TC AM 009 - Why You Need Company-Wide Nurturing
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TC AM 009 - Why You Need Company-Wide Nurturing
Plus, Pepsi finally nails it.
A Post-Pandemic Development Startup
We've been reading about sub-optimal real estate trends for months now, which is why Cody's story is super interesting.
My latest guest on Transforming Cities is Cody Dietrich, Partner at Hayes Dietrich, his fresh development startup.
Cody's spent his career specializing in multifamily residential development, including affordable, mixed-income, and luxury housing in the Twin Cities and Nashville markets (with Dominium and Doran). He's been involved in the development or substantial rehabilitation of over 2,000 multifamily units totaling in excess of $500M in total development costs.
Today, he is working on 700+ units entitled for his new company in Southern California and Minnesota.
Super unique story, and I welcome you to take a listen on your favorite podcast app!
Pepsi Finally Nails It
I've always felt strongly that Multifamily can learn much from other industries, including the mainstream, pop culture-infused brands of our lifetime.
On the heels of what I shared last week with the new "We ♥ NYC" brand, coincidentally, Pepsi is now stealing the show.
This week, the company unveiled a new logo and visual identity system, the first update in 15 years to commemorate 125 years in business.
The new logo features a simplified, circular design with the name in lowercase letters and a wavy, multi-colored stripe running through the center.
In my eyes, this is a huge win and a big step forward for a brand that's missed the mark in the last two decades (see above).
It's a great example indicating that "modern" doesn't have to be represented by a boring sans-serif lacking a sense of character.
What do you think? Yay or nay?
Why You Need Company-Wide Nurturing
At its core, a nurturing campaign is typically defined as a series of automated emails sent to a specific group of subscribers to build a relationship and move them through a sales funnel.
The goal is to deliver valuable content (and relevant content) to subscribers at regular intervals to keep them engaged with the brand and increase the likelihood of a conversion.
What's a conversion*?
In this case, we're talking about things like:
Coming onsite for a tour
Replying to the email with specific, actionable questions
And of course, a new lease signing
(*More on conversions at the website level next week.)
In a perfect dream world, the content of each email would be tailored to the subscriber's interests and needs, with the ultimate goal of persuading them to take a desired action. For example:
An email focused on studios
An email focused on an interest in pet amenities
Etc.
IMHO, nurture campaigns are a grossly underutilized way to build trust and loyalty with a growing audience in multifamily developments and companies. They're a great tool to drive more revenue for a property and a company.
But therein lies the problem: only a few groups do it.
To be more specific, not many groups stick with it and/or understand the value it provides.
We see it all the time.
Property-Specific vs. Company-Wide
I've gone back and forth about this over the years—the ole property-specific versus company-wide debate—but where I've landed is that both serve a purpose at different times.
Here's an example of a simple campaign sent out to nurture during the later stages of a lease-up for our Kenton House project.
Nothing overly complicated, but allow me to touch on a few important takeaways:
It's fully branded and interactive, like all other touchpoints
The tone it sets is, "become a founding member"
Using words like "claim" pique the reader's interest
Campaigns like this are crucial and move the needle every time.
If kept consistent and valuable, nurturing campaigns can lease up a property faster—months faster—and drive revenue faster.
Why, then, do we need company-wide nurturing?
The question we should really be asking ourselves is almost laughably obvious when said aloud: What happens to that audience once the property is stable?
🤔
Think about it. You've got two, six, twelve, twenty... properties that have leased up over the years.
Each runs a lead capture form and, hopefully, some semblance of a nurturing campaign.
But when all is said and done, that audience is still an audience.
And that audience compounds every time a new property leases up and every time interested renters submit their information.
250 leads / per property x 8 properties over time = 2,000 renters
Sure, not every renter will stay on the list.
Sure, someone already renting might not pay a lot of attention.
Sure, there is work involved in a (quarterly, even) newsletter.
But let's also think about the upside: the "low-risk, high-reward" side:
The list keeps growing: you will still collect leads on every property to be imported into the master list.
Every email will inevitably be shared with friends and family, which means more subscribers will organically join in time.
Portfolio-wide openings will get in front of 100s or 1000s of your already engaged audience without spending a dime on the ILS or ad networks.
You slowly build brand loyalty and trust without significant effort.
There's no sense in sugar-coating the effort it takes to get an initiative like this off the ground, but once it's airborne, its net revenue gain compared to its investment will be off the charts.
You don't need a big or fancy MarTech stack to make this happen, either.
Start small, be strategic, and build your campaigns with your brand identity and values in mind, and the rest will follow.
Build it
Nurture it
Learn from it
Evolve it over time
There's a lot more to dig into with this topic, but within a macro environment where everything costs money and data ownership is questioned across the industry, I encourage your development, operator, and management teams to consider trying your hand at nurturing in-house.
Or at the very least, align with a partner who can help you take the first steps toward nurturing your existing fanbase.
What are you waiting for?
That's all for this Saturday.
If you enjoy this newsletter and its added value for you, the best compliment you could pay me would be to share it with one person and encourage them to join us.
My eyes are open for feedback, too. Let me know what content you enjoy and want more of. And, of course, what you find less valuable. See you next week!
When the time is right, I can help in a few ways:
My team at Authentic builds the best multifamily brands and marketing strategies in the industry. Reach out if you're ready for a premier approach to brand identity, marketing, web, nurturing, and lease-ups.
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