of a very long ball game that is frankly destined for infinite extra innings. Think in terms of singularity. Think in terms of love, hate and other extremes. That’s engagement. For now we are just courting. Or, at best out on a blind date and liking our mate because our friends suggested we should. Now it’s up to us and the million other people out there participating with brands to fall in love or fall in hate.
What do you think?
Photo tip to: Online Ninja Blog
