Want Quality Tenants? Sell Them A Story

Weaving a compelling narrative is key for owners and operators of multifamily properties as the competition heats up in the marketplace – and to be effective, operators must have a clear understanding of who their customers are and where they spend their time.

Panelists at this week’s GlobeSt Multifamily conference in Los Angeles agreed that transparency, authenticity, and responsiveness are all critical baseline components of any effective tenant outreach strategy.

“You’ve got to think about who you’re trying to attract and what’s valuable to them,” said Allison Moledo, assistant vice president, learning program management at Windsor Communities in a panel on attracting quality tenants.  “We’re always focusing on understanding who our customer is and what they value. And from there, we tell a story that speaks to that.”

Transparency matters, Moledo says: the majority of prospective renters are completing their apartment searches online, and data shows that they’re visiting fewer properties in person. And “if you’re not transparent and don’t tell an authentic story, your customers will see through that.”

Moledo’s co-panelist Mike Whaling, founder of 30 Lines, agreed, saying that too often communities focus solely on media buying without stepping back and considering who their customers are and how they focus their attention.

“Where do people spend their time/?  Where do they give their intention? That tells you where should be putting your focus in terms of content creation and advertising,” Whaling said. If a person is on Instagram and TikTok, we should be spending more time there ourselves really understanding and ensuring our ad mix is focused on those platforms where our target customers spend their time.”

Paid search is also typically the top source for leads and leases, according to Whaling – and if a community’s ratings are lower, they have to pay more in advertising dollars to get the traffic they want.

“If you provide quality service, we see more people inherently trust the ratings and reviews and are presold by the time they talk to you — so you don’t have to buy as much traffic to make up the leasing demand,” Whaling said.  “Curb appeal starts way before anyone shows up at your property. Is your marketing compelling prospects to say, yes, your place is worth me getting off the couch to come see you in person? You’re looking for moments where you can remove that friction.”

Whaling also said it’s important to be up front about the questions renters are going to have, like rents, pet fees, and other data. If that information is not readily available on an operator’s website, conversion rates will be lower, he said.

“Too often we tend to focus on media buying,” said Mike Whaling, founder of 30 Lines. “But we’re not focusing enough on what kind of magnetism we’re trying to create.”

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