MARKETING
SAMANTHA CHALMERS | LINNELL TAYLOR
An Unexpected Multifamily Partnership
M
arketing teams today have
a number of stakeholders.
And we’re responsible for
communicating effectively to all of those
key stakeholders and to cater those
communications based on their specific
needs and interests.
For instance, on-site teams need
training on marketing tools, resources for
resident and prospect communications
and a steady amount of leads. While
operations teams need reporting and
analysis. They need to know the marketing
budget is working to its best ability to drive
qualified leads and
reduce exposure.
There are secondary stakeholders who
need to be considered as well, such as
fellow marketing team members,
marketing partners and other
internal teams. But as an
industry, marketing has
overlooked perhaps one
of its most important
audiences. Our
maintenance
teams. After all,
“Product” is one
of the five Ps of
marketing. In
the new world
of digital lead
generation, our
industry has
forgotten how
the success of our
digital leads can be
impacted by offline
variables.
Today I make the
argument that a marketer’s
best multifamily ally is a
member of the maintenance
team. Our efforts directly impact
each other on a regular basis. We drive
www.aamdhq.org
online leads to communities, and they
make sure the community looks amazing
for prospect tours.
We have creative suggestions for staging
a long-standing unit, but they are the ones
who will actually stage the unit. They
know the most common maintenance
requests at the time of move-in and
move-out. And we are able to provide
better branded resident communications
to reduce these requests, making a better
experience for both the new resident and
maintenance team. We see common
complaints in online reviews, and the
maintenance teams are often the ones best
equipped to address those issues.
By creating ways to strengthen this
alliance, our overall operations will benefit
and we will create better experiences
for prospects and residents. In the past,
I have developed marketing training
classes specifically for maintenance team
members. I showed them where to find
marketing collateral that directly applies to
their role, such as “out of order” flyers for
fitness equipment.
I also created a way for members of
the maintenance team to send feedback or
communicate directly with the marketing
team. This was as simple as providing
direct marketing contact information
and sending out monthly emails with
maintenance focused marketing tips.
Our maintenance team members
are the ones walking communities
daily. They are the first to know
if a lead generation banner or
leasing directional signage is
damaged and needs to be
replaced. And as I spend
money on ILS ads to
drive online leads to my
communities, I need my
maintenance team’s help
to make sure my signage
is effectively directing
my online lead to the
leasing office.
Marketing and
maintenance teams should
be working together more
closely to ensure that each
team is supporting the efforts
made by both teams. These
types of unlikely partnerships
are what will elevate our operations,
create more efficiencies and spark
innovative growth in multifamily.
OCTOBER 2019
TRENDS | 31