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Smart Marketing Guarantees A Return Every Time...
In our present shaky economy, people are afraid to invest. The stock market is up one day and down the next. Gas prices are falling one day and reaching record highs the next day. On Monday one company owns your bank, and on Tuesday it's taken over by another. I don't blame people for not investing in this "risky" market, because it truly is risky.
But, what would you do if I told you I had a guaranteed stock tip. A tip that works every single time, and has no risk involved at all. Would you believe me? Would you be a little interested? Probably not. But what if I told you that I have over 20 years of proven experience and that all my clients are millionaires. On top of that, every client that still uses the tip continues to see growth in his or her portfolio. Now I have your attention.
Unfortunately, The Apartment Marketer doesn't have a stock tip that is sure to fast-forward your retirement 10 years. What I do have, however, are PROVEN marketing strategies that have worked for apartment communities around the nation for over 20 years. These strategies are guaranteed to help your property reach 100% occupancy. We can also help you avoid some "risky" marketing investments. Let's take a look at both proven and risky apartment marketing investments.
No-Risk Marketing Strategy #1 - Direct Mail With Apartment Postcards
Notice that I didn't just say "direct mail." You see, most direct mail companies will take every advertising dollar that you have and throw it to the wind. They will direct mail every single person within a 10-mile radius of your community. Homeowners, fast food restaurants, other commercial businesses...the list is endless. Of course, we know that most of these people are not interested in living in your community, or not qualified, and that is why this direct mail approach is a very risky and very expensive investment.
The reason there is no risk with direct mail marketing from Apartment Postcards is because we only mail your postcard to QUALIFIED PROSPECTS! You know your market better than anyone else, so we don't assume that we know exactly who can move into your community. Instead, you tell us the names of your comp properties, where each and every resident is already qualified to live in your community, and those are the ONLY people to whom we deliver your postcard.
When you eliminate spending your marketing dollars on unqualified prospects, you'll see a much greater return on your investment and will eliminate unnecessary marketing risks.
Click here to see a list of direct mail options from Apartment Postcards.
No-Risk Marketing Strategy #2 - A Custom Website
If you're relying on popular apartment websites to promote your property, then you're also relying on them to promote your competition just as much as your community. I keep asking myself, "Who wants to spend their marketing dollars advertising for the competition?"
With a custom-designed website for your property, there is absolutely NO RISK INVOLVED AT ALL! Your property's photos, floor plans, amenities and specials will stand all by themselves, far, far away from your competition. If you advertise your website on all of your marketing materials, you'll drive the qualified prospects straight to your site. The competition will be out of sight and out of mind!
Click here for the best apartment website developers.
No-Risk Marketing Strategy #3 - Hard Work With Beautiful Marketing Materials
In a perfect world, qualified prospects would walk into the door every single day and lease an apartment on the first visit. But we don't live in a perfect world, and sometimes you're going to have to hit the street in order for your community to reach 100% occupancy. We know outside marketing is challenging for any apartment manager, but we promise to make the effort worth your while with beautiful marketing materials.
What makes outside marketing a NO-RISK activity is the fact that businesses and chambers of commerce want to impress their future employees and members. They are wary of handing out the poorly produced or photocopied flyers and business cards that your competitors distribute. Instead, they only want to show and represent the best their city or town has to offer to future employees and business owners. A fully custom-designed, high quality brochure or marketing card is sure to impress them and get you a referral every time.
When you start representing your property with beautiful marketing materials, you'll find that your leasing office will begin to receive qualified traffic that just wasn't possible with inferior marketing materials.
Now that we've covered some of the no-risk marketing investments, let’s take a look at some more risky ones.
Risky Marketing Investment #1 - Front Cover Of An "Apartment Book"
Imagine a prospect looking at the front cover of your favorite apartment book. Now imagine your property being on the front cover. At first glance the prospect falls in love with your community. The prospect can't wait to find out more information about your property and the amenities that you provide. The prospect earnestly flips through the apartment book looking for your community's ad, but while searching, the prospect sees another pretty property and instantly falls for it. You just lost that prospect to a competitor. Now, imagine this happening to everyone who picks up the book.
Advertising just a page-flip away from your competition is essentially asking for this to happen, and all those advertising dollars that you spent on the cover aren't worth anything. We know that some properties might see a small increase in traffic, but the majority will see no more traffic walking through the door than the last month. Even if the prospect turns directly to your page, the competition is only a page-flip away. This is a risky marketing investment, and the reward does not outweigh the risk.
Risky Marketing Investment #2 - Premium Placement On An Apartment Website
When you're approached about premium website positioning, we admit that the proposition will look enticing. You'll hear that over 50% of apartment searches are started online, and that premium website positioning will improve your chance of someone clicking your property's page. Now, we don't doubt that you might get a few extra webpage views, but is the investment really worthwhile?
The answer is NO! The competition is advertising only one click away! Prospects can go from loving your property to not even thinking about it in a matter of seconds. Plus, just think how many of the prospects looking at your page are actually qualified to live in your community. Why not take that extra money you were going to spend on premium placement, and drive traffic to your own website? You’ll find that the prospects attention will be focused on your property, and yours alone. Your competition won't even be a thought in their mind.
Risky Marketing Investment #3 - Advertising In The Newspaper
I'm creating a new marketing category for newspaper advertising. It's called "Desperate Marketing." This is used when you have lots of money, but desperately need leases.
What is the main reason newspaper advertising is a waste of your advertising dollars? Over 90% of newspaper subscribers are homeowners! This means that if every single person that subscribed to the newspaper looked at your ad, only 10% of those readers are apartment renters. And that's if every single subscriber sees your ad. Newspaper advertising is usually more a frantic reaction than a thoughtful action, and the results are pretty dismal. It's an expensive gamble, isn't it?
Risky Marketing Investment #4 - Advertising On The Radio
It's hard for me to see much reasoning for using radio advertising to promote apartment communities. I guess if you have a business that appeals to every person, like a major grocery store or a shopping mall, then it could be a good investment. But apartment communities are not for everyone. In fact, only a small percentage of the local population is qualified to live in your community. Here's an example that shows what I’m talking about.
Let's be generous and say that 5% of your local population is qualified to move into your community.
With almost universal access to radio, let's say that the stars and moon have aligned and that every single person in your area is listening to the specific radio station at the very moment that your advertisement plays. BOOM! Congratulations, you just appealed to 5% of the market. Now after hearing your advertisement, how many of that 5% have a lease coming up for renewal or are shopping for a new apartment and can move into your property? Not many.
As you can see, even on the best day, radio advertising is not worth it!
When you step back and actually look at how your advertising dollars are spent, you'll realize that risky marketing investments rarely pay off. Why waste advertising dollars on a chance, when you can reach 100% of your target market every time with concentrated, target marketing?