Is your advertising campaign working for you?

I'll never forget my favorite college professor at UNC Chapel Hill where I was an advertising major. His name was Joe Bob and he was my advisor for my last 2 years as well as my instructor for numerous advertising classes. He was an amazing teacher and had so much real life knowledge about the advertising industry to share. There were so many things I learned from him, but there's one thing that I've carried with me all these years and I live by it whenever I tackle an advertising related task. Joe Bob taught me the secret of the most successful advertising campaigns in history.

The most successful, memorable campaigns are ones that take 2 totally unrelated items/thoughts/objects and combine them to make a lasting impression.

Darned if he wasn't right! Think about some of your favorite commercials or radio ads. One of my favorites is the ETrade talking babies. What in the world do talking babies and the stock market have in common? Absolutely nothing! That's the beauty of it and I'll always remember ETrade just because I love the little baby breaking out his rendition of "take....these broken wings..." It never gets old! Or how about the Geico Gheko. Really, a lizard selling insurance? But it works, doesn't it?!

So let's talk about your advertising. You probably have some ads in a local apartment magazine, maybe some online. They probably have your logo, a fancy picture or 2, a list of your features, a blurb about your property, maybe some pretty designs or stock photos. Flip through your local apartment magazine and I bet 95% of the ads look like that. So why would yours stand out? What makes yours special? Why would a reader choose to visit your community over the one on the page before you?

So here's your challenge....revamp your advertising campaign. Create your memorable ad. Brainstorm and unleash your inner creative genius...I know it's in there! Try to think of your unrelated thing that can really create a memorable ad for your community. Here are a few ideas to get you started....

• Sex sells. It's a common fact. I actually did a study in college about the effects of sex and violence in advertising, and wouldn't you know it, it's a proven fact. I don't really recommend the violence angle, but you could take the sex angle and work with it. Girls in bikinis, glamourous women, etc. This would work especially well for a student community. I know what you're thinking, but I've seen it done, and when done tastefully and creatively, it can work!
  
• Pop culture...think of something that's hot right now that everyone knows about. How about doing a Michael Jackson themed ad. It's a "Thriller" to live at our property!
  
• Kids and pets...everyone can relate to at least one and they typically pull at your heartstrings. How about a baby in a playpen, trying to escape, unhappy with her surroundings, with a thought bubble saying "I'd rather live at XYZ Apartments."
  
• Food...who doesn't love to eat? Create an ad filled with photos of candy bars and tell your prospects how "sweet" it is to live at your property.
  

Just be sure when you design your ad that you keep your audience in mind. For example, you probably don't want to use the sex angle if you've got yourself a senior community! We don't need you losing your residents to some unexpected heart attacks! :)

It'll take some creativity to bring your thoughts to the next level, but I'm confident if you put the time into doing so, you'll be thrilled with the results.

If you decide to revamp your advertising, let me know! I'd love to see it! My contact info is my website below and you can also find me on Facebook!

Morgan Oney, CAM

http://www.mynewsletterconnection.com/

Online newsletters for apartment communities to connect with their residents.

Tricks or Treats...What is your community known for?

Reputations...we all have one. Our communities have one. So what is yours? Do you even know? What do your residents, community neighbors and competitors really think of your community? If you don't know, then it's time to figure it out!

Reputation is huge in such a competitve industry. The word around town can certainly sway a potential renter to one direction or another. So how do you get them to sway your way? First off, you need to find out what people really think of your community and get a really good handle on where you stand. Here are some great ways you can do this...

• Create a resident survey. Make it anonymous to get the most accurate results. Encourage your residents to be honest about their likes and dislikes and give them an opportunity to offer suggestions for improvement.
• Create an exit survey and send it along with your deposit refunds when a resident moves out. Again, ask for their likes, dislikes and suggestions.
• Browse the internet. Look to sites like Apartment Ratings to see what people are saying about your community. A quick Google search will lead you to sech reviews.
• Look into local websites like City-Data.com. Do a forum search to see if there are any conversations started about your community. If not, feel free to start one, but be careful not to set the tone for the responses. Just a simple "What do you think of XYZ Apartments" will do.
• Mystery shop your competitors to see what they're saying about you. Mention to the leasing agent that you're also looking at XYZ Apartments and see what they have to say about your community.
• Visit your neighbors. Stop into businesses, catch neighborhood residents when they're outside...introduce yourself and see what kind of reaction you'll get. Get a feel for how well known your community is. Ask them if they have any questions. Some people will be pretty straightforward and share concerns if they have them.

Once you've established what your reputation is, you need a plan of attack. Look at all of your research and find the trends. Obviously, you want your reputation to be good, so the key is to play up your strengths and try to correct your weeknesses. For example, if people love your beautiful grounds and friendly staff, really make it a point to include those things as a part of all of your advertising and sales pitches. If people think you raise rates too much or have issues with parking, then find a way to work on those things to make them less of an issue.

The bottom line is that you want to be known as the community with the beautiful grounds and friendly staff when people talk about you, not the community that raises rates and where you can't find a parking space. Make your "treats" stand out and keep your "tricks" to a minimum! Taking the time to be aware of how your community is perceived can go a long way to keep your community occupied and your owners happy!

Morgan Oney, CAM

http://www.mynewsletterconnection.com/

Online newsletters for apartment communities to connect with their residents!

Interior Decorating for Apartments

Interior Decorating Secrets for Apartments

So you have a small apartment. You are possibly wondering, how do I make my small space look comfortable and inviting with out looking cluttered? I have your answer. Actually several answers.

First of all start with looking around, notice the placement of windows and which way the light reflects in the rooms during different times of day. You do not want to blind someone, who could possibly be visiting, by that stunning sunset. Also look at your current furniture and the colors that it is or is not. Some colors can make a room look small, clinical and cold.

Good warm toned colors also make it more comfortable for you to live there. Browns, Reds, Yellows, and Oranges are great colors to open up space and make the room warm and inviting. Use accent rugs to help with the addition of colors as some Landlords do not allow you to paint. Sofa Covers are a great way to add color and save from wear and tear on your furniture.

When choosing a color scheme please note that you should choose something that is easy to clean i.e., browns and grays. White is not a good choice, unless you plan on never really living in your place.

Try to look at the big picture, small living rooms mean that you shouldn?t get a sectional sofa. Instead try a small love seat or futon couch. Not only does the futon couch help with space but it can be converted to a bed for those single room apartments.

If you are on a budget and don?t want to get rid of your current bed and you are in a studio apartment try a bed that looks like a bunk bed with out the lower bunk. That way you can store your dress and other articles under the bunk and enclose it with a curtain and no one can see your unmade bed up top. This is very useful for bachelors.

Try creating rooms with the use of decorative screens. It can make a single room look like two or more rooms are there. Also remember your curtains, they should be allowing the light in, the more light you allow in the bigger the space looks.

Use a small bistro table as a dining table. It is intimate and makes for a great coffee talk spot. If you are lucky enough to have some one in your apartment remember to always hide your laundry. Laundry laying around makes the apartment appear cluttered and small.

Plants are a great way to make your room appear bigger. Try hanging them from the ceiling or by using hooks on the wall. Don?t forget the importance of mirrors. The use of mirrors can make your small apartment look large. Use a focal point and angle your mirror towards it, it gives the illusion of depth.

Most importantly make sure you always have a clean space, it is always bigger when it is clean.

Ok so now you have gone and cleaned, you are noticing that the apartment still looks small. Question your storage. You need some ideas for storage you say? Well I am full of them.

Look around and if you notice you have lots of magazines lying around get yourself a magazine holder. It is a handy little box that is decorative to your specific likes and it cleans up your tables of clutter.

Get your self a footrest that has storage inside of it. It is nice for when the surprise guest comes over and you need to store something quickly. A coffee table with storage underneath it is also a wise choice. The more storage you have that isn?t added clutter makes your life easier.

Wall shelves help to eliminate tabletop mess. Put your collectible gnomes on a small wall shelf and look at all the free space you have just created for yourself.

All of the suggestions presented here to you are easy do it yourself projects. You can get most of these easy to use items at your local all purpose store and hardware store.

Work/Life Balance...Are your scales tipping the wrong way?

When I began my career, it was easy for me to work early mornings, late nights and every weekend. I was on a lease up, so of course it was time consuming, but I didnt even give it a second thought. I loved my career and I was all over anything I could do to help move that forward. In addition to working all those crazy hours, I was also active with the local apartment association, a couple of volunteer organizations and still managed to fit in some quality time with my then fiance (now husband). I was loving life and wouldn't have changed a thing.

Fast forward a few years to the birth of my first son. Wow, it's amazing how such a little person could change every aspect of your life. Everything that I thought was important suddenly wasn't. And all of my goals and aspirations were thrown out the window. All I wanted to do was spend time with my little guy. Give him everything the world had to offer. But I quickly realized that all of those wonderful things came with a pricetag and I couldn't give them to him if I didn't resume my career. So I jumped back on the saddle and settled into a new routine. We woke up at 6 a.m., got fed, dressed and packed and made the 30 minute trek to the babysitter's house. After he was settled, I made the additional 15 minute trek to work and began my day around 8 a.m. I did my best to get through the day, handling resident issues, leasing apartments and squashing a staff squabble or two. When 5 p.m. rolled around, I tried to make a swift exit, but was usually bombarded by a few residents looking for their packages on their way home from work. I was lucky to be out of the office by 5:15 p.m., at the sitter's by 5:30 and home by 6:15. By the time I cooked, fed and bathed the baby, I only had about 30 minutes of playtime with him before it was time for him to go to sleep at 8 p.m. I can't even begin to tell you how disheartening it was to only spend 30 minutes a day with my child. Any mother will agree that that's simply not enough time. And it just about killed me that another woman was spending 9 hours a day with him. 9 whole hours. I went through the motions, day in and day out, but my life was incomplete and I just wasn't happy. But at the time, I saw no way out. We needed the paycheck and the apartment industry was all I'd ever known. I felt I was destined to live like this forever. That is, until I found out I was pregnant with my second child.

As soon as I looked at that positive pregnancy test, I just knew things had to change. There was no way I could divide that small 30 minute window of quality time with two children. And I certainly wasn't going to be able to pay $2,000 just for a babysitter! So over the next several months, I searched high and low for new job opportunities. When I saw that there was virtually nothing out there that could pay me what I was making as a manager, I started to think outside the box. What if I could work for myself? But doing what? It's a scary thought to put yourself out there, not having a steady paycheck to rely on. But after a couple more months of research, preparation and lots of prayers, I finally was able to launch my very own company. I had long been thinking that our area was lacking apartment locating services. So I decided to start there. My company quickly took on a mind of it's own and now I offer marketing services and most recently, online resident newsletters. Business now couldn't be better, but the best part is, I'm sharing it with my family. I have legos under my desk, drink from a Spongebob coffee mug, have Batman on the TV in the background....and I'm loving every minute of it. It took me some time, but I had finally figured out how to balance my life so that I could have the thriving career I wanted but still be there to raise my kids.

So how's your work/life balance? The scales don't even out instantly, it's going to take a little work to get you there. Below are some awesome tips from Web MD to help you on your way...

1. Figure out what really matters to you. Try to come up with a list of your top 5 priorities and rank them in order of importance to see what needs work.

2. Drop unnecessary activities. In addition to my long hours in the office, I was also overextending myself with apartment association activities and volunteer time.

3. Protect your private time. Make sure you don't skimp out on those doctor's appointments, parent teacher conferences, lunch dates with friends and family, etc. Those events are critical to making sure you take care of your number one priority-you!

4. Accept help to balance your life. Allow people to help you when they offer to give your kids a ride or run some errands for you. Every little bit helps!

5. Plan fun and relaxation. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, whether it be a relaxing yoga class or a hike though the trails, be sure to make time for these things in your life.

I really hope you can find balance in your life like I have in mine. I've never been happier in my home life or more successful in my career. It can happen for you too...but you have to put in the work to get yourself there!

Morgan Oney, CAM
http://www.mynewsletterconnection.com/
http://www.getmoreleases.com/
http://www.triangleapartmentconnection.com/

Follow Up...Are You Doing It?

I'll never forget my first leasing job. It was a brand new, luxury community that was opening during the height of the "3 month free" craze of 2002. We had 6 or 7 other brand new properties within a 5 mile radius, so competition was fierce. Being the "green" leasing professional that I was, I figured that once I concluded a tour and sent a quick thank you note, I just sat back and waited for them to lease or not. Oh the horror! It wasn't until about 3 months later that a new manager came in and introduced follow up logs that I was totally thrown for a loop. Surely she couldn't have expected me to call these people back, right? How embarassing. If they wanted to live at my community, then they'd be back with their applications. I didn't want to be that high pressure salesperson who they labeled as "annoying." But I quickly realized that if I wanted to keep my job, I had to give in. It took me a few weeks before I was completely comfortable on the phone. There were several times I was hung up on and nearly brought to tears, but alas, I made it through. And surprise, surprise, I actually got a few leases out of it. This is pretty neat, I thought. So I kept at it and before long, I was the number one leaser in my company.

I look back on that experience and laugh to myself. But the sad part now is that this is happening all across the country and thousands of leases are being lost because of one simple piece to the puzzle...no one is taking the time to follow up. It's not rocket science, but for some reason, it's still not getting done. I've done a million property shops over the years, and I've probably only received a form of follow up from about 25% of them. Seriously. For me, the biggest factor was embarassment and fear of rejection. I would imagine that's still the largest roadblock for most leasing professionals, with laziness and lack of training following closely behind. So let's take those roadblocks one step at a time and see how to fix them....

Fear of Rejection: No one likes to be rejected. That's just a fact of life. But the thing to remind your staff here is that when someone chooses to live someplace else, they're not rejecting them, they're rejecting the product. If a person can convince themselves of that fact, it'll put their mind at ease and slowly help them to get over that fear.

Embarassment: It's not fun when someone yells at you, calls you out on something, badgers you for a better deal, or (gasp) hangs up on you. I think the only way to get over it and develop a thick skin is through practice. The more and more conversations a leasing professional has, the easier it will be to deal with these feelings. So to build up their skin, assign a different leasing professional to follow up with the entire office's traffic each week, not just their own. By making a large amount of calls at one time, they'll build up their thick skin and be able to better handle the reactions they hear on the other end of the phone.

Laziness: It's so easy to get complacent in a community. Particularly if your community is in a good position. But there is always traffic and there will always be a need for leases. So if you have a staff that you know is capable of following up with none of the problems mentioned above, more than likely, they're suffering from a case of lazyassness. The cure is motivation, and if that doesn't work, then a good swift kick in the aforementioned region will give them a jump start. Help motivate your team by offering an incentive for them to follow up. Maybe tape some $5 bills on the back of randome guest cards. Or how about creating a contest for the person with the best conversion rates on old traffic. And if all else fails and you have a staff member that just isn't coming around, a good talking to about the importance of staying on top of your prospects is in order.

Training: In my case, the reason I didn't follow up when I first began my new leasing job was that no one had ever told me how important it was. Every leasing professional has to start out somewhere, so I'm sure many of you have team members that are new to the industry and probably sales altogether. Make sure your team members know how to follow up appropriately and also know why we follow up. Knowledge is power!

Even if you're staff is not doing a great job at following up right now, rest assured in knowing that you're not alone. The community down the road is probably having the same problem, as is the community down the road from them, and the one down the road from them, and so on and so forth. Give yourself the competitive edge with these tips and get ready to take all of those leases out from under them!

Morgan
http://www.mynewsletterconnection.com/
Online newsletters for apartment communities to connect with their residents