Six Simple Actions That Keep Your Apartment Community ‘Tip of Tongue’

Six Simple Actions That Keep Your Apartment Community ‘Tip of Tongue’

Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by Mike Brewer in Best Of, Marketing

For a lot of people, searching for an apartment is one of those dreaded but necessary experiences you have to go through from time to time. It ranks up there with paying taxes, putting gas in your car and getting a haircut. People are busy and the process of searching for a new place to live just is not that much fun. Do a simple apartment keyword search on Twitter and watch for nearly any bit of time and you will see it.

I went through the experience myself recently and, in retrospect, it does not fit my idea of a good time. And, I work in the business. I used all the traditional forms of search from the ILS to multifamily print magazines to Craigslist but in the end I simply asked my friends to recommend their favorite places. In the process of doing so something interesting occurred to me.

Time after time my friends, in and out of the apartment business, had a community ready to refer at the tip of their tongue. Some because they knew the area of town I needed to be in, others because they thought the on-site management team was simply superior. And, still others because of the lifestyle one community offered over another. All the reasons had merit but more important to me was the fact that each community sat at the tip of their tongue. And, it came out in the moment of truth.

Moments of truth happen every day. They happen online and offline, in passing, by text and over the phone. The conversations occur most often between friends, family and co-workers in loose unstructured environments. And, more times than not, your apartment community is not a part of the conversation, not in a physical sense anyway. That is to suggest that your voice is reliant on the voice of others – the tip of their tongue, if you will. For that reason, I suggest that apartment communities that work to become tip of tongue in the moment of truth will have a leg up on making their markets in lieu of competing in them.

Being tip of tongue is not as hard as you may think. The following are six simple actions that will keep you at the tip of the tongue:

  1. Meticulously manicured landscapes free of trash and clutter
  2. Curbs that are kept freshly painted and free from marks of any kind
  3. Not just a friendly property management team but a responsive, service oriented, always looking for another way to enhance your experience kind of team
  4. Service requests that are done the same day they are turned in and work areas left cleaner than they were prior to the work being complete
  5. Remembering that a person’s name is the most important word in the world of spoken languages – use it often
  6. Remembering that, “I’m sorry, let me see what I can do for you” goes a whole lot further than “That is our company policy and so on and so forth….”

What are you doing to ensure your apartment community stands out from the crowd and is tip of tongue in a moment of truth?

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12 Responses to “Six Simple Actions That Keep Your Apartment Community ‘Tip of Tongue’”

  1. Aimee Miller

    27. Oct, 2010

    Mike – We’re so glad to have you writing on PropertyManager.com — your articles are always great and we’re excited to share them with our community! Thank you!!

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      27. Oct, 2010

      Aimee

      Thank you for the kind words. I am excited to be a part of the team and look forward to participating and and hopefully igniting some conversation along the way.

      M

      Reply to this comment

  2. Teresa Richardson

    01. Nov, 2010

    We live in a customer service world now. It is so important to carve a place in someone’s heart thru outstanding service that goes above and beyond. When I go to a place of business and they “wow” me, I can’t help but send my friends there–I want them to have that great experience too.

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      08. Nov, 2010

      T

      Thank you for taking the time to add to the discussion. It’s amazing how this thing called “business” is providing the avenue for the word love to enter our business vocabulary. Moreover, it is amazing that it’s the subtle things that make all the difference.

      So, I have a question for you; how are you “wowing” your customers?

      M

      Reply to this comment

  3. Lisa Zagoren

    01. Nov, 2010

    Mike

    You hit the nail on the head! You can never stress great customer service enough. People respect people that remember their name and help them through whatever situation it is they have. It has and always will be “back to basics” if you want things to run smoothly on your property!

    LZ

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      08. Nov, 2010

      LZ

      Back to the basics is it! It’s amazing how many times that phrase comes up in discussions that relate to customer service. It seems that no matter how much we complicate the process – we can always bring it back to the ABC’s and 123″s.

      As always – thank you for taking the time to give some feedback.

      M

      Reply to this comment

  4. Melissa Preusser

    01. Nov, 2010

    I love it! We need to be exceptional at the basics while we continue to be innovative in how we create/execute the experience.

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      08. Nov, 2010

      M

      Not sure I could have summed it up as well as you did! I admire people who can take a long bit of writing and sum it up in one sentence. It’s very Seth Godin!

      Thank you for taking the time.

      Question – what is one way you think we can be more innovative in the way of execution as it relates to delivering on the basics?

      M

      Reply to this comment

  5. Laura Goulet

    15. Nov, 2010

    Mike

    You are so right when you say back to basics! I may manage single family properties, but it is basically the same philosophy. I find that both owners and renters love the fact you know their names and you communicate with them. If you say your going to do something follow through with it and if you have passed it on to a vendor follow up with the owner or renter and ask them how the service was and if there is anything else you can help with. Trust me you will be on the tip of their tongue the next time a friend, co-worker, acquaintance, family member or so fourth asks do you know of a good rental company.

    I value myself and my company on communications, being friendly, loyal and trustworthy. i have always been taught to do the right thing.

    Laura

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      15. Nov, 2010

      L

      Hope all is well and good in the great state of Oregon. I miss that place in a big way.

      You hit on a great topic with your end statement. Doing the right thing. There are times when we are tempted to skimp on doing the right thing because of cost, time or resources. Those firms that choose to do the right thing despite limitation or concern are the ones that get tip of tongue mentions.

      Take care of yourself –

      M

      Reply to this comment

  6. Victoria Polston

    19. Nov, 2010

    This is really good and helpful, Mike.

    People can really tell when we genuinely care about their experience at our apartment communities. This “care” then translates into taking the time to learn names, having awesome curb appeal, responding to service requests in a timely manner. (& lots more as we all know).

    :-)

    Reply to this comment

    • Mike Brewer

      22. Nov, 2010

      V

      How are you? How did the knitting project end up?

      You are spot on with regard to being genuine in your care for the community both physically and mentally/emotionally as it relates to the people piece. People want to know how much you care before they will listen to what you have to say. That care is best demonstrated through actions prompted by responsiveness in lieu of reactions. Anticipate needs/wants, fill them and the rest happens by default.

      Thank you for taking the time to add to the conversation – we very much appreciate it.

      M

      Reply to this comment

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