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Anniversary Edition: To BE or not to BE?

Nov 1st, 2011
by daisynguyen.
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tO bE OR nOT TO BE!

November 1st marks the 2nd anniversary for RENT SODA! Time flies when you’re having fun, and the past 2 years have been a BLAST. When I took the plunge to venture out on my own in 2009, it was:

  1. now or never
  2. sink or swim
  3. do or die
  4. all or nothing
  5. to be or not to be! (This last one is SOOO important!)
What terrible choices. What wonderful choices. What EXCITING choices. What dangers! What risks! My heart was beating FAST, ERADICALLY, I was scared > no terrified. I took a breathe, I took LOTS of deep breathes, and then…and THEN
…I made the decision, and on November 1st, I was on my own.

For the first time in my life, I was on my own.

Looking back, there really was no other choice. Eventually, all roads, all training, all experiences had led me to this road > the road where I I had to CHOOSE to create your my own path, my own way.

So, I chose.

And every day since, that little spark that drove me to dive off the deep end 2 years ago > continues to grow. The spark became a FIRE, then an obsession, until eventually, it consumed me. That spark, that light, that energy to create, to discover, to BE.

Shakespeare asks the question, “To be or not to be?”

The answer is always, TO BE.

To be happy.

To be inquisitive.

To be driven.

To be passionate.

To be in love – with life, with love, with work.

To be able to make mistakes.

To be TOTALLY BADASS in every imaginable way.

To be me.

Thank you to all my clients who hire me to be ME. And all of you who read my blog, because I am ME. And for all those on facebook who “like” me for ME. And all those on twitter that follow ME. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me BE.

PS. Mom, I know you’re reading, Thank you for having ME. For having me – as I am. And teaching me to BE.

tO bE OR nOT TO BE!

tO bE OR nOT TO BE! by Daisy Nguyen

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The Psychology of Apartment Leasing – Is Selling Sleazy? (+ 10 Tips to Emphasize Your Genuineness)

Apr 18th, 2011
by jameswb.
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I have been surprised lately by how many people react negatively to using psychology in selling situations.  In fact, many site managers have turned up their nose and commented, “We don’t sell.  Selling is beneath us.”  Well, vacancy loss is beneath me.

A friend and I were chatting about this when she commented:  “When a kid wants to get something in the store and the parents are not convinced they need it…. here is born our first concept of sales.  ‘I will die if we do not get a box of Cap’n Crunch cereal!’”

The reality is that all of us are selling all of the time.  Common non-selling selling situations include:  asking your boss for a raise, presenting a budget to an owner, going on a job interview, proposing marriage, trying to get your partner to go to a football game instead of the latest Jennifer Anniston flick, a meeting with your parole board or negotiating the bigger slice of the pie.

Is understanding human behavior and why we do what we do sleazy?  Is understanding how to motivate your child to study sleazy?  Is understanding when the best time to bring an idea to your partner’s attention (vacation spot, home addition, mother-in-law visit) sleazy?  There is a time and a place and a way for everything.

Everyone has to find a technique that is genuine to them.  If you are real you will not come across as contrived.  It is when we try to be someone we are not or we put on a mask of who we think we are supposed to be that we come across as fake.

Solution selling

Hate selling?  Try “Solution Selling”. This is a buzz phrase in our industry today—and it has a nice warm glow to it.  We are selling solutions to our customers’ problems—and that cannot be bad, can it?  When a customer walks into your office, instead of thinking of yourself as a sales person ask, “What can I do to help this customer solve her problems today?”  Frankly, all it takes is a few easy ingredients:

  1. A caring, helpful attitude (This is a basic first step; make sure you really care about your job, your product and your customers.  If you do not, ask yourself why?)
  2. An understanding of your product and how it can benefit your customers.
  3. A ready smile
  4. An ability to listen, answer questions and ask for the sale.

However, if we knowingly sell someone something that we know they do not want or cannot afford, that is sleazy.

Manipulative?

In our firm, we have spent a lot of time training clients on understanding personality profiles and how different personality types behave, interact and prefer to communicate (in both sales and management).  This helps us gain a deeper psychological understanding of our customers (and they could be internal—your boss—or external). For example, I once had a boss who preferred e-mail. He also hated information overload—so I learned to condense and bullet point everything.  If he wanted more information, he would ask.  If I left a voice mail it would likely be deleted unheard.  Is my attempt to communicate in a way he could best receive the information manipulative?  This same approach to our customers is really just good customer service.

Emphasizing Your Genuineness

Here are a few tips on creating positive nonverbals to emphasize your genuineness:

  • Smile (a real smile includes the eyes)
  • Start by being genuine. (Leave ‘masks’ at home.)
  • Speak your customers’ language in a respectful way; don’t talk down to them.
  • Take the time to listen to your customer.
  • Don’t cross your arms (indicates defensiveness)
  • Lean forward slightly (indicates interest)
  • Don’t sit across a desk from your customer—this creates a barrier. Try and find a position that indicates that you are on their team.
  • Maintain good eye contact (unless it is offensive in their culture to do so).
  • Don’t speak too quickly.
  • Laughter is good:  it is a sign that you are relaxed and at ease with your customer.
  • Don’t rub your nose or cover your mouth.  (Benjamin Franklin said:  “Look at someone’s mouth while they’re talking, and at their eyes while you’re talking.”)

Don’t be afraid to show the positive aspects of your personality at work.  It is when we put on masks that people get confused.  Your customers will positively respond to who you genuinely are.

I think I’ll go have that bowl of Cap’n Crunch now!

Cheers! 

Jim Baumgartner

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Building Apartment Revenue: Yield Management

Apr 15th, 2011
by jameswb.
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It is no mystery that the past few years have been tough on the multi family industry.  We are seeing pockets of recovery while other regions are still suffering.  Despite overall vacancy issues, you often will see certain floor plans or views maintain high demand.  This is where market rate properties can boost revenue by practicing yield management. 

I first started practicing yield management when I worked with a client that primarily owned hotels.  They taught me a lesson that I would never forget.  When occupancy is high, the prices go up.  When occupancy is low, prices drop.  Basic right? The key; however, was to look for opportunities to grow revenue even when overall occupancy is down.

I was curious as to what Wikipedia had for a definition and really like what they had to say:

There are three essential conditions for yield management to be applicable:

  • That there is a fixed amount of resources available for sale.
  • That the resources sold are perishable (there is a time limit to selling the resources, after which they cease to be of value).
  • That different customers are willing to pay a different price for using the same amount of resources.

Airlines jumped on yield management after deregulation.  In essence, they cannot manufacture more seats just as we cannot add more rental units.  Hotels quickly jumped on this trend as well.  We all sell space for a specified time frame.  We have a time limit—and if we don’t maximize that time we lose money.

There are software programs available that will help you to do this; however, if you want to experiment without the investment, gather your front-line team, take a look at your property and ask, “Which styles always rent the fastest?”  Every property has apartments that rent quickly.  This is an opportunity to create revenue where there was none before.  Push the rents on those styles. 

Create a base price.  This may be as simple as taking your current pricing and adjusting from there.  However, if upon review you find that some unit styles are always full and you have occupancy issues on others, you may have a pricing problem.  If you aren’t already doing so, do a market analysis to compare your pricing with your comps.  Are their rents higher or lower than yours?  (You can look at rents per square foot; however, most customers do not take the time to analyze this.  They are more concerned with “What do I get for my money and how much will it cost me each month?”)  Are their amenities better or not as nice?  Is the location comparable?  Put yourself in your customers’ shoes.  Be as unbiased as possible.  If you were your customer, how much would you pay?  As a result of this exercise you will discover where you can push rents and perhaps where some should be pulled back a bit.

Increase rents for value items.  Increase the base price for amenities such as fireplace, vaults, extra windows, upgraded finishes (appliances, carpet, remodels, etc.), which floor it is on (top floor is generally premium—unless you do not have an elevator, walk-outs are a premium due to convenience for dog owners and active residents) and views (pool or nature views).  (One of the benefits of going through this exercise with your team and manually adjusting rents is that everyone understands the reasoning behind the pricing and can therefore explain it to their customers.  This has been a frustration with yield management software.)

Invariably, when we have gone through this process we have ended up creating the equivalent of several units worth of revenue.  So, on a 100-unit site, we have ended up with revenue generation equivalent to 103 to 107 units (based on former average rents).  At the high end you can end up with almost an extra month’s worth of revenue per year!

You will also find that you have enough income to more than offset reduced rents on the apartment styles that typically do not move quickly.  This gives you the benefit of a lower ‘loss leader’ for advertising purposes as well.  There is also snobbery on the upper end of the market so this increases your total range and broadens your appeal to a larger slice of the market.

At the end of this process you may find that you love the extra income that yield management brings you.  (Undoubtedly your ownership will!)  At that point you will want to look at the benefits of utilizing a yield management software versus doing it yourself.  There are pros and cons to both.  Regardless of which you choose, you will grow your asset and hopefully increase bonuses and your career growth!  Seize the opportunity!

Jim Baumgartner is Senior Vice President of RentSoda, a consulting company offering apartment marketing, business & operations consulting as well as industry-specific training.

www.rentsoda.com |8 blog.rentsoda.com| jim {at} rentsoda(.)com | 

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Building Revenue: 10 Tips to Decreasing Apartment Vacancy Time

Apr 7th, 2011
by jameswb.
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The market is firming up in many markets across the United States. After three dismal years this is a great thing!  Many owners are looking for ways to gain back some of the revenue they have lost over the past three years.  When inventory is leasing quickly, there are only a few ways to do this: 

  1. Increase rents and drop specials
  2. Decrease expenses
  3. Reduce down time between vacate and the new move-in

Increase rents & drop specials

When a market improves, most site managers want to bask in the glory and comfort of a solid 100% occupancy.  It is possible; however, despite the emotional gratification, it is not profitable.  Whenever your site is over 95%, it is time to kick the rents up a notch.  You can even analyze this by unit type.  This is your opportunity to get your largest revenue boost. (More on this at a later date.)

Decrease expenses

Most of us have spent countless hours renegotiating contracts, looking at utility savings and eliminating the nice-to-have vs. the need-to-have items on our sites.  In a recent blog, Amy Kosnikowski wrote, “Let’s face it – Frugality is now cool.”  While we should always be reviewing this, most of us have beat this up pretty well.

Reduce down time between vacate & the new move-in

The time a rental unit sits vacant between the previous resident moving out and the new one moving in is becoming an area of increased focus.  When the market is good, the vast majority of building owners in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market try to turn apartments within 24 hours.   We have a limited inventory and cannot order more product from the factory if we run out!  Using the example of bathing suits at Target–If they start selling well, Target orders more.  We cannot do that.  We get paid for time, if we don’t get paid, we’ll never capture that revenue.  Our inventory is fixed so we have to maximize it–meaning less downtime = more revenue.

 Tips to increase revenue by decreasing down time:

  1. Hold a group meeting to discuss ways to better manage the turnover process.  This encourages those who are ‘experts’ to share with their peers and build buy-in.
  2. Walk your move-outs early in the month to determine needs. Which homes need new carpet, what repairs have to be done, etc.  Any repairs that can be done while the current resident is in the home should be done prior to move-out.  This will also clue you into any homes that need major renovation and therefore will have to be down for an extended period (meaning one or two weeks—not months!)
  3. Make sure expectations for your vacating residents are clear.  Ideally they received some kind of unit condition form.  Let them know replacement and labor costs so they know what to expect when they vacate.  It is a good idea to send another copy of this along with a notice confirmation letter.  Hopefully, they will do the bulk of cleaning for you!
  4. Order parts and supplies by mid-month so time isn’t wasted running to the hardware store during turns.
  5. Establish a good rapport with vendors.  Schedule them early (e.g. carpet extractors, carpet replacement, painters, outside cleaners if you use them).  If you set your expectations they will adapt to the pressure of turning between noon on the last day of the month and noon on the first.  A key item to consider, if you contract much of the work out, you can get it done faster but at a higher cost.  Take a look at this to see if it makes financial sense for your property.
  6. Talk with the residents who are moving out.  Are any going to be moving out early?  If so, schedule their move-out inspections earlier as well as the subsequent turn work requests.
  7. If you have more move-outs than demand, create a priority list—divide and conquer.  Make sure your most popular styles are turned first so they are available to show and rent.  After those are ready, make sure you have one of each style available.
  8. In many markets, it is not unusual to have staggered move-ins and move-outs.  Consider if this is a system that would work for your company.  Many prefer it because it staggers the work; however, others find it bothersome to track notices, etc.
  9. This process of tightening up your turn time may take a few months to implement.  Set achievable goals and tighten the timeline a bit more every month.
  10. Celebrate a job well done with your on-site team!  It takes a lot of work so bring pizza in for lunch, snacks, etc. 

As managers of real estate, it is our job to grow the investment we manage.  If your company has not started to focus on this yet, you will be a rock star when your boss starts to notice your revenue increasing.  Follow these easy steps and you will see positive results!

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Better Retention through Grocery Carts*?

Feb 15th, 2011
by jameswb.
10 comments

In the past, one of my frustrations with new construction is that within 37 minutes of moving in your first residents, ugly beat-up old grocery carts from neighborhood shopping centers start appearing in the common areas.  Grocery carts may be the wire hangers of the multifamily industry:  they reproduce at an astonishing rate.  Why not streamline the look, modify them to protect your walls and elevator cabs and get some marketing oomph from them?

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon working with my friend Linda Kelley, CEMG (Chief Executive Marketing Guru) at City’s Best Marketing (http://www.c-b-m.com/)  in Minneapolis.  She and her team continually work towards the goal of cutting-edge marketing innovation.  I walked into her office and was blocked by a sleek gray cart.  Linda is a lover of fine food.  She ensures that the kitchen in their employee lounge is always fully stocked and has been known for spontaneous acts of culinary.  My first reaction was that perhaps she was trying to efficiently transport food.  But no!  It was a sample of their latest concept:  customized grocery carts!  Now instead of seeing the name of your local retailer emblazoned on your site grocery carts, you can have your site name or company website imprinted on the handle.  As we started brainstorming together (practicing creative one-upmanship) we tossed out other ideas—placards along the walls of the cart featuring discounts for residents at area restaurants and shops; resident referral signs; or flyers announcing resident events, directing folks to your Facebook page, etc.  Why not make these utilitarian tools—items that we don’t even notice when we see them—work for us?

*Or for our friends on the East Coast—Carriages, or in Denver:  Buggy.

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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The heART of the Deal: The Psychology of Leasing – the Exchange Fundamental

Feb 4th, 2011
by jameswb.
2 comments

In all human interactions there is a great deal going on below the surface.  This is psychology.  We all bring different understandings, intents and cultural references to relationship; however, there are some concepts that are relatively universal.  In order to be a better salesperson, it pays to understand the psychology of human interactions.

One of these key concepts is the Exchange Fundamental.  In effect, it is the Golden Rule in reverse:  When I do something for you; you are obligated to do something in return for me.  Have you ever been on the receiving end of something nice and the giver says, “Now you owe me one!”  This is an example of the Exchange Fundamental.

Back in the day you might have encountered religious folks in white robes passing out flowers in the airport.  While it appeared to be a gift, an obligation to give something back was created.  The obligation could be paid in the form of money (donation) or your time to listen to their message.

We don’t always exchange cash or concrete things.  It’s really about the perceived value.  For example, when I volunteer to teach, a note of thanks afterwards means so much—it is an acknowledgement that I have given my time and shared my knowledge. The other day, I got a call from a seminar participant thanking me for some practical applications on profiling. This helped her build a positive relationship that will mean a lot of revenue for her company. That call brightened my day.  Likewise, when I give my son a cash ‘infusion’, his hug and ‘thanks, Dad’ means the world to me.

What happens if someone violates the Exchange Fundamental?  As we learn to mimic the behaviors we see on reality television, we may be tempted to take—but not give back.  Doing this risks being rejected by your peer group.  (We subconsciously keep score.) The exception to this is if you are dealing with someone of a higher status.  However, even a higher status person will find that people are less forthcoming as they begin to learn how he or she operates—all take and no give.  At some point, without adequate rewards, the giving on the part of the subordinate will stop—or the least, the quality will drop.

Pay it forward – The Exchange Fundamental gives us confidence that if I help others today, I can count on their help when I need it in the future.  In fact, we can even help people we do not know with the understanding that in our hour of need, there will be someone there to help us.  Carol Burnett, in an interview on William Shatner’s show, Raw Nerve, described how a California businessman invested in her career.  His stipulation was that if she made it big, she had to help others.  So she has set up numerous scholarships to pay back this debt.

So how does this apply to leasing apartments?  Offer gifts just for stopping by.  When you receive a gift, you feel obligated to do something in return.  Some examples include site-monogrammed key lariats at student housing fairs, inviting senior housing prospects to ice cream or pie socials, offering a Target or IKEA gift card as a close or participation in drawings ‘just for stopping by’. 

Consider the guest card exchange:  if you do not fill it out for your prospect, hand the guest card to them and say, “Let me get you a cup of coffee or bottle of water while you fill this out.”  (It’s most positive to lead with what you will do for them.)

If, at the end of the demonstration, you are unable to close your prospect, ask if they have any friends that are looking for housing.  Turn up the heat by offering a small referral bonus.  This creates the opportunity for you to leverage that relationship into a new relationship—and thereby make it easier to close a new sale.  The majority of prospects will search their minds for referrals in an effort to ‘even the Exchange score’.

Whether we are comfortable with it or not, there is a lot going on below the surface!  Take the time to understand how the Exchange Fundamental can work for you.  You will find that it positively impacts your closing ratio—and it will increase your network of friends and supporters as well!

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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TOP 3 Qualities of Successful Multi-Family Apartment Careers

Nov 23rd, 2010
by daisynguyen.
2 comments

Here at RENT SODA, we’ve been talking about success A LOT. From our recent article (Build on Your Strengths: Build Success by Jim Baumgartner) to our Profiling Your Way to MORE Success sales classes, to every day conversations with our clients (“We want our manager to be more successful,”), it seems everyone is talking about “SUCCESS.”

It begs the question:

Do You Have What it Takes To Be Successful in the Multi-family (Apartment) Industry?

or better yet:

How About – What DOES it Take To Be Successful in the Multi-Family (Apartment) Industry?

We have been pondering this over the last few weeks. We’ve decided to do a series of articles on individual SUCCESS in the Multi-Family Apartment Industry. We’ve started researching and interviewing successful people – you’ll want to read what they have to say – so check back weekly as we post those articles!

First, we looked for individuals who were successful in the following categories:

  1. Someone who has had multiple career advancements and now holds one of the top positions in their company. (i.e. someone who started at the bottom and worked their way up to VP, CEO/COO/CFO or founder of a company in the Multi-family industry.)
  2. Someone who started in property management and has made a successful transition into a vendor role.
  3. Someone who started in a vendor role and has made a successful transition into a property management/development company.
  4. Someone who started at the corporate-side of the multi-family apartment business and has successfully transition into an on-site (at the apartment community) position.
  5. Someone who started on-site (at the apartment community) and has successfully transitioned into a corporate position at their management company.

We asked our network for recommendations on those people that they feel were successful in the categories defined above, interviewed them and asked them how they became successful. We heard lots of GREAT stories, uncovered GREAT tips, and gained WONDERFUL insights into these successes – and we’ll share these stories with you over the next few weeks.

We found some commonalities in our first round of interviews – we’re going to share those with you to wet your appetite for success. We’re still in the process of finishing up our interviews, but believe these 3 qualities aren’t going to change:

TOP 3 Qualities of Successful Multi-Family Apartment Careers

  1. Successful individuals in ALL categories EMBRACED change. Sometimes they were thrust into the changes, sometimes they instigated the changes, sometimes they recommended the changes, and even at times, they were initially against the changes, but whatever the reason for the change, they EMBRACED it. ALL of our interviewees talked about change as the ONLY constant in their careers > and embracing changes was one of the keys to their success. NONE of our interviewees said, “I just wanted to go to work and do my job.”

    2. In fact a couple of them mentioned that complacency within any position is a red flag that you’re not doing the best job you could be doing > which could eventually lead to failure.

    Change can mean anything – change in market/economy, change in responsibilities, change in supervisor, change in ownership, change in technology, change in location, change in portfolio, change in team members. - you have to always be pushing that envelope, embracing change, and figuring out how it can benefit you, your property, your goals, and your apartment owners.

  2. Successful individuals in ALL categories said YES. They were problem solvers for their supervisors/companies/sites/etc – they said YES to challenges, they said YES to change, they said YES to responsibility, and ultimately, YES to success.

    3. We’re not talking about being a YES man/woman. We’re talking about a positive attitude of “Yes I can – I’ll find a way” rather than a negative attitude of “No, I can’t, NO that can’t be done.”

    Who would you rather work for? Who would you rather work with? A “YES I CAN” person or a “NO I CAN’T” person? People who are promoted aren’t known for saying, “NO, what you’re asking us to do can’t be done,” they are known for taking a seemingly impossible situation/challenge and saying “Yes, there’s got to be a way – it’ll be tough, but I’m sure I can figure it out.” If you can solve a seemingly unsolvable problem for your supervisor/your company/your industry – you will be noticed.

  3. Successful individuals in ALL categories were active communicators. All of our interviewees were articulate, well-spoken, individuals with an ability to clearly communicate their thought process. We noticed this in our interviews – it was easy to follow their stories, understand their frame of mind, and see the natural progression of their career successes. Have you ever talked to someone who is hard to understand? Jumps from topic to topic? Someone who doesn’t tie in all their points – perhaps their communications have no point? Perhaps they are long-winded? Our interviews could have been explaining the complexities of rocket fuel – but they would have found a way to make it easy to understand and pertinent to what we were talking about. HOWEVER, this is not the case with all individuals in life.

    4. Let’s not forget the word ACTIVE.

    We noticed that all our interviewees were active in communicating their goals to their teams, active in communicating their processes to their supervisors, active in communicating their needs on a project, active in communicating their career desires. The key word is ACTIVE. None of our interviewees were passive-aggressive and hoped they would be noticed for promotion. None of our interviewees hoped clients would pick up the phone and call them to buy a product. None of our success interviewees hoped a job would land in their lap. No one we spoke to was hoping someone else would tell them what to do/how to do it. Not a single one of our interviewees hoped to get the budget they needed in order to complete a goal/challenge that they had been given. They were all active at communicating their wants/needs/processes/responsibilities/etc – so that everyone knew where they stood, and how to help them get to their goals. This seems like common sense, but how many of us know someone who works hard and hopes that someone notices and gives them a raise/promotion/award? Do you know someone who doesn’t ask about the expectations of a job? How about a boss who expects that everyone can read their mind? How about someone who is given a challenge but doesn’t ask for the parameters of the challenge? We have all been that person, or know that passive person. Don’t be a passive communicator and hope your actions talk louder than words. Be an ACTIVE one! COMMUNICATE!

These are just the tip of the success iceberg.

Join us after Thanksgiving and read about the STORIES, heartaches, struggles, tips that these successful individuals have to share with RENT SODA.

Be ready to be moved to greater success.

If you know someone who you feel has been successful in our defined categories above, please send us an email and recommend them for an interview!

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Foursquare vs. Facebook Places – Which is Better for Marketing Your Apartment Community?

Nov 9th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
6 comments

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a Foursquare GEEK, and now, with the launch of Facebook Places, I am TOTALLY CONFUSED. There’s so much news out about Facebook Places – what will be the best tool for helping your outreach or marketing efforts at your apartment communities? Which application will help you stay connected to more apartment residents, attract more apartment prospects, give you more positive exposure?

Some background:

I use facebook as a place to connect with friends and collegues, keep up with the latest news about places/businesses I “like,” and connect with other like-minded individuals.

I use foursquare to find out about places near me, get tips based on my location, and I hate to admit it, but I secretly covet being “mayor” and earning badges.

If I am a typical user, how does this information help YOU market your apartment communities or connect with prospects and residents?

Let’s put them in the boxing  ring and see who wins:

  1. ROUND ONE: First thing I do when I go somewhere is to look on Foursquare to see which businesses near me have tips, read them, and see if I want to try something new, or stick with my tried and true favorites. Currently very easy to do on Foursquare. AND Foursquare has had A LOT more activity – resulting in lots of tips & deals with local businesses. Facebook Places – I have not found a way to leave a tip or find tips others have left. The only way to see what others think about a place is IF that business has connected their facebook PLACE to their facebook PAGE, and you can see the information and wall of a business’ facebook place/page. This is a big IF. And even IF a business has connected their facebook place to their facebook page, you’ll only see their wall. There’s not really a place that encourages users to leave other information for other users. WINNER: Foursquare
  2. ROUND TWO: When I am marketing an apartment community (or even a retail business), I look for tools where I have control over the content, easy way to communicate my brand and my message. With Foursquare Places, it is easy to claim my “place,” connect it to my community’s facebook page, and manipulate the content users see when they find me. Additionally, if someone leaves an potentially negative remark or comment on my page, in Facebook, I can delete it. With Foursquare, I can claim my business on Foursquare -but there is no way to customize it beyond providing the basic info. Additionally, user can leave whatever comments and tips they want, I have no control over their comments. WINNER: From a business/marketing perspective, Facebook Places is the CLEAR winner.
  3. ROUND THREE: Deals. Everyone loves a deal. How easy is it to find places with “specials” or “deals?” On Facebook Places, when you bring up the app, all the businesses around you will be listed. If there is a “special” or “deal,” there is a little cut-out square icon that resembles a coupon. It was somewhat easy to spot. On Foursquare, when you open the app, it locates all the businesses close to you, and if there are any “specials” or “deals,”  the word “SPECIAL” shows up. Its much easier to spot, and there is no question as to the purpose. So, for all practical purposes, this is almost a tie. HOWEVER, as I searched through local businesses that I know are running deals, I found more deals on Foursquare than I did on Facebook Places. WINNER: FOURSQUARE through a technicality. - This may change if Facebook Places can attract more businesses and “specials” and “deals.”
  4. Round Four: Activity & Users – who has more? According to a recent Business Insider article from October 29th, 2010, although Facebook Places has 7X more users, those users are not as active as the 4 million foursquare users. WINNER: Foursquare
  5. Round Five: The FUN factor. In foursquare, as stupid as it may sound, I enjoy being a “mayor” and receiving”badges” for checking in. One of my friends, a VP of a large company in Minnesota, recently emailed me to say, “I just became the MAYOR at a local joint. I am secretly quite proud!” Facebook places currently does not have an incentive to check-in except for the possibility of a deal or “special.” WINNER: Foursquare.

Foursquare wins 4 out of 5 rounds because it meets the wants of its users. That’s a page from the facebook business book – build an application for the end-users, and the business will come. Score one for the small guy!

As it is with social media, today’s giants can be tomorrow’s cold empty grave. It’ll be interesting to see what Foursquare and Facebook Places have in the way of updates and changes over the next few months! But its clear that things are FAR from over for Foursquare.

I should mention that even though the end-user experience is much better on Foursquare, the Facebook Places application is more business-friendly. AND Facebook has HUGE potential to reach its over 500 million users.

I am still TOTALLY confused. Who will win? Can they continue to co-exist?

Depending on what YOUR marketing needs, goals, or objectives are, you may want to use one or both of these as part of your marketing approach/outreach efforts for your apartment community. If you are using Foursquare or Facebook Places to help market or as an outreach tool for your apartment community, please leave me a comment and share with everyone how you view one or both, or how you are using them!

Below is a comparison Matrix of Location Based Social Networks produced by Mark Fidelman on Flickr.com.



Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

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Top Ten Tips for Leasing to Seniors

Oct 12th, 2010
by jameswb.
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According to the U. S. Census, there are 35 million seniors in the U. S. today—12.4% of the population.  Over the next decade that percentage is projected to grow to 16.5% (53.7 million people).  How do we attract this population to our community?

  1. Attitude is key.  Remember who you are marketing to—not just your senior prospect but also their kids and influencers.  Don’t approach your customer as ‘old’.  Studies show that we routinely think ‘old’ means ten years older than we currently are!  Talking down to your senior prospects will kill your sales.  Try to avoid words like senior, old or elderly.  Today’s seniors do not see age as something that is determined by the number of candles on a cake. 
  2. Seniors do use the internet (in fact senior use is growing by leaps and bounds); however, they still heavily utilize print.
  3. Depending on your budget you will likely have multiple marketing campaigns (a primary one for your senior customers and ancillary campaigns for influencers).  Design your senior-focused print advertising to be easily read and understood.  As we age the way we perceive color changes and larger print is appreciated (no smaller than 11-point).  Avoid serifs, italics and fancy fonts.  Color ads draw attention (to the exclusion of black–and-white). Avoid reverse copy and maintain good white space.  Keep your message on-point and clearly highlight the benefits.
  4. It’s all about relationship – take the time your demographic needs (and they will need a lot of it). Seniors appreciate the personal touch.  Relax your pace to match your prospect.  As we age relationship becomes more and more important.  Who you are is as important to them as what you are saying. 
  5. Your senior prospects have seen and done a lot in their lifetimes.  They are skeptical (life can do that to you!)  Have testimonials that you can share.  Better yet, have resident hosts at social events, use a resident’s apartment as a model or stop and chat with residents along your tour route.  Create opportunities for your prospects to socialize with your current customers.  Credible testimonials work. 
  6. Be real.  Be direct. Your customer has a lot of experience; they will be able to see through flash.
  7. Always ask for the sale; however, do not use a hard close or scare tactics.  Remember, this is a major move for them.  In some cases they have 30 or 40 years worth of possessions to sort through and dispose of before they can even make the move.  The name of the game is to not ADD to the fear but enforce the newfound independence they will have moving in to your community.  Your job is to solve their problem and present your offer.
  8. Highlight why the move to your community will help them remain active and independent.  A great fear is having to rely on others for basic everyday life functions.  What do you offer that will enhance their lives?  Define what your customers need; do you have it?  The senior housing market is changing quickly.  Baby Boomers are demanding a level of quality and service that far exceeds their predecessors.  In the past, buildings became ‘senior’ buildings because the population aged in place and never left.  Today, your customers are expecting much more.  (Expectations might include van service to doctors, shopping centers and events; library/business centers; hot meals; fitness centers; hair salons and even happy hours!)
  9. Senior prospects fear being taken advantage of.  The use of guarantees can be very helpful in imparting confidence.  This might be the time to employ fully refundable holds.  Don’t cop an attitude if your customer takes advantage of it, they may be testing you.  If you handle the situation with grace, your likelihood of eventually closing the sale is very strong. 
  10. Don’t forget the old-fashioned hand-written thank you note.  The time and effort it takes to send a personalized note will be valued and appreciated.

Why work so hard to attract this demographic?  Your senior customers will be amongst your most loyal residents and will remain as long as their health permits.  In addition, you will find that they do much to enhance their new community.  The investment in time it takes to build these relationships will continue to build dividends.

Cheers!  Jim Baumgartner | Rent Soda

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#1 Most Important TIP for Apartment Resident Retention

Oct 8th, 2010
by daisynguyen.
3 comments

With so many choices available, the price competitiveness of the market, and concessions still a tool that lots of apartment communities still use to entice renters, the best way to control vacancy loss is to close that back door – retain your existing residents. What’s the most important thing you can do to increase resident retention and lower your resident turnover?

Here’s my #1 most important tip I can give you regarding your resident retention plan: RESPECT your residents and genuinely APPRECIATE their business. OK, so maybe that’s 2 tips – just consider it my two-for-one tip deal!

The reality is, no matter what the rent is, whether its $500.00/month, or $5000.00 a month, its likely the BIGGEST check your resident writes every month. Find ways to let your residents know you respect and appreciate them as residents of your apartment community! If you can find ways to show them you respect and apprecaite your them as residents, the higher your likelihood of turning them into life-long residents!

This may sound like an easy no-brainer, but the reality is, it is so easy to forget – it is something you have to work actively to remember and practice.

When I work on affordable communities, I am always amazed at the amount of complaining I hear in the site staff – they can’t identify with the residents – they find it hard to believe that anyone would live at ABC DUMP apartments, they complain about how small the units are, and its common for me to hear, “I could NEVER live in a place like this!” They frown upon the community of hard working adults – the same community that pays their paycheck! This kind of attitude rubs off, and can be felt by your residents.

My 17 year old son, Alex, recently bought his first car. He had been working and saving up for the past 3 years and had saved up $6000.00. To a cars salesman, $6000.00 is probably one of the smaller deals that he can land in a week. But, to my son Alex, he wasn’t thinking, “Gosh, I’m going to buy the cheapest, crappiest card I can find on the lot,” he was thinking, “I am going to find the best looking, biggest value I can find!”

No one intends to be cheap or settle for anything less than the best – its whatever they can comfortably afford.

Another way to look at this: If you were to go into a retail store month after month and write them a check for the same amount as you typically spend on your monthly rent – how would that store treat you?

Whether you are in the Nordstrom’s shoe department income bracket, or the PAYLESS Shoes store income bracket, I am willing to bet the sales person who helps you out every month will learn to love and appreciate your business.  How would they do this? I’m also willing to bet they would know your name, know your preferences, make it convenient and easy for you to shop at their store, accommodate your needs, and thank you each and every time you make a purchase.

In our industry, we are so used to getting a monthly rent check from our residents, its so easy and convenient to forget to do simple things like remember everyone’s name, be helpful, find ways to make it convenient for your residents to live in your apartment community, make it easy for them to LIVE at your apartment community, or even say THANK YOU every month! – At times, I see the exact opposite behavior in our community offices – our residents walk in, and we ask them to wait, we look up – irritated that they interrupted the time we had set aside to do paperwork, they tell us about a leaky faucet – and we ask them to call a designated number for service requests, we charge for such easy conveniences as faxes and holding packages, we receive the rent check in a drop box, and never say THANK YOU – we do everything to practically show them the door out.

Is this how you want to be treated when you are writing the biggest check you can possibly afford to write every month? Would you continue to live there?

How do you show your residents how much you respect and appreciate their business?

Don’t GET IT? RENT SODA! GET IT!

-Daisy Nguyen in Minneapolis, Minnesota MN

CEO/President

RENTSODA-small

Offering Apartment Marketing, Apartment Business & Operations Consulting & Apartment Industry Training

Web: RentSoda.com Email: Daisy {at} RentSoda(.)com

Become a fan of RENTSODA on facebook.  Connect with RENTSODA on LinkedIn!

Follow RENTSODA on Twitter!

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