Property Management
Huge and Compelling Opportunity to Win an Influencer
I think this story in the Daily Egyptian has compelling opportunity written all over it – we shall see.
*Now one might argue that it is inappropriate for me to highlight such an article and they may be right. The way I see it, however, is that I would invite the same approach if the tables were turned. I see it as an opportunity for everyone involved to get better. I see it as an opportunity for the end user to yield a better experience the next time around – be it with this community and or any other in the market. And, I see it as an opportunity to start some conversation.
The article, from the Universities daily rag, speaks to a slight hiccup in the move experience of several local university students. Here is a short excerpt:
“But Thibodeaux said when she moved into one of the brand-new, fully-furnished apartments on July 31, not only were none of those amenities available, but some essentials such as room doorknobs weren’t installed. She and other renters were also promised a private bus to and from campus, a state-of-the-art exercise room and a swimming pool with a hot tub, none of which were available when residents moved in, she said.”
I feel for the both the developer and the residents of the community as I am sure the hopes were high on both sides. I am certain the developer did not predict the dire reality of today’s economy. And, the future residents were high on the thought of living in a brand new community located right down the street from the campus. The thing I applaud most about this is the courage of one person to stand up and be heard. I can only imagine what would come of this is Thibodeaux were to really exercise the power of social media. I also feel for the on- site team as evidenced by the following;
“Thibodeaux said she was told to “stop complaining” and to “get over it” when she spoke with Walker about the various issues.”
In all fairness I have to put myself in the shoes of Walker – I imagine she had the same utopia that students had – she would be working on the newest and nicest community in town and when that vision did not come to fruition she was left to do the explaining. A tough job under any circumstance.
Despite the less than wonderful circumstance, I do think there is a win in here for all parties. If able minds from the developer to the operators to the residents come to the table – this story could have a happy ending. And, if it does it would be cool to see Thibodeaux along with others become huge evangelist for the community.
*This new community is just blocks away from a property I manage…
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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
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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.
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Tell Them How Much You are Moved by the Neighborhood
Don’t tell prospects and residents how much your apartments are – tell them how much you are moved by the neighborhood.
Tell them about waking up on a crisp fall morning and taking a run in Forest Park just one block over from your apartment. Tell them about stopping back by Velocity Coffee Shop to have a cup of coffee – served by a friendly Barista named Tracy who rarely smiles but wants to. Tell them about the free copies of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the St. Louis Dispatch. Tell them about the free wifi. And, oh – it’s a bike shop too with cool bike motif everywhere. The bathroom even has a cool chalkboard where you once drew a giant dragon that looked as if it were eating the giant flower someone else drew.
Tell them about Papa John’s pizza and Subway at the end of the block where Tony and Charles remember your name and serve you with a smile. Tell them about Atlas Restaurant located in the heart of the neighborhood and the amazing food and desserts that they serve. Tell them about The Loop and The Central West End [very cool Saint Louis neighborhood hangouts] being just one mile away and don’t forget to mention the friendly cab driver resident who will drive you over while entertaining you with great conversation. Tell them about all the fun nights you had in those neighborhoods.
Tell them about Mr. and Mrs. Wang who own the dry cleaners right next door to Papa John’s and how they wash and fold clothes for $0.75 a pound. Tell them how much you love the fact that each Christmas they give your children big canisters of candy as a thank you for your business.
Tell them about the dog park even if you are not a pet lover – not even in the least.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the neighborhood that I fell in love with in Saint Louis. Oh yeah, and I lived in a great apartment that overlooked a tree lined street that looks amazing in the fall.
Tell them with conviction how much you love the neighborhood the rest will fall right into place.
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Apartment Marketing – Negative Capability
A good deal of insanely great change is influenced from the bottom up.. Why is that? It’s precisely for the reason that a front-liner’s negative capability meter is on par with Shawn White’s eXtreme fearless factor. John Keats brought the theory of negative capability to light back in the early 1800’s – negative capability defined as one’s ability to embrace uncertainty. For many property management firms across the country, embracing social media in all it’s implications will rest on those with the ability to exercise or greatly influence negative capability within their respective organizations.
Fighting the good fight
What will these champions of change face as they venture into corner offices across the country? The famed Edward de Bono calls it Rock Logic. You might recognize it as linear, pragmatic, methodical or even orderly thinking. Where negative capability thinkers thrive on ambiguity their counterparts want the back up, the proof in the pudding and they want it in solid Rock Logic spreadsheet fashion. Your best bet is to make the case for Good Enough.
Good Enough vs. All
Most C level property management executives live for the numbers. They also demand that they have ALL the available information to back up the numbers. They will delay decisions for months on end if they think [not feel] that any piece of information evades them. When in comes to developing a premise for decisions in uncharted territory, Good Enough loses to All every time. Think about that in the context of making the case for incorporating social media into your on-line strategy.
The rub is that the industrial age, where Rock Logic thinking absolutely applied, has given way to the knowledge age and this generation thrives on making things happen in the midst of chaos. They thrive on making decisions based on Good Enough information knowing full well that they will remain nimble enough to change direction if need be. They thrive on trying new things and changing course at the drop of a hat. Fail fast succeed sooner is part of their DNA.
All that in mind, convincing C level types that Good Enough, as it relates to embracing social media, will/should become their motto for the stump of 2009. Encourage and massage those negative capability muscles so that Good Enough has space in their thought process. Go for it and fight the good fight as your organization will be all the better for it.
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