by threshold | Oct 9, 2014 | All, Design
My elementary art teacher, Ms. Weinstock, used to tell us “pictures are worth a thousand words.” At the time I thought she was a little whacky, pictures didn’t have any words in them, after all. But, as the studious student who wanted to impress I tried my best to draw the world around me…or, at least the fruit in the bowl.
That lesson has come back to me so many times over the years. Not so much because I have amazing illustration skills, I do not, but because I have heard myself say those same words to clients over the years. Pictures are worth a thousand words. As designers and expert residential brand developers, we like to use as few words as possible to express the lifestyle that our clients are building for their future residents. When a community is new, selling dirt is tough. Imagine doing that in the plains of Lubbock – dusty. Any way, the point is that in order to paint a picture in someone’s mind, you have to use illustrative words, many of them, in fact. But a sharp rendering, a photo-realistic image, sells the lifestyle without a spattering of type on paper.
Investing in very good renderings pays off in terms of brand development and establishment, leasing velocity, and, of course, your NOI.
Ms. Weinstock really was a brilliant teacher. I’m glad she taught me that important phrase, even if it didn’t improve my illustrative skills. Some talent you’re born with. Some you develop over time.
Happy Marketing!
by threshold | May 16, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
I love my parents. They are a big reason I started my own agency so many years ago. Sure there was some trepidation and fear but I forged ahead. Made my own path, so to speak. They’ve lived up in the Dallas area for nearly 20 years now and recently decided to relocate to be closer to the family in Austin.
So began the trek to find them a place to live – something “nice, elegant, upgraded but affordable,” said my mom. As most of you know, Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in America – all the hip, cool, creative types just can’t get enough. We’re changing the world down here, man! At any rate, we turned our eyes to the quickly growing city of Buda and all the new housing developments under construction.
Visiting the sales centers I realized just how important new development marketing and pre-sales/leasing centers are when you’re, in all essence, selling dirt. Good ‘ole Texas clay. At Threshold, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time developing best-of-class new development creative that gives clients a leg up. Here’s some advice on new development marketing when breaking ground on a new student apartment community, senior housing facility or any new home division:
- Make sure to find a pre-sales or leasing center that can staff your team of marketing experts until the permanent model home or clubhouse is finished. Preferably, doors for the sales centers need to open well in advance of anticipated move-in (especially in student housing) in order to build the brand awareness necessary to capture folks when they begin searching.
- Your digital brochure – aka website – needs to be up and running as soon as a name, the amenities and a contact are ready to go. Search engines take time to index you and the extra time will be well worth it when things really start to heat up.
- Get the construction site filled with as much signage as possible. Bright, creative, relevant designs that won’t dirty OR are cheap to replace. We hate seeing great creative all muddied up from the elements. Check with the city on temporary construction sign ordinances to ensure your sign isn’t removed.
- Think about ways your future residents can interact with your community at the pre-leasing center. Mini-models or interactive display boards are fun and certainly help people pass the time while they wait in the long lines to lease or buy.
- Create a solid marketing plan. New developments will cost more to market becuase you are building awareness. Do it right the first year and you’ll be thankful the second.
Now, while this list isn’t all-inclusive it’s a good start to ensuring your new start launches well. Those folks in Buda did a good job at ensuring my parents felt comfortable and excited about that new piece of Texas clay they just purchased. And we’re certainly excited because we now have another set of well-qualified babysitters moving to town.
Downtown anyone?
Happy Marketing!
by threshold | Mar 13, 2014 | All, Marketing
At this year’s SXSW music/film/interactive festival here in Austin, a company set up shop to collect unwanted promo items and then donate the items to area homeless shelters. Read the story here. While great for the shelters and a clever recycling campaign, probably not where these brands intended their promo items to end up.
With the leasing season at its peak, you’re probably in the middle of re-stocking your promo inventory. How do you ensure your promo doesn’t get trashed and your marketing dollars are well spent?
As with many student housing marketing strategies, it’s market dependent. Make sure you’re tapped into the local scene and trends. Is neon still popular on campus? Are students passionate about environmental products? Trucker hats used to be in, then were out, and now I think they’re back in. And get your student staff feedback before you order items. Encourage them to come up with new ideas every year.
Remember that promo items are extensions of your brand. What does hand sanitizer or air freshener say about your brand? That you’re dirty and smell bad? Also make sure your items are high quality and actually work. You don’t want to be known as that-apartment-community-that-gives-out-broken-pens.
Go with items that are extension of your marketing message and lifestyle brand. Think beach towels (resort lifestyle), water bottles (fitness center) and sunglasses (style). To connect your brand to university athletics, consider rally towels, foam hands or boom sticks.
There is also a fine line between stingy (“Only take one pen!!”) and excessive (“Hey little sister and little brother, take these bags filled with $15 worth of promo”). Find the right balance that fits your budget and leasing velocity. Make sure your entire staff understands the policy. Also know which events (housing fairs, orientations) are worth the expensive items (t-shirts, tote bags, mugs). Save the less expensive items (pens, cups) for your daily marketing efforts.
Also consider limited edition items that are only given to future residents or renewals. Actually print “limited edition” on the item to create buzz. And because these students have already chosen your community, chances are better they will actually use the items.
Finally, make sure to re-examine your promotional product strategy every leasing season. Just because something was popular last season doesn’t mean it will be popular next. It also doesn’t hurt to check Goodwill or the campus dumpster for your items.
by threshold | Mar 4, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
“When I was a kid, I had to walk to school, in the snow, uphill, both ways.” I can’t tell you how many ties I heard that growing up. Of course, way back then, there was no way for me to know if what I heard was accurate. Did these masters-of-all beings really have it that bad? Way back then there wasn’t the Internet to check, and the old Encyclopedia Britannica didn’t have an entry for “we had it tougher than you kids.”
Today, my son can check Google Earth and see not only that we lived next to the school but the hill was more like a gradual slope. With a few more clicks he could see that bus or carpool were really the only methods of transportation. And one more would show a list of reviews and tips related to best parking spots and how to bypass the carpool line.
Apartments today face similar, albeit varied, exposure to online reviews. The digital landscape is dominated by user-generated content and it’s only growing. Student housing marketing requires property management companies to keep an extra eye on their online reputation. Here are a few online reputation tips to protect your digital reputation:
KNOW THE SITES: There are hundreds of sites were users can review businesses. From Facebook to Google+ to Yelp to ApartmentRatings.Com, it’s important to know (and visit) the sites popular in your market. Get in the habit of doing a Google search of your property periodically.
ENCOURAGE REVIEWS: A positive online reputation will help you turn prospects into leads and residents into referrers. If you seek out the reviews it will likely be more positive. The next time a resident gives your team a compliment, ask them to give you a positive review online. Many people tend to write online reviews because of a negative experience. By encouraging your happy residents to rate you, you’ll get more positive reviews.
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS: Your first instinct might be to delete a negative comment on Facebook or ignore a bad rating on Yelp or ApartmentRatings.Com. Don’t! Respond to the comment and show off your great customer service skills. And after you’ve corrected the issue, ask the user to revise or update their comment. You’ve turned a negative to a positive and got some good feedback on areas of improvement.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR COMPETITORS: Keep an eye on your competitors and pay attention to what they’re doing. Who knows? You might learn a thing or two about what TO DO and what NOT to do based on what their customers are saying.
By following these online reputation tips, you’ll be able to protect your digital reputation. Be a part of the conversation and actively engage with your customers. After all, they have access too much more than you may think and it will pay off to know where you stand. Hiding behind tales from the past is just that – a thing of the past.
Happy Marketing!
by threshold | Feb 20, 2014 | All, Tech/Web
If you’re using Facebook to help promote your communities, this is a post you’ll probably not want to miss. So, that means basically everyone. Back in December, Facebook changed its algorithm that drives their News Feed feature. The News Feed is the central content area on Facebook or the Facebook app. It’s where many, many brands and individuals would post updates in hopes the throngs of their “fans” would see it and purchase whatever they were selling.
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