As the economy continues to slide properties may be pressured to offer concessions and specials. Try some creativity. We have had great luck with Flip Video Recorder promotions. Add your logo sticker and viola, you have a customized promotional tool that bears your logo, and is one of the hottest gadgets going right now. We think nothing of offering up a month’s rent to spur rentals, at which the value to your organization evaporates upon conception. However, with a Flip Campaign, you have struck a cord of emotion with residents and the logo sticker promotes conversation with your resident’s friends and family, and has lasting value. You have leveraged your marketing. Further, you can purchase five Flips for the same cost a one months free rent.
You can take the Flip Campaign a step further by organizing a Video Contest with your residents at your community. Try to add emotional touch points with categories like funniest pets, kids best smiles and so forth, anything that connects an emotion and engages. Today’s best marketers understand the importance of the two E’s, Emotion and Engage.
The real point here is, there are several low cost, but creative ways to engage your residents. When thinking through incentives and specials, focus more on value perception as opposed to a monetary amount, you will stretch your marketing dollars. And, it also becomes a marketing campaign, not a rent concession. We have also had great success with Flat Screen TV’s, but recommend that the TV stay with the unit, it is not a give away. We then recycle the TV’s at move out and save them for another promotion.
Break From Apartment Commodity today by thinking outside the box, and always, always market in everything you do.
What are some creative marketing ideas you have utilized with success?
Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience.
He also established The Urbane Way, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine.
You can connect with Eric_Urbane on Twitter.
Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications;
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