Multi-Housing News - March 2009 - (Page 23)

property management Targeted Marketing Boosts Leasing In a tough economy, position each multifamily asset individually By Erika Schnitzer, Associate Editor As businesses nationwide analyze the costs and benefits of every decision, multifamily properties may consider scaling back on advertising as a possible costcutting measure. However, marketing experts say this is a dire mistake. “If you reduce marketing now, you’ll end up paying in concessions later,” cautions Lori Snider, cofounder of Creativity for Rent. She notes that marketing tends to work three to six months out, so while owners may not notice an immediate impact, “it will catch up with you and it will require so much more effort in dollars” to make up for it. Kate Good, apartment sales and marketing consultant, agrees. “This is the time to step up and increase differences when it comes to marketing, they acknowledge the importance of understanding each property’s position in its own market. As Good points out, “It’s important to position each asset individually.” For example, she has her clients in St. Petersburg, Fla. market according to certain times of the year, while her clients in Palo Alto, Calif. are better suited to position themselves around Stanford’s semesters. Snider notes a difference based on market size. In larger cities, she says, it tends to be cost-prohibitive to rely on a strong newspaper approach. In smaller, secondary markets, however, an advertisement in a local paper may prove highly beneficial to leasing. Lefkovits also notes that regional marketing strategies may simply stem from the availability of local ad sources, e.g., Craigslist in San Francisco. Whatever your location, marketing needs to determine a course of action and tell a story. “So much of marketing isn’t just about placing ads,” Snider asserts. And while a property’s Website is certainly important, Good warns that it should be an extension of the print ad, rather than a repetition of the same information. “Print drives traffic to the Internet,” she says. “The ad needs to draw attention to the Website, and the site needs to be loaded with knowledge.” Is it time for a new message? Setting yourself apart in a tough economy is crucial to leasing. With the theme of change in the air, now may be the time to reevaluate your message. Snider advises owners to use humor and make sure the message is positive. “It’s kind of meeting this consumer fear and this paralyzed stance that they are in. You alleviate that fear with a positive message.” She also notes a change in the shopping experience that can carry over to the search for an apartment. “The consumer is not buying high-end goods. Instead of selling over-the-top luxury, with a ‘you deserve it’ approach, we need to be selling things like quality, endurance and value,” she explains. While now may be the time to change your message, do not eliminate marketing if you expect to see a positive bottom line. “It’s easy to say, ‘if we reduce marketing, we will save money,’” says Snider. “It will cost more money in the long run.” MHN Getting the Most Out of Your Marketing Dollars Promote humanitarian efforts and positive messages. Purchase banner ads on local sites. Good has advised her clients in Alabama to advertise on AL.com and notes that she has seen the highest percentage of click-throughs with this tactic. Track to determine your best marketing sources. It’s crucial to look at the data, but don’t get overwhelmed with too much of it. Determine low- or no-cost marketing techniques, such as Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. Don’t be afraid to use humor. Pay for the fea tured listing on Inter net Listing Services. “You’ll come on just about every search, and it’s a really good way to get ROI,” says Good. “ It’s simple: marketing creates awareness and drives demand. ” —Steve Lefkovits Make sure you are search engine-friendly. Ensure your photos ar e pristine, what you say is relevant to the consumer and that the consumer can have contr ol, says Snider, who is a strong proponent of online leasing. your marketing to increase rents and improve occupancy.” If you’re not doing this, you’re “misunderstanding the market opportunity,” she cautions. For example, eliminating an ad in a publication one month could reduce residual marketing.With print in particular, prospects could hold onto an ad for several months before visiting a property. The most crucial step in maximizing your marketing dollars is utilizing revenue management, says Steve Lefkovits, executive producer of Joshua Tree Internet Media LLC and the AIM (Apartment Internet Marketing) Conference. He says that most people treat marketing as “a cost-management exercise, but for smart owners who look at yield-generating exercises statistically, they can generate big results better than competitors who don’t.” According to Lefkovits, owners who use revenue management and view apartments on a forward basis by determining the number of units they need to lease at a given time tend to outperform their peers by 2 to 3 percent. “The most competitive regions are the ones adopting this first,” he says. While none of the experts observe any real regional Incorporate strategies to get people to return to the site for a second visit. For example, Good suggests providing prospects with a Flip Video to record their visits. Managers email the prospect the following day to r emind them of what they liked about the community. Develop your reputation. “We need our residents speaking well for us and that will help our online reputation presence,” says Snider. Focus on the r esale instead of building on the sale. “We need to market to our current residents. If we take care of our residents, the online social component will largely take care of itself,” Snider notes. MHN ONLINE Sign up for MHN’s Property Management newsletter at www.multi-housingnews.com/ newsletters www.multi-housingnews.com | Mar ch 2009 23 http://www.AL.com http://www.multi-housingnews.com/newsletters http://www.multi-housingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Multi-Housing News - March 2009

Multi-Housing News - March 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Executive Insight: Jonathan Rose
Profile: How Owners are Riding Out the Storm
Market Report: Southern California
Development Case Study: A City in the Sky
Finance: Small Loans
Property Management: Marketing Magic
Products: Submetering
Kitchen & Bath: Water and Energy Conservation

Multi-Housing News - March 2009