Marketing at Apartment Entries

Drive by is a huge component of leasing traffic in the multifamily industry; yet apartment community signage, entries and curb presentation often look generic, indistinctive, and tired. Significant money is spent marketing multifamily properties, while signage that is potentially viewed by thousands of prospects everyday is left to blend in to the background – weathered, un-refreshed and looking the same way for months and even years. Your efforts should go way beyond periodic replacement of the flowers. Does your multifamily community entry positively contribute to property branding, catch attention and generate prospects the way it should?

1) I always wondered …? If you don’t have the words “apartments” or “rental” in LARGE READABLE FONT at your entrance (preferably on the monument sign) you are throwing away leads by the truckload.
2) Temporary “Now Leasing” signs If your city allows temporary signs, get a permit and put one up. Even if they don’t allow “temporary now leasing signs” they may allow “new management” or “newly renovated” or “special sales event” or some other sign variation you can put up that will draw eyeballs. If there are broker signs on commercial space in your City there should be a way to get a “now leasing” sign approved. If you already have a now leasing sign, think about refreshing it and moving it.
3) Open House signs aren’t just for single family? Many Cities allow bootlegs at least on the weekends or during certain hours. Putting them up and taking them down around town isn’t so bad if you plan for it. People do notice them, because they are just up for a brief period of time they look out of place (a positive thing). Hand written bootlegs with minimal information (2BR/2bath $650/month call 555-333-1212) work too!
3) Who moved my Cheese? Variety catches eyeballs and makes impressions. After driving by a couple of times, people only notice what is new and distinctive – they automatically filter out what they saw before and let it blend in. Tired banners in the same place everyday are not going to attract much attention. Move and change up things – whether it is sandwich boards, bootlegs, temporary leasing signs, flowers, flower pots, tag lines on signs, balloons, banners…move them around and change them. Keep it classy though. If you have more than one property in your portfolio, some of the props can be moved between properties for variety.
4) What the … ? Be different and unconventional to attract eyeballs and develop a sense of community. Talk to local businesses and vendors for “no cost” tie-ins. “Our Next Resident Event” opportunities abound. Plan a resident trip to an NHL hockey game and talk to the team's marketing department about lending you an eye catching display for a week. Park a limo out front for a day if a group is going to a concert, plan a trip to a classic car show and park an antique out front, Christmas in April display...movie night at the pool...you get the idea. Showing off your features or amenities is another option - if you have granite tops in your units, put a slab of granite out (with a sign). If you have a tennis court, talk to your local tennis shop about a promotion (ours has a mobile store they take to events).

Even if your entry design is pathetic and you don't have a budget, there are a lot of cost effective things you can do. Let me know your ideas! I am also working on a series of posts on entry sign design that will include video slide shows. Send me pictures of entry signs at Bfrn84@gmail.com and I’ll try to include them!

Awareness and a “Way Of Being”

A woman walking down a busy street, talking on her cell phone, was oblivious to her surroundings on Saturday. She stepped off the curb to cross seven lanes of traffic, just as the light turned green. The driver in the third lane was not paying attention and barely managed to stop as the pedestrian literally jumped out of the way. Despite being only half way across, the pedestrian continued to hold her phone to her ear, look over her shoulder, and make angry gestures at the driver that almost hit her as she blindly forged ahead. Ignoring the perils in front of her, she was running past moving vehicles while still looking behind her!

The incident spawned thoughts on a number of different levels and inspired me to look up an old article on leadership written by Jack Welch. The former CEO of GE discusses several categories of poor leaders including (among others) the know-it-alls, the distant and disengaged, and the just plain jerks and concludes with, “part of being a lousy leader, no matter what the category, is lack of self-awareness.” Being a good leader starts with self awareness and so does being a happy, successful (insert your own definition of “success”) and responsible person.

We make decisions everyday, which by degrees become habitual and automatic, about whether to respect the interests of others’ and try to add value to their lives (with no thought or expectation of reward) or to be selfish, rude and follow the creed of “self first, self last, anything left self again.” Those decisions become part of you, a way of being, which is insightfully illuminated (positively) in the book by Bob Burg, “The Go-Giver”.

The choice is ours whether to be unaware, preoccupied, self absorbed and angry with the past or forward looking, happy and enlightened to the potential the future may hold. “The more we expand our focus to include others' interests alongside our own, the more securely we build the foundations of our own happiness.” While, this quote is by The Dalai Lama, it is a non-secular universal concept.

So, what lessons did I teach my kids, who witnessed it all and summed it up with “she is an idiot”? It was foolish of her to not be paying attention, rude of her to expect that the world revolves around her, and most importantly sad that she chose to blame others and focus on the past instead of admitting and learning from her mistakes and moving forward in a positive way. Be aware of what is going on around you and be self-aware of how others view you. There are lessons here for everyone - professionally (whether in the multifamily industry or any other) and personally. In case you are wondering - we were not in the third lane. We saw her swaggering down the street when she was still ten feet from the curb.

For related content see Jack Welch article at http://tiny.cc/r6z0f
Dalai Lama video on awareness of inner values at http://tiny.cc/89qh3

Multifamily Monument Signs

Apartment communities make significant investments in monument signage as branding and drive by are so important, but are you maximizing the potential of your signage? Don’t let your signs go to waste. Take a fresh look at your signage today and see what you can do to improve it.

Study of current cap rates for multifamily sales

CB Richard Ellis released its first half 2010 study of cap rates. This report highlights investment trends for all property types in each of the key markets across the US. For this survey, CBRE Capital Markets professionals provided their estimation of current cap rate ranges and investor activity in their local market. These cap rates are based on recent interactions that CBRE professionals have had with active investors in their market. See the study at http://tiny.cc/si5d8

Multifamily Granite Counter Investment Decision

Granite counter tops in rental communities provide a valuable competitive advantage in attracting and retaining residents - while adding lasting value to your property. Real granite counters yield over a 20% return on investment over laminate and cultured marble tops with a rent premium of as little as $4 per month. For example, at an 8% cap rate $4 per month in rent equals $600 in real property value ($4x12/.08). If laminate/cultured marble counters cost $275 per unit and real granite counters cost $750, the incremental rate of return is (600-475)/475 or 26% based on only $4 extra per month in rent! At a rent premium of $25 per month the investment is paid off in 19 months and the return on investment (689%) is substantial. Using the same figures, at $25 per month the return on investment for a 306 unit property could be over $1 million (306 units x($25x12/.08-$475)). Obviously, pricing varies based on unit layouts, project size, project location, schedule and materials selected. Whether renovating a whole property, creating 50 premium units, or building a new property, contact The Baypath Group for details at www.TheBaypathGroup.com

Customer Service, Loyalty and a Nine Year Old

Last summer, my family and I stayed in several different hotels. While travelling for a wedding, we had the good fortune to stay in a hotel that was open less than a month. It was a luxury hotel with impeccable service and was an amazing experience that we only booked due to “pre-grand opening” pricing. The ninety year old hotel that we stayed at the next night, which had a tough act to follow, is what this story is about.

We arrived at the older hotel on a rather depressing day of wind driven heavy rains. Our first impression was of a nice looking, tall, narrow portico that wasn’t large enough to fully protect us from the elements as we came to a stop. However, as I placed the car in park, two young men were already positioned with large umbrellas to usher us into the lobby unscathed by the weather. The lobby was a celebration of the hotel’s history, with beautiful hardwood floors, antiques and oriental rugs. The focal point of the room was a large beautiful welcoming dog, quietly sitting on his bed and wagging his tail. On a small blackboard next the dog, written in chalk it said the dog’s name and “I love to be pet.”

One of our “umbrella escorts” continued pleasantly chatting with us as we walked into the hotel. Intertwined with an introduction to the dog, and introductions to another family petting the dog, was some information about the hotel as well as a genuine interest in us and our trip. The other escort went straight to the front desk and then returned outside to get our luggage. When we approached the desk to check in, the clerk greeted us by name (which umbrella escort number 2 had casually informed her of while we were being entertained by our main escort and the dog). The room key was ready, and we were politely shown where the elevator was and given instructions on how to get to our room.

After looking around a little, we found ourselves alone in a rather old elevator, talking about what a nice hotel it was, the personable staff, and how we felt comfortable and welcome. It isn’t easy to pull off antique and quaint without it feeling old and stuffy. Nor, is it easy to make children feel welcome in a place that conjures up thoughts of museums and libraries when you step though the door. So far, I am impressed.

When the elevator opened up on our floor, the reality of the hotel’s age was striking with the narrow hallways and I started to become a little anxious about our room. As we approached our room, our main escort appeared from an unseen freight elevator with our luggage in tow. My wife and I looked around the room, while our escort was chatting with our nine year old about our trip and a really neat old candy store in the area. The room was much like the lobby with hardwood floors, nice rugs, and antique furnishings. It was larger than expected with a nice sitting area. I thought the room was a nice surprise and was taking a look at the large bathroom with a Victorian claws foot tub and stylish mosaic tile when our nine year old spoke up.

He addressed our escort by name and then said, “this is a nice room, but I don’t want to stay here.” As we attempted to apologize, the escort did not hesitate. Kneeling back down to my son’s level, he asked what he liked most about the best hotels he stayed at. Being a nine year old, he said fluffy covers, flat screen TV’s and mini-fridges.

I have never asked for a different hotel room, but the escort wouldn’t hear of our protestations at moving. He strongly suggested we look at another room before deciding. He asked if we would prefer a room with modern furniture over a room furnished with antiques, and we admitted that we would. He also asked whether the view or floor were important to us. Our escort then told us to relax, not unpack anything, and he would be back in a few minutes with a key for a room where we would all be happy. I expected him to go all the way down to the front desk and be gone for a while. However, he was gone less than two minutes. He just went down the hall to talk to the staff privately. He escorted us to a different wing of the hotel that was recently renovated, where we passed the other umbrella escort in the hall. He greeted us, discreetly handed our main escort a key, and left without breaking stride. We were treated to a different suite with a flat screen TV and a kitchenette complete with a kitchen table in place of the quiet seating area. He apologized profusely that he and the staff did not find the right room for us the first time. It seems my interest in an antique desk in the lobby was interpreted to mean I would enjoy staying in a historically decorated room.

In some respects, “service” is more straightforward at a newer property. Guest expectations are predictable and first impressions get things off to a good start. At the most basic level everything is shiny, new, and spotless. There are less maintenance issues to be concerned about and it is easier to maintain a positive environment than to build one from scratch or from a deficit. The property design itself is more modern and typically has features and touches that are not present in older properties. The location is even likely to be more conveniently located to newer restaurants, shopping and high growth corridors at a newer property adding appeal to the overall experience.

Here was a staff that went out of their way to help us, make us feel comfortable, and at home. The staff warmly greeted us by name throughout our visit (including the maid that serviced our room and the phone operator). “This is Cindy, how can I help the Francis family” is a little more personal than answering the phone “operator”. They even asked if we needed recommendations for dinner in a way that made you know they wanted to help. They were genuinely helpful (not just going through the motions of sucking up in hopes of a tip). There was no rotating fabricated touch points where a valet and two different porters are involved (all expecting tips) as you check in or out. Interruptions where answering the phone take precedence over the guest standing in front of the staff just did not exist like they do at so many hotels.

When we checked out, a map and directions to our next destination were slipped under our door with the bill. We didn’t ask for the directions. When we first arrived, our umbrella escort listened, knew where we were headed, and that we had not been there before. We enjoyed our stay and continue to stay with that hotel chain whenever we can. We also have encouraged countless others to stay there. Not everyone executes as well as the oldest hotel in the chain, but we have never been disappointed.

Pixar founder on effective teams, management and success

Ed Catmull the President of Pixar gave an amazing interview to The Economist that is worth watching below. Creating and protecting dynamics where honest constructive feedback is not just nurtured, but demanded from everyone he says is essential for Pixar’s success. It doesn’t happen on its own, but a culture where everyone is expected to contribute and not hold back regardless of whether you are talking to John Lasseter or anyone else in the organization is needed to make things work. His comments about organizational quaking rather than solidity being a positive thing are also insightful.