September 16-October 6, 2015 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 11AA
E
veryone who attended
the recent Apartment
Association of Metro
Denver Summer Economic
Conference heard the com-
mon theme of 18,000 to 20,000
units under construction and
another 18,000 to 20,000 units
in the pipeline over the next
four years. While some multi-
family owners feel they’re sit-
ting on a gold mine at all-time-
low vacancies, the reality is the
actual current figures are higher
with more and more units com-
ing on line each month.
So how do you best prepare
for this increase in competi-
tion and vacancy rates? Some
experts will point to increased
bells and whistles with full
amenities packages such as dog
parks, sky bars – and are we
ready for the first petting zoo?
Others may push price incen-
tives to lock into long-term leas-
es, or even that dreaded word,
concessions.
The reality is that more peo-
ple see your marketing than
the inside of the building. Mar-
keting is the first impression,
what differentiates your prop-
erty and says to the audience,
“This is who we are.” It’s all
about renter behavior and we
know that the majority of peo-
ple make a decision based on
emotion. Any good marketing
expert should tell you that the
real power of marketing is con-
necting emotionally with your
audience.
Which is why there is a dis-
connect with certain owners
using a cheap-template market-
ing approach. There is a huge
difference between sticking a
property photo with a logo into
your template with some bullet
points versus an actual market-
ing campaign that is custom-
ized and creatively says some-
thing about your development.
A perfect example of this is
when we had the opportuni-
ty to work on one of the hot-
test new mixed-use properties
downtown. They came to us for
marketing help with their name
and a rendering photo dropped
into a broker template. They left
with a new branding package
and a campaign of an intrigu-
ing deck view looking out on
the city lights with the tagline
“The City Awaits” – a huge dif-
ference to make that emotional
connection with renters looking
for some of the best city living
in town.
We often hear developers
speak with such pride toward
what makes their project spe-
cial. They will point to ame-
nities, services, neighborhood,
building design, the residents
and so many other aspects. This
is wonderful to hear, but why
go to such great lengths if the
marketing doesn’t reflect how
special your property is? Good
marketing shares the vision and
feeling of each space. This is
important when more people
see the marketing than the
space itself.
What does it mean when we
say there is a positive return
on investment for your market-
ing? If you think about it, you
can come up with all the pric-
ing models out there, but mar-
keting is typically what drives
people to your location. It starts
at the point of contact, deliv-
ers a positive curb appeal (first
impression),
differentiates
from other
p r o p e r t i e s
and connects
emotionally
so they want
to find out
more, which
is why there
is a positive
return
on
i nve s tmen t
to market-
ing.
From
a practical
standpoint, what does spend-
ing $10,000 on a good website
mean if hundreds or thousands
of interested people are viewing
that every month? In the end,
that is just over five months of
one renter’s average downtown
cost of rent at $1,800 month.
I think most owners would
expect good Web marketing to
convert that one person and
many more leads, which is why
there is such a positive return
on investment for utilizing pro-
fessional marketing.
One marketing risk for the
coming competition in multi-
family is that you cannot flip
the marketing switch on and off
overnight. Take the large down-
town condo developments that
happened during our recession.
Some buildings invested in
branding and good marketing
outreach, which are thriving
today. Others cut corners, went
into a shell and their proper-
ties did not fare as well. The
power of a brand is established
over time and takes good mar-
keting to build a relationship
with people and the area. This
not only helps with attracting
renters, but also as an overall
investment if it ever comes time
to sell your property. Let’s get
back to the condos that did a
good job branding. Would you
rather sell those with a positive
image, or the distressed down-
town projects that didn’t utilize
marketing?
By now, we know by all the
figures that multifamily build-
ing is up and will continue to
grow. But we also realize that
Denver has become a top city
to live in with positive trending
data for employment, educated
workforce and a top city for
growth. This means there are
more and more renters to cap-
ture who you will be compet-
ing for with more units. Before
you look at bells and whistles
or quick pricing fixes, I recom-
mend taking a good look at
your marketing program. This
is what helps you create aware-
ness, stand out and in the end
will garner more market share
over your competitors.
s
Multifamily
Doug Backman
Managing director,
DB Marketing,
Denver
The reality is that
more people see
your marketing
than the inside
of the building.
Marketing
is the first
impression, what
differentiates
your property
and says to the
audience, ‘This is
who we are.’
