The real question – are we making it difficult to do business with us? At what point do you finally stop a practice despite the small percentage of user base that may still use services that you offer?

Apartment Prospects

Prospects and residents are human beings and or people first. Think of it this way, treat them as prospects or consumers and you are treating them according to your needs. Turn that around and treat them as people or humans and you are treating them according to their needs. Up to this point a prospect has been thought of as a head on a bed, a occupancy basis point or a check in the bank – a person on the otherhand is thought of as someone who dreams of a place to call home; a place that he/she can be proud to tell their friends about and someone you can have a long term relationship with.

Who are you serving today? You or other people?

At one point in the conversation, Mike asked me the the proverbial, “So what’s going on with you?” I took it in the context of business and replied, “I think that this is an absolutely exciting time to be alive! And, I think things just feel like they are getting better.” I really believe that. Not to suggest the the whole world is peaches and cream but the bulk of what I touch on a day to day basis is good. Mills Apartments has absorbed North of 2000+/- units additional units into the family in the trailing eighteen months and the pipeline for more is there. We are on the cusp of unveiling a new website, our social media platform is on a firm setting, our community team [marketing director, coordinators, mascot, bloggers, etc.] are planting the seeds for conversation and operations are seeing concession reduction and in some cases rent gains. To borrow a quote from our company President, Kirk Mills, “things are good.”

Skip back to Mike Whaling, it seems his appointment book and book of business are filling up. We feel the same way about our business at Mills.

So there is my apartment business observation.

And, I wonder – what is your sense of the business today? Is the phone starting to ring more? Are you booking more appointments? Are companies starting to reach out in a more meaningful way?

Bronx Landlord Jailed for Continued Housing Violations – Bronx Housing Court last week ordered Sam Suzuki to be held behind bars until he corrects the nearly 700 open housing violations | Katy’s Exposure

Apartment Education – The Heat of the Moment

It’s summer time and many – if not all- of us are heavily involved in turning apartments and fielding A/C calls. It’s a busy time of the year and as a result education and safety meetings have the propensity to get put off. The idea of that brings to mind a scene from the movie Crimson Tide where Denzel Washington’s character questions Gene Hackman’s character on a decision to run a missile readiness drill all the while there was a fire going on in the galley. Hackman’s response was along the lines of – war does not stop for fire’s in the galley and Hackman’s character suggest that is the best time to run a drill.

As it relates to our own operations: I am a big believer in repetition when it comes to education and this coming week, despite the busyness, might be a good week to dust off your mold remediation policies, procedures and brief your teams. The story linked above might be a nice supplement to the training. Siting the article as a example of the use of social media to draw attention to the story might be a good preface on the power of ignorance.

Have a smashing week – and feel free to sound off in the comment section below -

The core of Social Media is not “eyeballs and ears” but rather “hearts and minds.” Go for quality, not quantity. – As tweeted by @NW_Mktg_Guy

I have read a few blog posts as of late that promote the thought of racing to certain thresholds of users on the various Social Media platforms, i.e. – 10k Facebook Likes. Despite FBs flip-flopping position on the 10k number as it relates to the Like page – I am baffled as to why that would be a strategic aim. Outside of understanding the would be advantages – if FB flops again – I would have to question the quality of such a forced end result. That is to suggest that if the number grows to 10k organically via rich experiences then hooray but if the number is achieved by coercion then – booray. Simply put – don’t race to 10k just because you can.

Quality vs. Quantity

Let me preface this section by saying that I’m the last person that should be writing a post taking sides on this subject. One could move right to my personal FB profile and question – why I friend everyone that comes across the recommendation page [it is not exactly everyone - only if there are multiple mutual connections between the networks]. The somewhat akward and funny answer is that I love defending myself from indefensible positions. That aside, the real answer is – despite the overlapping networks – I don’t know but I have been thinking about it for a couple of months now. I will admit that I am closer to deciding that quality is the better aim although I don’t have a premise for that position as of yet. And I would not suggest there is a right or a wrong answer.

All that being said, the tweet above really resonated with me concerning Like pages. If you take a strict interpretation of the word engagement – it really does boil down to the soft stuff. Like the quote suggest – heart’s and minds. In my head – that translates not to – Like your organization but rather Love your organization. I think there is a difference but that discussion is for another day.

What are your thoughts? Race for the thresholds despite quality – or, slowly grow to the threshold through remarkable experiences that people naturally invite their friends to be a part of? Or, do you have a completely alternate position on the subject?

Photo credit scs.ryerson.ca

We actually transitioned the property management piece to Mills some ten months ago in August of 2009 after a bank foreclosure. Since that time we have worked to position the property for this eventual rehab are no less excited than the Laker’s will be when they take the NBA title this year and or when the Blackhawk’s took the Stanley Cup just a few days ago.

The property has a rich history but had fallen on hard times especially in the past three to five years. We are really looking forward to being a part of something bigger than ourselves with this project. It’s right on the fringe of one of the hippest neighborhoods in all of downtown St. Louis and as such will cater to a number of different target markets.

As we move through the rehab – I hope to post many of the before and after pics, vids, social efforts, etc..

Should be an uber over the top awesome experience –

Mills Properies spending $4 million on CityView upgrades – St. Louis Business Journal

As I read more – I will come back and update this post as it relates to the apartment space but for now – enjoy.

From Seth’s blog: What Matters Now ”I hope a new ebook I’ve organized will get you started on that path. It took months, but I think you’ll find it worth it the effort.”

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.

Is it interesting that off-line trust leads the pack? And, by a fairly comfortable margin?

I thought about it in my own life and while I do occasionally [when buying books] read a review or two before making a purchase – I many times turn to my friends. Just last week I asked a couple friends for names of a good Family Doctor and a really good place to eat lunch. And, as funny as it may seem, when I moved in Feb. I asked a couple of friends what neighborhoods they would recommend living in or around. I ignored the ILSs, Craigslists and even my own companies offerings. Reason: I – personally – find them to be time consuming relative to a friend saying, “Yeah – check this place or that place out.” I found my dentist, attorney, local bank, and cleaners the same way – ironically from the same person. I even consulted two friends to help me find the perfect Jeep dealership. Never even thought about Google, Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, etc…

Interesting or not really? What does it really mean – if anything?

Related story:

Nielsen: Consumers Trust Online Opinions

aparment marketing ideas, apartment marketing, marketing apartments, WOM