Marketing Trends Destined to Transform the Apartment Industry

Classic apartment marketing is becoming just that. What once was considered as being the four cornerstones of sales pitches – the 4Ps of product, price, place and promotion – are being transformed by those digital devices that consumers hold dear to their hearts, and hands in a new way. Smartphones and tablets continue to define the apartment search experience and shift marketing strategies that are now focusing on choice, convenience, cross-devices and creative story-telling. Dial it in as the 4Cs of multifamily. “(Mobile devices) have really been a conduit to this change,” LeaseLabs President Steven Ozbun said. “They’ve disrupted this industry that surrounds us.” The commotion has resulted in a marketing mega trend that is changing the way companies of all sizes are pitching their brands. User experience Consumers often using multiple devices to search for products. A search for an apartment may start over a cup of coffee on a smartphone and span over one or two more devices before a purchase or commitment is made. “It’s a fragmented user experience,” Ozbun says. “I’m looking for apt on my smartphone, I hop on my tablet and look for an apartment, then go to my tablet to look at an apartment I just saw on my smartphone. Then I go to laptop to fill out a form because I’m comfortable there.” Along the way, prospects get very transparent information about competitor pricing and amenities that may sway them in a different direction even if they feel bound by a certain brand. The brand has to be re-enforced and stay fresh by providing multiple options, all of which need to be equally viewable across all devices. To stay a step ahead, communities must pledge options and an invigorating search experience through multiple devices that address specific prospect needs. The way into the prospect’s palm is through people-based marketing, intricate customer journeys and bottom-line...