Property Management
Resident Pet Peeves
In a recent email interview I was asked the following question;
What are the top pet peeves landlords have of their tenants?
Shift in Thinking
In addition to being taken aback by the words landlord and tenant, my knee jerk response was a laundry list of have not and will do. Then I starting thinking in the context of new media and my whole person changed. It instantly shifted from a position of attack to one of concern. I questioned that if I posted my response in the form of an adverse laundry list and a resident read it, would they retort in an adverse manner? And, would they be right in doing so? The answer is very possibly yes, the real question is to what extent?
Now I am stuck and curious how the community might answer the questions – would love to hear your thoughts…
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Apartment Internet Marketing – Entertainment
This is the third installment of a five part series based on a recent emarketer survey. In part one we discussed the concept of Exclusivity. Part two spoke to the idea of Education. Today we discuss: Entertainment as it relates to Apartment Internet Marketing.
Here is the chart for reference:
What is Entertainment?
Princeton defines entertainment as; an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention. There is no doubt that we are living in an attention economy today. And, the key point to this economy is that the consumer has choice. Consumers have near holistic control over the spend side of the attention equation when it comes to on-line activities. As such, goods and service providers are left to tailor their offerings to meet a new set of standards and expectations. Attention is the currency of today’s consumer and they will only agree to give it up if it is in exchange for they perceive as having value.
Value Exchange
While it is a race to attract a consumers’ attention, it is in the same respect just as, if not more, important to keep it once you have it. One way to do that is to entertain your audience. Two great examples of this from the blogging world are Perez Hilton and TMZ. TMZ ranked number one in the most popular blogs of 2009 – I contend for the absolute entertainment value it exudes. For their massive audience there is a willingness to give up time and attention because of the exchange they receive in the way of value [entertainment].
Consumer Expectation
Consumers in the age of new media have grown accustom to a very high set of standards that sites like; Facebook, Google and Twitter have imbued on their minds. At the core of these standards there are three apparent consumer behaviors. First and foremost, I think it fair to say that we as a population have grown much more impatient in that we want our information now and we want it delivered our way. Second, I think it fair to say that we have grown very intolerant in that if a good or a service does not meet our expectation – we vote by not returning and moreover we tell our friends about it. And, finally we expect and demand trust. Our ability to sniff out the BS has gone hyper and as such we return to the things we can trust most. Now I’m going to step out on a limb here and look at these things in aggregate and contend that their essence is entertainment.
Offer it and they will come
I contend that if apartment internet marketers get these things right – we will have created an activity that diverts and holds attention. I write that presupposing an understanding that content is king here – the content has to be compelling. But, I am considering that a given. The point I am attempting to get across is that entertainment is a key concept in working up to that thing we are all after. That thing we will discuss in the final post of the series. But, not before we pen our thoughts on one last concept. We will have that out in a few days.
Until then – make this a compelling and entertaining week.
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Number One Way to Motivate Apartment Talent
In Lisa Trosien’s recent post: Dear Mr. (or Ms.) Property Management Executive , she speaks to ten complaints from site teams across the country. It strikes me that every single one of these have been relevant to our industry for as long as I can remember. And, every single one of them impedes progress. Which, according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, is the number one motivator of employees.
Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer penned: What Really Motivates Workers in the Jan-Feb 2010 issue. In the article they sight the following five factors as being significant drivers of motivation;
1. Recognition
2. Incentives
3. Interpersonal support
4. Support for making progress
5. Clear goals
All important but Amabile and Kramer contend not the number one motivator. After conducting an intense multi-year study tracking a multitude of levers – progress – it seems is the number one motivator.
“On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak.”
Seems to me progress, not unlike every item in Lisa’s list, is completely in the control of executives across the country. The article suggests the following ideas for helping progress;
1. Avoid changing goals autocratically
2. Be decisive
3. Provide support in the way of rolling up your own sleeves
4. Celebrate progress – no matter the stretch
I have always believed that a happy employee is a productive employee and that the property management organization exists to serve the people that serve it. And if those two mantras are employed as a premise for all decision making the rest will happen by default.
For those who would huff and puff about about the soft stuff, there is the alternative;
“On days when they feel they are spinning their wheels or encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment, their moods and motivation are lowest.”
I trust the week to come will be one of smashing progress…
Related post: Can Apartment Marketers Afford to Disconnect a 24/7 generation?
Related post: Make Sure You’re Not De-Motivating Your Team
Related post: Eight Things Your Employees Want From You
(Photo credit: Dan Pink’s: A Whole New Mind)
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Apartment Internet Marketing – Exclusivity
Came across an interesting survey at over at emarketer that spoke to the want’s of social following. The results were captured in the following chart:
Using this chart as a catalyst, we are going to do a five part series titled: The Five E’s of Apartment Internet Marketing. The overarching premise will be playing to the want’s of would be apartment Facebook, Twitter and other social medium friends. We start the series with Exclusivity.
What is Exclusivity?
Exclusivity can be defined as the sole right to a specific business function. AT&T’s exclusive right to market the iPhone is likely the most paramount example of this. Beyond that there is a huge push by aggregators to secure exclusive rights to content. We have seen this with the likes of Harvard Business Review striking a deal with an aggregator and Steven Covey striking a deal for distribution on Amazon’s Kindle. These are mass examples of exclusivity but the concept can be applied to things as simple as white papers. In this case the exclusivity comes in the way of getting for giving or more specifically, give me your email address and I will give you the white paper. It’s exclusive in the sense that not everyone would be willing to give personal information to get.
Value Exchange
The overarching point is that exclusivity has a give and take scenario baked in. You give up Sprint to get the iPhone, you give up buying from B&N and buy a Kindle so you can read Covey, you give up personal information to get information. The goods, services, experience or information requires an action on the part of the consumer and guess what, it’s the overriding reason they friend brands. They want to learn about specials, sales, etc..
Consumer Expectations
Human beings have a few things in common – one being the innate need to feel important, wanted or needed. When we apply that fact to the concept of exclusivity we can clearly see that the perception of being a part of what could be considered an elite group is compelling. We own an iPhone so we can feel cool. We read the HBR so we can feel cool. We read the latest Covey book so we can feel cool. We found our apartment on Craigslist and it was a great deal so we feel cool. Consumers are willing to give up stuff and things to feel important, wanted or needed – all day long.
Offer it and they will come
As it applies to Apartment Internet Marketing in the context of social mediums – more times than not, if you offer it they will come. Now, before I go on, I am not suggesting that you can just put any old thing out there and expect participants to join in, you have to work it. You have to willing to commit to listening, joining in, trying, failing, retooling and trying again. Otherwise it’s all for naught. I am suggesting, however, that if you do things as simple as offering a rent concession to the resident that increases your fan page base the most, or something we eluded to awhile back with tryvertising, or simply setting up a kiosk in your lobby set with twitter and facebook and asking anyone that walks in the door to friend you – you will gain an audience. However, it does not stop here…
…in part two of this series we will talk about what to do with that audience: Education
In the mean time, feel free to continue the Exclusivity conversation by leaving us a comment below.
And, have a compelling day!
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What Matters Now in Apartment Marketing
Generosity
As it relates to apartment marketing – generosity and being the difference that makes a difference is not status-quo. Being the difference takes a lot of effort and hard work and more times than not for little to no pay. The wage of a true hero in our space is paid in winning the respect of people across the gamut. It’s paid in knowing and understanding that the world is a better place for having shared all they know. More specifically, it is the free giving of time and resource that makes the real difference. It’s generosity…
How I Learned About Generosity
A quick story of reference – when I entered the apartment world some fifteen years ago I had the fortune of meeting one of these rare people. She took me along for a ride in her car one day and rifling through her purse looking for a compact she displaced six or seven thousand dollars worth of checks made out to her. Commissions for rentals and sales she had transacted over the past month. Her non-chalant response and the answer to my follow up question is what sticks with me to this day. “Oh – I really need to get those in the bank” – I asked – “Where do you bank?” She pointed – Our office happened to be right next door to her bank. I thought – unreal. Her follow up was – for me at the time – alarming. I don’t do this for the money – “I do it for the gratification I see in other people when they go through the experience of moving into their new home.” I thought [inside voice] – that’s crazy lady – I do it for the greenbacks.
It was only upon her losing a battle with cancer a few years later that the deeper meaning of generosity was cemented with me. I attended her funeral and witnessed what seemed like thousands of people paying their respects for her having given of her time and resource. Well before the mass appeal of the Internet and the advent of social platforms she had literally built a community of constituents. I have no doubt she achieved it in large part through her generosities. In my passing her casket – my time with her in the car ride came cascading back and in that moment – I caught the essence of generosity. She really didn’t do it for the money…
Now many years later I confess I am still chasing the application of what I consider a supreme human quality – in a me me me world, giving of time and resource takes a back seat far to often and I am as guilty as the next guy.
As it Relates to Family and Apartment Marketing
Might I suggest in 2010 that we get back to the art of giving and start with family and friends. And, as it relates to apartment marketing – give to your influencers and your non influencers alike. Give of time and resource in your community without the expectation of return. Figure out which charities that the top five businesses around you give to and partner with them to give of your time and resource. Do it regularly. Write about it on your blog. Get your influencers to influence their influencers and so on and so forth. The old axiom of the more you give the more you will get is really true and it applies equally to generosity. Be the difference that makes a difference in 2010. Be generous.
Inspired by: What Matters Now
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