Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

...but separating from your competition will cause your occupancy rates to soar!

You know the feeling...worry, fear, maybe even dread. We hesitate to make the break because change is scary, even when we know it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, in today's multifamily housing environment, Separation Anxiety is just too dangerous to ignore.

Separating from loved ones is a hard task, and I'm sure we've all been there. Leaving the airport after dropping off that special person. Listening to the quiet after the last car has pulled out of the driveway. Dropping out of an Apartment Magazine Book. Wait! Pulling out of an Apartment Magazine Book? Why would anyone do that, and why would that make me feel anxious? You might not realize it, but when you spend your advertising dollars in one or more of the apartment books, or on several apartment search engines, all you're doing is paying to advertise your competition! Sure, you have a pretty ad. Sure, you might have good placement. You might even be on the cover! But what is separating you from your competition? You're right in the middle of 500 competitors!

Can we agree that not many QUALIFIED prospects are going to come through your doors from apartment guides? But, isn't qualified traffic exactly what we're looking for? After all, QUALIFIED TRAFFIC = MORE LEASES = 100% OCCUPANCY!

I'm not saying that these books don't work at all, but are they really the best use of your advertising dollars? Can you accurately identify and track the leases that these pages produce for you, or do you just cross your fingers and hope they throw a little traffic your way? You need to "break up" with your competition, and separate your marketing efforts to see the best results from your advertising dollar!

It might be hard, and your regional or marketing director might be reluctant to think outside the box, but if you can plant the seed that promoting your property on it's own is the best way to market your community, then you'll be on your way to higher occupancy in no time! v

So, Apartment Marketer, what are the best ways to reach QUALIFIED prospects without advertising for the competition?

Direct Mail - Direct mail is a time-proven solution to apartment marketing. You'll find that the success of direct mail is 90% about your mailing list and timing and 10% about what your postcard says. When you can reach prospects that currently live in your comps' communities, you're reaching prospects that are already pre-qualified. If you can reach this audience when they are ready to move, you've got an instant key to higher occupancy rates!

Your Own Website - This might sound like a costly investment, but websites are pretty cheap these days. Thousands of people in your city are searching for apartments even while you're reading this article! Are they going to find your exclusive, custom-designed website, or are you hoping that they spot you on some other page mixed in with your competition's advertising? A custom website will continue to provide leases, and you're not committed to a contract.

Local Businesses - Local Businesses are FREE! Let me repeat that...FREE! Yet, they are one of the most underused sources of apartment advertising. I guess this is because you have to work a little to "get in." When good relationships are formed with local businesses, you'll find this to be an excellent FREE source of marketing. Just design rack cards or marketing cards, place them in the businesses, and watch their clients start moving in!

These are just a few examples, but when you put your marketing skills to work, the possibilities are endless! Sure, breaking up can feel scary for a while, and you might even miss the books for a few days. However, freedom comes when you separate yourself from advertising with your competition and see the qualified traffic increasing. Finally, your occupancy will get the boost it so clearly deserves!