marketing apartments
Apartment Internet Marketing – Education
This is the second part of a five part series based on a recent emarketer survey. In part one we discussed the concept of Exclusivity. Today we discuss: Education as it relates to Apartment Internet Marketing.
I have included the chart here again for reference:
What is Education?
Education, according to Princeton.edu is defined as; a gradual process of acquiring knowledge. From the time of birth we are taking in information, processing it, making decisions and acting. All the while we are layering information on top of information, taking in the new and purging the old to make new assumptions about the future to come. In any case, we are subject to the people and the environment we choose to hang around and participate in. There is a Dave Matthew’s song called: The Space Between. In that song Dave belts: “the space between – the tears we cry – is the laughter keeps us coming back for more – the space between – the wicked lies we tell – and hope to keep safe from the pain” I would contend that space between is called – choice. And, that choice is the byproduct of a catalyst and the result is action – all couched in education or better said, knowledge.
Value Exchange
Education would lead us to understand that the single most important catalyst in today’s business environment is garnishing a individuals attention. With no equivocation – it is the most important determinant of business success. When asking someone to give you their attention, you are asking them to give you their most precious possession – time. Ask for that attention in the way of a negative event caused by you and or your organization and expect a less than positive consequence. Ask for that attention in the way of a positive event and expect – nothing. In the Internet age this is the price of admission. In the context of apartment marketing ideas, ask for that attention in the way of educating apartment patrons and you plant the seeds necessary for true engagement.
Consumer Expectation
There is yet another thing that human beings have in common – the need for insight. Insight is often a vibrant, happy and emotionally loaded space in any person’s life. At some level we are all after it – we all want to be in-the-know. The emotion and desire is hard-wired into our system. That is to suggest that consumer’s want – innately. It’s imbued on their hearts and minds. When we apply that fact we can quickly see the overarching need to embed listening, understanding, interaction and feedback into our concept. It all adds up to meaning for the apartment patron. It all adds up to the willingness to give us their attention. As an example – people spend an average of 25 minutes per session on Facebook – why? The need for insight is being met.
Offer it and They Will Come
We see examples of this all over the internet today but my favorite is Wine Library TV – dial into the 3:50 min section of this video – it is the point. You get people to this and you are on your way to what I will end this series with.
Have a over the top and compelling end to your week – we will be back in a couple days with another installment to this series.
Apartment Marketing Idea – Can you remember…
…being amazed by particles of dust floating in the sunlight
…putting your brand new clothes out the night before the first day of school
…the first time you drove a car
…the first six bars of Stairway to Heaven
What makes you care?
Think about that question from the perspective of the base you are trying to serve. Not the base you are trying to reach but rather the one you serve. Serve them well [Care] and the reach will happen by default.
Think about that the next time you set down to frame some apartment marketing ideas.
And, be compelling…
What Jerry Garcia could teach us about Apartment Marketing
You understand that the consumer is in control of your brand – now what?
Do something about it –
It’s time to shine! It’s time to take that understanding of not being in control and do something exceptional with it. And, knowing that innate in every single potential apartment prospect or long term super loyal resident is a little thing called emotion – focus there. Get it on it! Crush it! – as Gary Van-ner-chuk (is it me or does he look like a hit man in the “It’s 2010…grab it” video) would say.
How do you do something about it in the apartment space
It all starts with giving your prospects or residents something to discover. How do you do that? Be it a blog – a Facebook Fan Page – a Ning site or Twitter – you have a chance to add value through a little word called discovery. It has to move beyond the typical recommendation or link pointing to this or that or the other. Or god forbid, your floor plans, amenities, current specials and the such. Chances are they have discovered most of the stuff you are pointing to – especially if you use curated content hosed from another source. People want surprise – they want intrigue – they want variation. Think Greatful Dead here.
What the Grateful Dead can teach us about apartment marketing
“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do.” – Jerry Garcia
There was nothing normal about a Dead show. Every single gig was 100% unique and full of mystery. Every tangent that Jerry went off on was unique from the former and or the next. It added an element that gave cause for one of the most radical followings of our life time. One thing their shows were not – static. They were spicy. They were ever evolving and full of flavor. As a result their repeat business was off the charts and the buzz (pun intended) marketing persists to this day – even beyond the death of Jerry.
What kind of spice are you ready to deliver in 2010?
Dare I say – get your Jerry on!!
Give Customers What They Want
Seth posted a great story today title Everyone is Clueless – the video is especially compelling and is laced with a ton of powerful business lessons.
My biggest take away – we should be marketing reusable positions in lieu of recycling positions – it was a duh! moment for me. Now – how do we translate that to the apartment space.
I was also hit with the reinforcing message of: Give the customer what they want.
Check out the video
Peter is a Patriots Fan – Could he be a Mills Properties Fan?
My week was more than eventful – transitioned 1100 new units [what an amazing team we have – so many talented people made this happen], walked a fire unit with an insurance adjuster, experienced two alarms that called for an ambulance and fire truck, handed off a property and talked to a guy named Peter.
Peter was less than happy that the lighting in our parking lot was not as bright as he thought it should be. It rocked that I could tell him that we approved some lighting improvement proposals the day before but he was not satisfied. He really wanted to discuss the fact that the new parking policy was not accommodating for he and his daughter. You see they are taking a trip to Boston next week and past management allowed him to park in the open reserved parking spots for a mere $5 a day. I said, “no worries” – let’s go get you a spot now. “Okay, but did you know the reason that I moved into this apartment was that my employer is right across the street but….at that moment he raised his hand to the sky and exposed an New England Patriots watch. I stopped Pete mid speech and said, “you’re not a Pariots fan, are you?” He said, “You’re damn right I am, let me tell you a funny story.”
Pete went on for the next fifteen minutes [fifteen minutes I really didn’t have but I knew would yield huge dividends] telling me a story about Saint Louis sports teams losing every sporting event they were involved in to a Boston area team during a certain week back in 1994 – he knew it was 94′ as it bared some significance to a major family event. Pete ended his story by telling me that Mills was the best thing that ever happened to the property and that he sees the things we are doing to make the place better. I have to believe it was the fifteen minutes of listening that matter most to Pete.
Is Pete a fan? I venture to say he is still in the wait and see stage but I guarantee you he will be over the next year. And, if the Patriots ever come to town – Pete will have a pair of tickets – on me.
