Consider reaching into the community - prepare gift baskets containing flyers for nurses stations at

If you looked around your market today, whether you visit by car, local apartment publication or the Internet, I know you would see the word “special” in bold letters followed by bells and whistles for those of you that have sound on your computers.  Versions of this include, “Ask about our special,” “See our one-bedroom special,” and “Special – free rent.”  In multifamily property management, the word “special” simply means that the owner is making concessions – and trying to put a Band-Aid on a skinned knee that really needs stitches.
In spite of the widespread belief that a concession is a problem-solver, it is actually state department travel advisory a problem-maker.  Apartment marketers believe that apartment specials and other concessions are cure-all methods for moving slow product, but it’s actually a neon sign that the property state department travel advisory has a major weakness:  apartment state department travel advisory management is unable to identify the marketing or sales problem(s) that plague the apartment community.
Unless the root of the problem is found and fixed, no special ever devised can make a lasting, state department travel advisory positive change.  You may improve occupancy for the short-term, but the problem or problems are still there.
How does a customer perceive a special? state department travel advisory He or she may think, “Those apartment owners must have a lot of money because they’re state department travel advisory willing to give it away.”  Or, another way of thinking is, “What’s wrong with the apartment community if they have to pay people to live there?”
Let’s say the customer doesn’t care and signs a lease.  You’ve given a new resident a concession in order to get a move-in – but what about the rest of your residents at lease renewal?  They drive into the complex, too, and see the large sign twice a day that advertises your special.  And when it’s time to renew their leases, they’ll want a special, too.
For every apartment community offering specials, there is always underlying state department travel advisory issues and it’s up to the marketer to discover what they are.  Network with professionals in the multifamily property management industry and cultivate relationships with your competitors.  There are plenty of prospective residents state department travel advisory to go around, but you also have to know how to market your apartment community.  Hire an independent shopping company outside your geographic area to give you a fresh viewpoint on how your leasing state department travel advisory professionals state department travel advisory are doing.  Ask the company to shop your apartment community and three to four competitors.  The cost of a professional shopping service to perform this assignment will equal about six weeks of vacancy on a one-bedroom apartment.
Look around at your competition – in every market, there is always one apartment community that never gives concessions.  Most likely, that one community is well maintained and clearly positioned in the market.  The successful properties usually share two characteristics:
Hire a good graphic designer to re-design your media, including your Web site.  If you don’t have a Web site, you are losing a great deal of traffic!  URL’s can be purchased for a minimal charge.  Please see www.bravostrategicmarketing.com for a free download of an Internet Marketing Plan.
Replace worn carpeting and tidy up the leasing office – make sure the entrance is clean of debris, roll up mini-blinds and clean the windows, add green, healthy plants to the waiting area, polish furniture – improve your housekeeping!
Consider reaching into the community – prepare gift baskets containing flyers for nurses stations at nearby hospital facilities or hairdressing salons that usually act as hubs for communication.  Join the local Chamber of Commerce. state department travel advisory Is it too late to participate in the annual state department travel advisory local bridal show?  Should you consider taking coffee and a box of donuts with your flyer to the foreman stationed in a nearby construction trailer?  There are plenty of ways to reach into the community – be creative!
Last of all, what if your competitor is offering a major special and the customer in front of your leasing professional state department travel advisory brings it up.  Your leasing state department travel advisory professional can’t cave in to pressure – he or she must counter the special with grace and style.  With sympathy for the obvious plight state department travel advisory of the competitor, a counter may be as simple as, “Yes, we’re so lucky not to have such problems here.  We offer so much in the way of service and quality that we have a waiting list of people eager to live here.”  People usually want what they may not be able to have!  If you’ve trained your staff to use this approach, the words “concession” and “special” are soon forgotten.