Renewal season starts the day students move in to their new apartments. Property owners must be prepared, because the minute new residents walk through the front door of your clubhouse they want to grab their keys and get settled into their new digs! So, how do you increase resident renewal rates to keep your property full?
There are several residential marketing tactics that will help property managers generate more renewals from current residents. Remember, it’s more cost efficient to have a current resident renew their lease, than to have a new resident move in because of turn expenses. So, planning for and executing a great renewal season can save you time and make your property more money in the long-run.
Use Custom Communication Templates
Your residents receive hundreds of messages each day (emails, texts, push notifications, social updates, etc.), so it is important to make your marketing message stand out. Instead of sending an email blast littered with images, broken HTML and potentially “spammy” words, hire a marketing agency that specializes in residential marketing to create a beautiful HTML email template that will engage your current residents.
It’s especially important to utilize mobile-friendly HTML emails (because the majority of your residents read email on a smartphone) and HTML emails render differently on a phone than they do on a desktop or tablet.
Host a Renewal Signing Party
Hosting a renewal signing party at your clubhouse is a great way to boost your residential renewals, because what college student is going to say no to free food?!
Pull together a few of your leasing agents, and plan a fun, lease signing party in the clubhouse. Invite residents to perform (there’s a high chance someone in your property is a musician or DJ) and that’s a great way to build a rapport with your residents (and get the word out about the party).
Then, pick up a few pizzas, showcase your property’s great amenities, and even consider contacting some vendors who are willing to sponsor your event with free giveaways! Local radio stations love to party!
Distribute High-quality Print Brochures and Flyers
Print marketing is a tried and true form of marketing and is sometimes overlooked, but it can have a very strong impact because it’s puts your message in a physical format your current residents can keep on-hand. Plus, print is not limited by battery life or screen size – it looks great to everyone!
One way to remind your residents to re-sign their lease is to print the front page of each resident’s renewal lease and put it in their mailboxes – making sure you highlight the savings! This way, your residents get a physical and visual reminder of how much rent would be if they decided to renew in the same space. You can also create flyers to post around your property (mailboxes, the clubhouse, and other common areas) reminding your residents of the renewal deadline date.
Offer Renewal Incentives
Everyone loves the idea of winning a prize for accomplishing a task. Give residents a specific deadline to renew their lease and if they do, enter them to win a prize! Not sure what kind of an incentive to give away? Sometimes the people with the best ideas are your part time employees that are students.
Tech gear your residents like is usually a great giveaway, headphones, mini fridges, and anything that makes your resident’s home more enjoyable.
You can also get property specific and give away bikes, camping gear, river floating essentials, and beach necessities.
As renewal season approaches, think about these and other ways you can boost residential renewal rates at your property.
If you have questions, or want to discuss an idea with Threshold Agency, simply contact us and let us know! We’d love to help you fill your property!