Three leading multifamily marketing experts offered three distinct case studies showing exactly how they have been able to get their marketing platforms to deliver in a session at the MFE Conference last week in Las Vegas.
Christina Steeg, senior vice president of marketing and training at Denver-based Simpson Housing, detailed her firm’s journey to rebrand and develop a new website set to launch next year. Jamie Gorski, senior vice president of corporate marketing for Greenbelt, Md.-based The Bozzuto Group, shared numerous successful partnerships with companies outside of the multifamily industry, while Jared Miller, vice president of marketing for Denver-based The Bainbridge Cos., shared strategies for marketing a distressed asset. The panel was moderated by Stephen Lefkovits, president and CEO of Emeryville, Calif.-based Joshua Tree Consulting.
Here are key takeaways from each case study.
How to rebrand a firm and develop a new website: - Survey both residents and employees to come up with your new marketing platform. What are their needs and wants? What functionality do they want to see on your website?
- Hold focus groups to help create your firm’s new logo and tagline.
- Create mentorship and employee recognition programs to keep staff motivated.
Seven strong partners outside the multifamily industry: - Viget Labs: solely dedicated to website development
- Hoot Suite: handles social marketing management tools
- Page Gangster: creates digital brochures
- Lasso: offers a customer management tool
- StreetSense: produces cool retail signage
- Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel: use to furnish model units and offer discounts to residents
- Profnet, HARO, and Twitter: connect with reporters to gain positive media attention
How to market distressed assets: - Understand the assignment. What are the short-term and long-term challenges? What is the goal of the client? How long will you be working on the deal?
- Focus on the following areas: Company and property websites, social media, data syndication, lead tracking, call center, SEO and SEM, and resident focus groups.
- Measure the site’s performance via resident surveys, apartment demand, Google analytics.
