Act like a Apartment Owner

by Mike Brewer on January 27, 2012

Take Ownership of Your Apartment BusinessYou have heard it a million times if you have heard it once. “Act like an owner.”

But, how do you get employees to act like owners?

As it relates to the statement; I have two questions I like to ask people.

First one relates to leadership and specifically employee issues;

If you owned this apartment management company; would this person be working for you?

The second pertains to more general items that comes up on a daily basis.

If the sign out in front of this apartment community read [your name] apartments; what would you do?

Nine point nine times out of ten the answer comes – tip of tongue.

What do you do to create an ownership mentality?

Tagged as: , ,

{ 2 comments }

Fill Your Marketing Balloons With More Than Air

by JHerzog on January 23, 2012

marketingI was recently given the privelege to co-moderate a brainstorming session on the topic of marketing. The session was held for members of the apartment management industry at various stages in their careers, from leasing agents who have been in the industry for 2 months to  property managers with 10 years of experience. My topic was old school marketing. Old school referring to anything not social media. More specifically, tools such as resident retention, outreach marketing, Craigslist, etc. The idea was to get creative juices flowing, discuss what’s working, what’s not working and maybe learn a few things to take back to the rest of the team.

I was surprised by the lack of marketing knowledge…and for that matter, the lack of creativity. I heard the same 3 “best practices” from a majority of the groups: Generic signs and balloons for drive by traffic, generic Craiglist ads and monetary resident referral incentives. I heard questions like: ”What do you say when you’re marketing to a business?” and “It’s ok to send thank you cards and gift baskets to businesses who refer someone to you?” Leasing agents and PMs who had no knowledge of free additional ILS marketing template tools like VFlyer and Postlets, who had never thought past posting a flyer with a resident referral rent credit in terms of using residents as a marketing tool, and those are just building blocks. It’s as if they were told that marketing is something only a rocket scientist can figure out.

First let me say I’m not exactly saying the 3 best practice items listed above are crap, I’m simply saying that they shouldn’t be IT.  Also, I’m in love with social media and believe it’s an insanely valuable tool, however 1. It was not my topic to discuss and 2. I also think that personal touch and those face to face human interactions through outreach marketing and resident appreciation events are valuable, and combining the 2 forms is fabulous! (Read Urbane Media’s QR Codes blog). But I’m not sure I believe you can be effective with social media if you don’t even know the basics of effective old school marketing tools. And if no one is teaching or motivating their team on the basics of marketing, then I doubt that there is any social media marketing in place anyway.

So I guess what I’d like to learn from this eye opening experience is: Am I way off base in believing that some old school marketing techniques are still a valuable tool in the industry? Is someone teaching your staff about marketing? Do you believe that one can effectively use social media tools without ever having learned/practiced old school marketing strategies?

Title courtesy of Melissa DeCicco

Photo credit bloggingoutloud

Tagged as: , , , , , ,

{ 14 comments }

How do I Build Habits?

by Mike Brewer on January 20, 2012

I am often asked questions that lead with the word, how. How do you do this, how do you do that, how can I be or do better in my career, life or otherwise. Or, how do you go about creating good professional habits? Which follows the lines of  my favorite question, also the premise of this post; how do you get out of bed so early in the morning? My answer: I made it a habit.

Those that know me, know that I work crazy hours often times hitting the pillow right prior to the rooster’s announcement of the day to come. And, I rise at roughly 6:00am everyday without the aid of an alarm clock. It used to be 5am but the older I get the more sleep I am learning I need.

How Did I Build the Habit of Rising Early? 

It all started in college. I played basketball at Texas Tech University back in the early 90′s and part of our pre-season conditioning was running at 5am – 4 days a week. Imagine trying to have a social life while being a student while training for basketball – its brutal. Granting the pre-season training was just a six-week stretch; it was still tough. And, required good habits. Rising early being one of them.

Rising early was not an easy task and getting to bed earlier was just not an option at that time in my life. So, what did I do? I put the alarm clock as far away from my bed as I possibly could. That act alone forced me to get out of bed and walk to turn it off. At that point it was absolute will power to not crawl back between the sheets. Now granted; I had massive leverage in that missing a morning run meant a serious consequence up to and including losing my full ride scholarship. But the action of getting out of bed that early over a six-week stretch, even with three days a week off, got me in the habit of rising early. And, I have never looked back.

Laying the Foundation Habits

What does rising early have to do with building good professional habits? I see three things in the life experience cited above; 1. catalyst 2. will power 3. massive leverage. It’s not one but all three working together that builds good habit.

Catalyst

Professionally [using a marketing bent], your catalyst should marry around something to the effect of; you will be the greatest social marketing master of all time. No kidding. Okay, maybe master is a stretch given the constantly changing environment. The point is that you must be willing to sacrifice massive amounts of time, effort and brain power to get up the curve and stay there. And, don’t think once you get there you can coast. It’s just as hard if not harder to maintain the pace concerning innovation, consistency, quality and quantity.

Will Power

To put it bluntly – some days it will just suck to be you. How do I get over that? I read a book some years ago that depicted a scenario where you pick the thing about your day that you just don’t want to do and go about making that the ‘knock it out of the park over the top most compelling and rich’ thing you have ever done in your life time. Try it – you’ll get the point when you get to the end of the project.

Massive Leverage

How do I create this in my life? I think about two things 1. My wife and kids depend on me to be the best I can be. 2. My good self can only be expanded upon or reduced upon by me. No one runs my game. I am responsible for the good, the bad and the ugly every day of the week. And to make sure I remember that; I read my personal creed along with my personal, professional and economic goals every single morning and with massive passion [read: creating massive leverage]. Read enough, things just seem to come together. I really can’t explain it except to tell you that it works 100% of the time.

 

Your rising early multifamily manic,

M

Tagged as: , ,

{ 3 comments }

Apartment Marketing: Paying Rent is a Social Act

by Mike Brewer on January 13, 2012

Apartment Electronic CheckRan across Pepsi’s Social Vending Machine Story while I was in the process of purging some old files and it got me thinking about ways that we could make paying rent an even more social experience.

Is it reasonable to think that Facebook, Twitter, G+ or even resident portals could be robust enough to allow payments by third parties unassociated with lease contracts and the such?

Following the concept of Pepsi  creating a the experience of sending free sodas to friends; could you see the same thing apply to rent payments? If my buddy knows that I have fallen on hard times and wants to help; could he go to our website, log in without disclosing his identity [at least to me] and pay my rent? Or, a portion?

It already happens in the analog world. Or not, if leases are written such that you can not take third party payments [not smart in my opinion]. In the former case, parent’s pay their student’s rent via various payment methods. A process, at least at Mills Properties, that is usually administered by our onsite teams. Can we make it DIY for third parties with technology? Do you employ such a service today? Tell us about it.

Your looking to make paying the rent a more social experience multifamily maniac,

M

 

Tagged as: , , , , , , , , , , ,

{ 8 comments }

To Drop or Not to Drop the Drop Box

by Mike Brewer on January 6, 2012

Apartment rent drop box“But I put it in the drop box!” “Yes you did but it was after the due date.” But, it was in there before you opened your office this morning”

The all to familiar ring around the first of the month. Time to pay the rent and the drop box is the perfect scape goat for would be late payers.

My question: Do we need a drop box? Should we take them away and force payment during business hours only?

I am an advocate for it. Not because I want to make it hard for people to pay their rent. Not because I have a mean spirit. It’s rather because I’ve had thousands of dollars stolen from drop boxes over the years. I’ve heard every single excuse in the book relating to missing checks and money orders. I’ve even had a few drop boxes come up missing.

With the advancement of technologies; I think it is time to join the ranks of drop box as not an option for paying rent.

What are your thoughts?

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 13 comments }

Social Media Flash Mob

by Melissa DeCicco on January 5, 2012

I have decided.  If I am not passionate about doing something, I am simply not going to do it.   For a recent experience, Lovin’ the Lou, I was able to let my passion flag fly and find others flying theirs proudly as well…it was magical!

First things first, we have a fabulous new development/rehab called The Laurel Apartments located in Downtown St. Louis in the Mercantile Exchange District.  This is an up and coming neighborhood with incredible potential to really help rejuvenate Downtown – and we are right in the middle of it.  So we needed to get the word out.  In comes Lovin’ the Lou!  In order to enter, we asked Lovin’ the Louers to create a 2 minute video capturing their love for St. Louis.

This is not just a contest with a fabulous prize (Free Rent for a Year at The Laurel), it is much bigger.  It is about reminding an entire region how alive and exciting downtown St. Louis really is.  We originally wanted to use all the traditional media outlets like television and newspapers but as it turned out, that is not where you find people for passion projects. So you ask yourself…how can we find this targeted audience of people passionate about St. Louis?  The internet of course!  This project was run completely through social media – twitter, facebook, website, and blog posts.  And maybe we sacrificed some volume (maybe) by avoiding traditional media, but I think we gained a ton more in passion.

We received 18 passionate, creative, and fun videos showcasing St. Louis for this project!  Every entry had a great story to tell and it was clear that this was not really about winning free rent.  BAM!  Exactly what we were looking for…our prize was secondary to real passion for the city!  Not only were people loving the videos, they were also commenting and sharing the information with their friends.  Our broader goal of helping revitalize downtown was really coming to fruition.  We have 18 mini-commercials from real St. Louisans that are much more intriguing than any ad I have ever seen.  This is only the beginning.  It’s funny (and maybe this is a precaution), when you start a passion project you find it will never be complete – you will feel internally compelled to do more.  So I guess we will see what the next chapters bring! 

But for this chapter, we are in the final stages of judging to announce the winner later this month – check out all the entries at Lovinthelou.com.

Broader reminder to marketers: Don’t push your content (especially with passion projects).  Passionate people who really buy-in are much more inspiring than fancy ad campaigns with fake passion.  Passionate people truly believe in what you are trying to accomplish and they will find you.  It’s like a social media flash mob for your project!  Ok-ok.  Here are some stats… (over 5 month period).

5,058 Visits
3,231 Unique visitors
16,951 Pageviews
280 Comments
166 Lovin the Lou fan page likers
554 Facebook individual webpage likes
63 Tweets
11 +1’s
 

We are nearing the first chapter finale for this passion project and I can’t wait to continue!  What will your next passion project be?

Tagged as: ,

{ 12 comments }

Own your Twitter Followers?

by Mike Brewer on January 4, 2012

Apartment Twitter Co-BrandingThere is much ado about who owns the Twitter following you may have and or may create over the course of a work stint. This story Lawsuit May Determine Who Owns a Twitter Account – NYTimes.com over at the NY times highlights a company that is taking the matter to court to determine the answer.

Whatever the outcome, I have always been of the firm opinion that apartment management company employees should never cede to the pressure of commingling their personal brand handle in joint with the company they work for or with. For example: @Mike_MyEmployer or @MyEmployer_Mike. In my head, there is no chance and no way I would ever do that. Not in the context of personal branding world. Neither would I ever ask anyone I work for or with to do as much.

Now I am sure there a several camps out that agree or disagree and all for reasons that apply to their various interests.

But who is right?

Or, is there a right answer? And, as a company that champions social media as part of their branding/marketing strategies, should you push the issue? Would you terminate someone who refused to comply with the request to co-brand? Is it in your social media rules, regs, do’s and don’ts? Do you refuse to hire a soon to be hot personal brand superstar because he or she says – “yeah – no, my social graph is not up for discussion even if it is in the early stages of development.” “Neither am I willing to segregate business from personal?” Bold?  Yes – but, it is out there.

Do you sue the guy that leaves with the list?

Related articles, courtesy of Zemanta:

Tagged as: , ,

{ 10 comments }

#apartmentmarketing – 2012 Short List Prediction Post

by Mike Brewer on January 2, 2012

Apartment PredictionsDon’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with your marketing. – Mike Volpe, Chief Marketing Office – Hubspot

Not another social prediction post! No, there are many really good ones already out there such as the one  Mark Juleen posted with the help of Mike Whaling and Duncan Alney. Another fav is the one Brian Solis penned on the subject of social and how it relates to business in 2012.

I’m not heading for the broad angles or general predictions that seem to affront us all this time of the year. No, I would like to get a little more intimate and little more bold. To me 2012 will be the true year of pain for many of the tried and true resources that many of us have leaned on over the years to market our apartments and communities. The simple premise being that the proliferation of DIY platforms and DIY tools along with a growing level of comfort in using them have made it easier to compete.

The barriers to entry have crumbled and it’s time to ROCK!

My prediction comes in the way of a question -

Who will be your biggest apartment marketing competitor in 2012?

Print and Internet Listing Services

If you are anything like me you pay attention to everything the traditional ILS’s and print media outlets are doing in the social space and otherwise. In 2011 some of them made shrewd moves like employing our very own leasing consultant and management forces across the country to build Google Juice on their behalf. Brilliant but very un-partner like in my opinion. And, still others have stumbled; for example absolutely refusing to unbundle print from internet offerings until it was just frankly to late. Certainly soured my opinion of that specific group.

You just can’t see them as partners anymore [remember - they have to pay the light bill too] and to the extent that you can embrace that, use them where you need to [print and ILS are not broken and are still effective] and build a plan that brands you and your company first you will be better off. It’s frankly as important as sending out renewal letters and collecting the rent at this point.

Just know, anymore it’s not the building next door or across the street from you that is your biggest competitor. It’s more and more so the print media and ILS providers.

The Re-imagination of Locators in Secondary, Tertiary and Hyper Local Apartment Markets 

Back in late 2004 or 2005 I met a guy named Eddie Passadore. Brilliant guy and passionate about the multifamily space. He came to work for Equity Residential and quickly went about producing some off the wall results. How? Craigslist. And, Rentwitheddie.com. That’s right he built out his own website, put his personal cell number on it, made himself available 24/7 and syndicated it via the emerging social platforms of the time. Namely Craigslist and MySpace. Result? He now runs his own property management firm in Portland, Oregon.

I recall spending countless hours brainstorming with Eddie about marketing oneself in lieu of physical buildings. It’s what inspired my personal blog [at the time called mike brewer on stuff and things] and the Portland Rocks Newsletter blog we ran back then that promoted Equity Residential’s Portland employees and properties. We talked about everything from using print to advertise our agents in lieu of our communities to building out personal websites for every single one of our agents. An idea I still think has some crazy potential [time and date stamped for future development]. And, he went and did it.

All that to suggest that the locator will have a major play in our space and many of our current day leasing consultants will be the people doing it.

Me. Us.

If we are to contend with the fire hose of data and change that will come our way in 2012, we have to invest in ourselves. I think this is the year that those who have sat on the sidelines as observers and passive participants are going to come alive. They will finally get that if they don’t they will be cooked and standing in the unemployment lines across this great nation. This is the year that organizations raise the bar for talent. No longer will mediocrity be tolerated. And, no longer will it be just okay to muddle along.

You are your biggest competitor in 2012. You are your own benchmark. The you that you look at in the mirror today should be a distant memory by the time you make it out of bed tomorrow. And, in a more beautiful way!

Here is to us in 2012!

Go – and make it relentlessly compelling!

M

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 4 comments }

Apartment Budget Time Suck

by Mike Brewer on December 31, 2011

#2012 questions, Apartment Marketing Questions

Ah! With budget season coming to an end, it will feel good to ease my way back into the blogging world. It’s been way too long. So, if I am rusty with words and concepts bear with me.

To kick it off, I have decided to start and ongoing series dedicated to questions that I ask myself throughout the course of any given year.

The subject matter will be all over the place but central to the ongoing operations of an apartment management business.

I hope to keep the posts brief and to the point [200 words+/-].

With that, let’s see how it goes…

To start: What do you do to streamline your budget process?

Every year from September until the later parts of December we nearly stall our home office operation to write our property operating budgets. To me it is one of those necessary evils of doing business. That is to suggest that the end product is a well thought through playbook for not only the year to come but the ten to twelve years beyond that.  As such, it demands prudence in its preparation. But, what suffers?

Nearly all the fundamentals get the semi-thoughtful but certainly not mindful once over review. Everything is surface and there is little time to dig in to the really important stuff. In all fairness this year was the best one on record. That said, we are always looking to approve.

Would love to hear your feedback on the subject.

Trusting you will have an amazing 2012.

M

 

 

 

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 0 comments }

#apartmentmarketing: Clarity

by Mike Brewer on September 18, 2011

Clarity trumps persuasion. – Dr. Flint McGlaughlin

I have written about the subjects of brevity and clarity on a number of occasions. The concept came to me from a senior leader at Equity Residential some years ago and has stuck with me ever since. At the time I had the propensity to provide reports that were beyond the time necessary to digest them and I had the knack of going on and on in my descriptions of strategies and results. That is despite all the customary body language queues that would have guided me otherwise; had I been paying attention to them.

Principle: Brevity and Clarity

When thinking about apartment marketing, exercise the principle of brevity and clarity in your print ad copy, website copy, brochure offerings [if you still do this sort of thing], Facebook posting, blog posting and the such.

It’s not sage or unique advice but nevertheless a good reminder; we live in an attention economy. As such, we have to be compelling in our remarks and mindful of the clarity in our brevity.

 

Tagged as: , , , ,

{ 1 comment }

← Previous Entries