Under New (Reputation) Management

Apartment communities change owners and management companies frequently. Among the list of challenges we often face in a management change, the online reputation that is inherited can be one of the most difficult. Historically, review sites have not accounted for a change in management in the overall score of the property. This can be costly as many people will focus on the score or star ratings rather than spending time reading the actual reviews and discovering that there has been a management change. There are several ways to overcome this both online and off. 

The short term solutions are fairly straightforward. Notify prospective residents on your website, social media, signage, brochures and email blasts that a new company has taken over management and is making a commitment to a better reputation. Just be transparent and be sure to do what you say you are going to do. If there are capital improvements coming, be sure to mention them and provide a realistic timeframe. 

The long term solutions are a bit more complicated since you actually have to get positive reviews. Directly soliciting positive reviews all at once is not recommended. Instead, you have to create a culture that promotes feedback from your current residents. Here are ways to do that:

1. Leave a card for your residents after service has been completed in their unit that invites them to share their experience with you and create an incentive for them to return it. If you get a glowing review from a resident, reach out to them and ask them to write a review online. 

2. Move-in is a great time to get feedback. Follow up with all move ins and ask how their move in could have been better? You'd be surprised how many people will appreciate it. Invite your new residents to write a review as well, especially if they gave all or mostly positive feedback.

3. Seek out your long term residents. You know, the ones who keep renewing their leases no questions asked. They are staying for a reason. Find out what it is and if they are willing to share. They probably don't even know these websites exist because they haven't needed to search for an apartment.

The bottom line is, you will need positive reviews to improve your reputation online. You know you provide good service, so now all you have to do is ask. 

#1 Need for a Pet Park? Cleaning up #2!

As I'm working on my new property, Vargos on the Lake, I'm scouring the internet for things that will make the property stand out.  One of my projects on the site is the Vargos Pet Park.  This project is close to my heart because of my very own fur baby, Mrs. Harry Winston... In fact, pet parks are vital to apartment communities today, since they are among the top four amenities people check when doing a search for an apartment on an internet listing service such as apartmentguide.com.  It is important to have a great pet park - more than 63% of renters today have pets. 

I'll share more about the ways I'm making the Vargos Pet Park special in a later post, but I wanted to share some pet park amenities that I've found (many thanks to my Facebook friends!).

Warning: this post is picture heavy.  And funny enough, what started my search for fun pet park ideas was looking for a new and updated doggie bag/disposal station. So these will be pictures of places to put your puppy's... poo.  Except for this first one - here's a picture I love of me and my Winnie. 

So here's the standard disposal station - bag dispenser at the top, trash receptacle at the bottom.  This is easy and very practical, and something like this should be in place at your property's pet park. Since you won't be able to get your hands on any Vapoorizer, and poo power may not be heading to your city anytime soon, you'll still need these basics to handle the mess that comes with our furry friends. These are available at many property management sites, such as this one.

But if you'd like something a bit different, here's a fabulous one from MPS Direct (tell George Fletcher that Kate sent you!).  I love that this still has a bag dispenser, along with a couple other features, but it doesn't stand out as a standard disposal station.  It may blend better with the rest of your pet park features in that way.

Here's another one from MPS Direct.  I love that this matches a bench that could also be featured in your pet park.  It looks more like a standard trash can, so you would need a separate bag dispenser, but those are easy to find.

Yet another receptacle, this time from Dog-ON-It-Parks, depending on the look you're going for. 

Then there's the PowerLoo, which flushes away pet waste so your maintenance staff never has to worry about emptying the disposal stations...

Another option to give your maintenance staff a break from hauling away poo is DoodyCalls, a full-service residential and commercial pet-waste disposal company. With franchises across the nation, all you'd have to do is set up their service to keep your community clean!

We got the dirty bits out of the way, and my next pet park post will be much more fun - I promise!

How Important is Your Pool? Other Amenities Take Over!

When I was 19 years old, and my title was Leasing Consultant, I wondered why the people who built the property I was charged with leasing up did not load it with amenities.  This was "back in the day" when racquetball was still popular and I wanted a court!  About five years later, as my career hit the fast track, I found myself on the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Home Builders.  I had a front row seat to the work of the best research body in our industry.  One of the many facts I learned was that only 17% of our residents actually use the pool. I started to see amenities in a whole new light.

So, why do we even build a pool?  This is when my leasing and marketing hat appears and I know that it is one of the highlights of the leasing tour.  The pool is one of those checklist items that create the feeling of a lifestyle that most people desire: "On my days off, I'm going to lounge on a chair poolside, sipping a cold drink, reading my Kindle, wearing the same bathing suit I wore in college (it's a dream so we can dream that it is still looks hot on us!), meeting fabulous people!". We know this lifestyle offering helps to lease apartments, but is it your best tool for selling renewals?

If you ask people why they stay at an apartment community year after year, you will hear key points such as; I like my apartment, it is a fun place to live, my life is easy here, this is a great location, my dog loves the pet park, I have made friends here.  Rarely do we hear "I can't move away from that pool!". People stay because of the real lifestyle they create for themselves, not their perception of the life they will have when they are looking at your pool on the leasing tour. 

No matter what the age of your community, there are a number of amenities which you have, or can add, that will create that day to day life that your residents will enjoy.  Here are a few of my favorites and some new ones to consider.

1. Valet Trash Removal - Residents report that at first they do not like the fee's associated with trash removal but then they see how nice it is to no longer have to hold your breath when walking to the stinky dumpster and risking goo on your hands from lifting the lid.  One apartment resident tweeted this picture of her dumpster and called it scary and creepy. Valet trash removal is something you miss when you buy a home!

 

2. Pet Parks - We know that 63% of apartment residents have four legged family members in their home. Pet Playland, Parks and Potty areas are some of the most commented on amenities in social media.  Not only are they great for exercising a dog but they have become a social area for neighbors to meet.  One resident reports that she rushes home to get to the pet park at 7:15pm because of a hot guy, and his Jack Russell Terrier, who are always there at this time.  Here are a few things to make your pet park fun, memorable and luxurious.



Keep pets healthy and cool.  Provide outdoor pets with plenty of fresh water and shade. We love this watering hole that bubbles fresh water for pets.

Another option is to create a fun play area. Take a hint from landscapers and create artful dog play courses using plants and hardscaping to create obstacles to weave through, balance beams to walk on or tunnels to roam through. The one shown here is also people size, but you can always create one that’s just dog size. It can be your pet’s hiding spot. Even dogs sometimes need to get away from it all.

When building the ultimate Fort Whoof, add some agility pieces for the pooch who has been lounging in the residents bed all day while their Momma or Daddy was hard at work.



 Create fun seating for pet parents to gather and stay a while.

3. Add on to existing amenity areas such as your business center or resident clubhouse.  We find that many people come down to this common area to utilize the Wi-Fi and socialize.  We see people reading and working on their iPads and laptops.  Try creating a reading nook for the little residents too.  This special space is inviting and encourages quiet activity.

4. It's time to revive the sandbox! Remember the hours you spent as a kid hanging in the backyard building a city made out of toys and sand? Apartment kids need these outdoor experiences too.  Create a large sandbox and watch the creativity roll for the hands of a 4 year old.  This is another space where you will want to build in seating for the parents.  My landscapers tell me to have the area sprayed for ants on a regular basis and close off the sandbox for 8 hours following. 

5. Take book sharing to another level. Little Free Library is a nonprofit that seeks to place small, accessible book exchange boxes in neighborhoods around the world. Place one of these fun book exchange boxes next to your mailbox kiosk and create the place for community sharing. Little Free Library locations may purchase a charter for $35 that puts their library in the organization’s database and affords them discounts and information about keeping, maintaining and promoting their libraries.

 

6. In 1991 I moved into Steward's Glen Apartments in Willowbrook, IL and was blown away by the huge sand volleyball society the residents had created.  One person propped speakers from their apartment to blast tunes (of course I dated and later married him!), another rolled in a keg and everyone came down with their sun chairs for a good time. The residents supplied the ball and fun so all the apartment community needed to install was the sand court.  I know for certain there were plenty of resident referrals due to the fact that everyone wanted to live at this property and have a great summer.  Check out this fun volleyball court which will keep the ball from wondering off and does not require inside the court.  It's like a bounce house for volleyball! Could this be the new volleyball court?  Buy one for your region and it can travel from property to property.  Pretty soon, each property will want their own.



7.  Urban vegetable gardens are making a comeback.  We saw a lot of them in the early '90's and then the trend seemed to drop off.  Today, there are lotteries to determine which residents will get the coveted gardening space. 

What new amenities are you offering your residents?  Email me at kate@kategood.com and with your permission I will share them in a blog post (and give you all the credit!).

While listening to Heather Blume's webinar yesterday on the Apartment All Stars Webinar Wednesday Series, I was inspired to write up an idea.  Heather's topic was "Reinventing the Resident Event".  During the program she polled the audience to find that most have to keep their events within a $500 budget.  That is when I thought about a new take on the BYOB. Try a Bring Your Own Basket party! Invite residents to bring their picnic basket to your common area. For under $500 you can supply the picnic blankets to sit on and dessert. Fun, sun and sweets!

In Your Face Book

As an industry, we seem to be getting the age of Facebook all wrong. With a few exceptions, I'm seeing properties use their Facebook walls to post updates to their specials and prices. I just looked a property page and noticed that their last 6 posts were all telling me that they were having a "sale" on their two bedrooms.

If you did not "get it" in 2010, you are really going to struggle in 2013 and beyond. My friends, and Facebook friends (!), it is all changing. Have you noticed? Are you ready? Have you accounted for this in your marketing budgets? Why? Because the apartment industry is prime to take on a whole new position in social media. We are going to rent apartments, in real time, on Facebook.

What started out at a tool to broadcast yourself with fun updates and pictures of your recent vacation to make all your friends jealous, has turned into a real business tool. I was having breakfast with Craig Donato who has been developing Facebook Marketplace. I was curious to know why they picked the apartment industry as one of the top verticals they are targeting. His response was that our industry is one of the most active industries on Facebook. Craig feels that apartment industry has a lot of enthusiasm for building connections with residents, past residents and future residents. Honestly, for an industry who has never been to the first to arrive to the technology party, this was exciting to hear. But what does it mean?

Let's start to put this all together. Have you noticed that you have been receiving emails from residents sent via your Facebook page? Have you noticed how easy it is to upload photos of events at your apartment community? If there’s anything we’ve learned about Facebook, it’s that Likes don’t always translate to … well, likes. We’ve all Liked things to enter a contest, get a free meal, or out of pity for a friend’s new business. The key to Facebook success is engagement.  Measure your success on how many people commented and shared your post.  Don't let any comment or share go without your comment.  This keeps the thread alive in the news feed.

Facebook is also a tool to help you understand the demographics of your customers.  Most importantly, where do they hang out? What sports teams do they like?  What hot restaurants are they visiting? How do they feel about current events? Where will they be this weekend?  These answers and more will help you market to your customers in a very specific way.  We can also celebrate the milestones, birthdays and anniversary's in their life through interaction on their wall.  Bring all of this knowledge and engagement into your office and you have a modern view of today's customer.

Apartment Community Art Wall

This apartment community clubhouse features an art wall.  What makes this very special is that all the art has been created by their residents.  I think this would be a great talking point on a leasing tour. Great idea! - Kate

It's Not Just A Parking Sign, It's A Statement

Marketing and retention is more than just flyers and ads. To be effective, you have to address everything you do as it is a reflection of your property's overall mission. Even a parking sign creates an impression. I spotted a apartment community whose tag line is "Our Residents Come First" yet the parking lot parking signage did not communicate this message. It says "Manager Parking Only All Others Will Be Towed"!

Being positive goes a long way. Your signage can actually reserve parking for your best customers and encourage others to participate in promoting your community in social media channels. Thumbs up to Glades Plaza for honoring their Mayor on FourSquare with a reserved parking space. I think this is much more important than reserving a spot for the Manager. Apartment communities also reserve parking for move in day so that the new resdient can have the best space that will put their moving truck close to the entrance door. Why stop there? I think we should have reserved parking for move out day also...and I am not talking about the eviction you are thrilled is finally leaving so you can re-rent the apartment to a paying customer! There are many great customers whose lives have changed and it no longer suits them to live at your community. A positive move out experience will ensure that they will continue to be brand ambassadors and refer friends to the apartment they once loved to live in. Reserve a parking space for these customers too!

There are spaces and places where you don't want your residents to park. Have a little fun with this message too. Funny trumps everything and will communicate a policy while still keeping a smile on your resident's face. Approach all decisions you make for your community with a customer service and marketing eye and not just your policy manual.

A Year Without Lease Renewals?

Can you imagine the ability to take lease renewals off your long list of things to do? That is my challenge for the apartment industry. My personal recession recovery plan and if we all jump on board we just might save the world of apartment leasing from total meltdown.

The theory: For the next 12 months, we will be writing leases that will more than likely be loaded up with a rent decrease and in many markets, an up front concession. If we allow that lease to expire in the next 12 - 24 months we might just find ourselves having to do it again. Seems like the perfect reason to avoid expirations for the next two years.

How do we do this? Sell a longer term lease of 15 - 24 months. The plan benefits the owner because we can decrease turn costs or more bleeding economic vacancy loss. And for the renter, they are locked into a rental rate for a longer term. For most of my 21 year career, this has not been a great idea because we will miss the opportunity to grow rent. However, very few years presented enough of a rent increase to make the turnover costs worth it. Owners push rents in increase the value of the asset.

If we face the facts, very few markets will see much rent growth in the next 12 - 20 months. If we can stabilize and stop the burn we have a shot at improving by the end of 2011. All together now, take a breath and say STABILIZE. Lock in residents for longer terms and avoid having to offer your market rent and concessions to renewals. Hopefully with less vacancy you will reduce the concessions, supply will decrease and we will start to see rent increase before the next presidential election.

Marketing in a Down Economy

By: Steve Hendershot
Issue Date: April 2009

The recession is bad news for just about every sector of American business, and property leasing is no exception. But before you rush to slash your marketing budget as a cost-saving move, consider that good marketing may be the key to keeping your business afloat. Your tenants are out there, and with careful marketing you can find them.

Rather than dream about high rents and low vacancies, focus on a plan to survive the recession. That means offering great value and making sure people are hearing about what you have to offer—in other words, keep marketing.

“If you need traffic, you shouldn’t cut your marketing budget,” says Kate Good, professional speaker, marketing solutions expert and partner on the Apartment All-Stars tour. Instead of keeping your current marketing program, look at changing it up and marketing more intelligently. Good suggests starting with the tenants already in your properties. “The least expensive strategy is to market internally and close the back door.”

So while it’s critical to study your market and know which promotions are luring tenants, it also makes sense to devote some of those perks—a couple of months free rent or a new flat-screen TV—to your existing clientele. It seems counterintuitive to give discounts to the people who are currently underwriting your revenue stream, but if you increase your retention rate you’ll be solving your vacancy problem without the turnover costs associated with moving in a new tenant.

When it comes to reaching out to prospective tenants, be selective. Figure out who is already drawn to your properties and find more of them. Good uses this example: If you notice that your community appeals to active seniors, invite the local bridge club to meet for free in your clubhouse. That way, more people in the target market will see your property, and word will spread.

“Don’t try to be all things to all people,” says Good. “Identify the kind of people who like your community, find out where they are, and figure out how to attract them. You’re saving money by reaching out to a smaller audience, but it’s the right audience.”

Even with changes to your marketing strategy, don’t do away with all of your traditional marketing.
“Print drives traffic to the Internet, so make sure you keep those ads out there,” says Good. And you have to, do it year-round. “Renters pick up the apartment guide in February or March even though they might be renting in June or July. If you pull your ad in February because you’re not getting any traffic, you’ve lost an opportunity for residual traffic later. I don’t pull back on advertising until I’m full, and most people aren’t full right now.”

Next, consider changing your pricing model. Instead of charging the same rent for every two-bedroom unit, for example, charge more for the unit at the end of the hall with more windows, or the unit with new carpet.

There are two advantages to this strategy. First, you can make more on your premium units. Second, if the least expensive units sell first, then your best units will be available for display during the peak of leasing season.

“If you’re charging a flat rate, your best units get cherry picked,” says Good. “You want to have that more desirable unit—with the higher price tag—available when you have higher traffic.”

Slashing your marketing budget isn’t the right response to the recession—changing the way you approach marketing is.

What Madonna Taught Me

My Marketing Mentor: Madonna

In my consulting practice, the economic crisis of 2009 has brought about the need to change, retool and reinvent everything we do in the leasing and marketing of multifamily rental assets. What worked as little as two years ago will simply not cut the mustard today. In fact, it won’t even be close to the results those efforts created 24 months ago. My experience has taught me that this is the time to be at the top of my game so that I can rise to this challenge.

Like everyone else, I need someone I can learn from. This is why I have chosen Madonna as my marketing mentor. For me, Madonna came on to the music scene while I was in my first few years of high school. Even though we wore uniforms, we would try to put a lace band in our hair that would match our lace socks. Every girl running around Fisher Catholic High School wore not less than 6 – 10 black rubber bracelets on her arm and risk detention for a uniform violation infraction. I have to admit, I was influenced by Madonna.

As the years rolled on, Madonna sprinted into a provocative direction and defined herself with her extremely open sexuality. She stared in her movie called “Truth or Dare.” She shifted that X rated image and was nominated for her performance in musical movie Evita. Then in yet another grand process to change her ever evolving image, today, she is writing children’s books. Do you remember the last book she wrote prior to her children’s books? It was sold with a paper cover at the bookstore because of its cover! How does a woman go from pop artist to sexual icon to movie star to author of children’s books? She does it by constantly reinventing herself. She can retool her image to fit her business needs. This is a person who is a marketing genius. She has a unique ability to change her image and position in the spotlight year after year.

If we take a lesson from the marketing manual lived by Madonna. Any apartment community, no matter when it was built, can survived and thrive as Madonna has. I am excited to be working on some projects which are being rehabbed. The “before and after” photos of the apartments are astonishing. To follow suit the marketing needs to be rejuvenated often with a new name, logo and market position. However, you don’t have to redevelop your buildings to conduct a marketing rehab. And, there is no better time than now to reintroduce your apartment community to the market with a fresh look. This is what it takes to get the attention of today’s consumer.

I think Denny’s should receive an award for their effort to get America back to their dining rooms. The Tuesday following Superbowl Sunday, Denny’s offered a free Grand Slam breakfast to everyone who visited. Including the Superbowl ad to launch the campaign, Denny’s spent six million dollars on ads, food and staffing. 200,000 American’s waited in line for up to two hours for a free breakfast valued at $5.99. Not only did Denny’s receive over 100 million dollars in free advertising due to the fact that every media outlet covered the event, they also got old customers and future customers acquainted with the value they offer on a plate.

I drive past apartment communities in every city I visit and many have invested in a rejuvenation effort in years. Their signs have not changed, the landscaping is overgrown, and their exterior colors are out of date. When I open the apartment rental magazines I still see ads with the same old photos and tired words that have not been freshened since the 90’s. If Madonna was your marketing director, she would jump on this need to refresh, renew and reposition. The styles we use for new logo’s has changed. For just $180, the online designers at www.CrowdSpring.com will send you a minimum of 25 entries for new logo options. This small investment is a great start to kicking your image into the current day.

Better "Connections" For Your Residents

I have to admit it, I am obsessed with increasing my connections on Linkedin.com. I love that social networking site for professionals. I have connected with some colleagues I have not talked to since my days at Trammell Crow and Gables. This is a great networking tool. Look me up and let’s connect!

I was consulting at an apartment community and we dreamed up an idea that if we created a networking group for our apartment community and the use our database of resident emails, we could create a powerful network for our neighborhood behind our controlled access gates! We sent out an invitation to 280 residents and we had over 75 respond in the first week. The Linkedin invitation is now part of our move in process and helps to introduce our new resident to some of their neighbors. I have even heard feedback that our residents have been using the network to flip business to neighbors who might be in a related field and have a product or service they need. Super idea in this challenging business climate. Smart retention tool and it is free!