After an apartment sits unrented for a while, the first instinct of many owners and managers is to reduce the price in order to lease it.

However, because rent levels are so important to both the cash flow and the capitalized value of the property before you make the decision to cut that price, you might want to first look at how your property rates on the other 6 of the 7 Ps of marketing.

What are the Seven Ps of Marketing?

In 1960, E. Jerome McCarthy introduced the concept of ‘the marketing mix’. The marketing mix consisted of what was known as the 4 Ps – the set of controllable variables that a business could use to influence customer behavior.

The original 4 Ps were Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

The 4 Ps were originally designed around selling products. In 1981, Mary J. Bitner and Bernard H. Booms adapted the marketing mix model, expanding the original 4 Ps to 7, recognizing that the economy had moved from primarily one of goods production and sales to an economy based on services. The additional 3 were People, Processes, and Physical evidence.

The expanded model increased the emphasis on customer service. You can use this framework to develop a more effective and profitable marketing strategy. Let’s walk through the 7 Ps model and how it can help you improve the marketing of your apartments. I have removed Price until the end, as it is usually the default one most property owners jump to without walking through the other 6 first.

Let’s see how we can apply the 7Ps to your apartment marketing.

1) Product

The first P in the marketing mix is ‘Product’. Because, in the end, if you have a lousy product, you’re going to have a hard time marketing it successfully.

In this case, the product is the apartment itself, and in a larger context, the entire property. Look at your building with fresh eyes. What is the quality of your property compared to others? How well does the apartment show? Are there any tired or dirty areas around the property? What do you see as you walk along the tour path?

Can you update aspects of the physical offering to make it more appealing to your prospects? This can range from large upgrades to simple changes like using 2 colors of paint rather than just white or updating the hardware or light fixtures. How’s your curb appeal? Have you designed your property tour to show its highlights in a sequence that makes sense and gets people excited?

Product marketing includes features such as design, quality, warranty, and accessories. Do you have additional products you can offer that will benefit your resident while giving you additional income? VIP Parking, amenity upgrade packages, and rentable storage units are all additional product features that might entice your prospects.

2) Place

“The product must be located where the consumer finds it easiest to purchase”. How easy is it to find your property – both physically and online? Your website is a place. Do you come up near the top in property searches? Do you have enough quality photos to entice the prospect to want to visit the site? Do you have an option for virtual tours or online leasing?

Place obviously includes a physical location. While you can’t move your building, you can emphasize its location in your marketing. Is the location walkable to key neighborhood amenities? Are you located in a good school district? Do you have easy access to public transportation or to major shopping or employment areas? If you’re on the border between two neighborhoods, can you associate your property to the more desirable one?

Your brand is often conveyed through your visual marketing. The quality of the physical leasing office, the presentation and professionalism of your staff, and of course, your online presence. Each encounter with your business creates a ‘place’. How can you make it easier to find you? Also, what is your typical customer’s schedule? Can you make yourself more accessible during those times?

3) Promotion

Promotion focuses on making potential customers aware of your company and/or property. This includes advertising, such as online listings or direct marketing, open houses, and digital marketing in all its shapes and forms.

Having a referral program with your existing residents and encouraging positive online reviews are just some of the effective marketing ideas you can employ. Marketing materials, including photos and floor plans, can also be used to showcase the apartment’s features and benefits.

Events are also a form of promotion. Open houses are a terrific opportunity to show off your property. Partnering with local businesses can also generate additional leads.

7 Ps of Marketing

4) People

If you have staff, their attitude, training, and product knowledge are critical to your success. These people are the face of your property. Your staff will have as much of an impact on the potential renter as the property itself. An average property with an amazing leasing agent will do much better than a higher-quality property that contains a staff with a so-so attitude.

Training your staff on how to greet prospects, answer questions, and resolve common issues is critical to creating highly successful properties. Creating scripts and establishing protocols for selling additional products and services will help move things along and ease the transition from prospect to the applicant.

If you’ve developed a culture of proactive customer service, odds are that many of your existing residents are satisfied with their experience at the property. This will not only reduce your turnover, and therefore vacancies, but can provide testimonials to help overcome prospect concerns when the physical property alone is not enough to sway them.

5) Physical Evidence

Customers often use the physical aspects of a business to help them judge the quality of a company’s product or service. Physical evidence of the apartment will include its physical appearance and how it is staged, as well as the design and layout of any common areas.

Physical evidence includes the branding a prospect is likely to encounter before making a purchase decision. This includes websites, logos, social media encounters, online reviews, and other materials.

Some ways customers perceive physical evidence include:

  • The cleanliness of the property
  • The clothing staff members wear
  • The comfort and quality of the leasing area
  • The color schemes and decorations at the property.

Bring someone you know in to view your building for the first time. What are their impressions and what do they see that could be improved?

6) Process

For customers, your processes can determine how easy a company you are to do business with. The processes involved in renting include steps such as advertising the vacancy, screening the potential renter, signing the lease agreement, and making sure the apartment is ready on time. A clear and efficient process can help ensure a positive rental experience for the renter.

By putting processes in place that teach employees how to effectively communicate with prospects and residents, as well as providing a mechanism for customer feedback, you can strengthen your relationship with them.

7) Price

I’ve saved this P for last because it is the default most people rush to when their apartments don’t lease timely.

Obviously, if you don’t price correctly, it doesn’t matter how great your marketing is. Your customers will not feel they are getting good value for the cost. But all items have a range of prices people will pay. Factors such as location, size, amenities, and the quality of the presentation all play a part.

Having an effective pricing strategy means you accept lower prices for some units (faces the dumpster) while getting a premium for others (penthouse view) and this blend of prices gives you an overall higher figure. Understanding the seasonal sales cycle and timing your lease expirations to match premium rental times is important. Conduct market research regularly to ensure your market knowledge stays up to date.

Knowing your competition’s pricing better than your prospects is also important, as you will need to be able to answer objections or proactively describe why your property is a better value even if it has a higher nominal cost than the nearby ones.

Utilizing all seven Ps can play a vital role in marketing your vacancies and achieving your best rent. Walking through this framework will help you review and define key issues affecting your property and help you develop a plan to improve in these areas. Ultimately, using ‘the marketing mix’ can help make sure you are reaching the right audience, that you are easy to do business with, and that your product is seen in its best light.

Before rushing to reduce the price, look to the other Ps to see if there are some areas that can use improvement. Combining these elements in the correct way can help you achieve a few more Ps – better Performance, higher Profitability, and increased Prosperity!

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