Word count without title and bio: approx. 700 words
It Just Makes Sense
By Leah Brewer, NALP, CAM, The Leasing Queen
Full House Marketing®, Inc.
“At Home”…what a feeling. Wouldn’t it be great if we could help each prospective renter feel “at home”? While each may have a mental or physical checklist of features they want in their next apartment, there is one item that seldom makes the list yet unconsciously may be the prime decision-making factor: they feel “at home”. They can picture themselves in their mind’s eye driving into the apartment community each night after work, comfortably living within the apartment and inviting their friends over for a party. They can imagine themselves fast-forwarded in time, experiencing the lifestyle.
Competition is fierce in our industry. While we all look for the big ways to be “different”, often it is the small, subtle differences that are most effective. One subtle, sub-conscious sales and merchandising tool is to appeal to all five of the renter’s senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
We tend to concentrate most of our marketing and display efforts on SIGHT: curb appeal, cleanliness, attractive décor, appealing colors and lighting. Breathtaking designer models certainly help merchandise apartments. Additionally, mobile models can be inexpensively decorated with colorful, fun accessories in the kitchen and bath, and the use of vignettes in open rooms. A vignette is similar to a window display in a retail store, and can be easily relocated to help merchandise a different apartment after one is rented. Beyond the decorating appeal, review everything a renter will experience. Make sure the horizontal blinds are rotated for maximum light without blinding your visitors, and that all light bulbs are working and turned on.
SOUND: What does your client hear while touring the apartment? Freeway noises, cold “echoes” of a large room or a loud furnace rumbling can negatively affect the renter’s desire for the apartment. Make the apartment more appealing with attractive sounds throughout. Place one or more unobtrusive CD players around the apartment. Make certain it has a “continuous repeat” option, so it is always playing, then purchase CD’s suited to the apartment style or the typical renter. Be creative; use nature sounds with birds singing in the enclosed patio or Beach Boys Greatest Hits in the living room. Tabletop waterfalls and bubbling fish tanks also make wonderful, relaxing sounds as well as being visually appealing.
SMELL: The sense of smell is one our strongest connections to positive memories, as well as to negative experiences. Continue to create the illusion of a brand-new-never-been-lived-in apartment by keeping it looking and smelling clean…especially the bathrooms! (‘Nuff said?) Create a more positive experience with room fragrances. Avoid scents that are too floral or overwhelming. One easy idea is to place fragrance oil drops on a basic brick, and place it inside an oven set at a low temperature.
TASTE: Smells of food can also attract the taste sensation, like vanilla, strawberry or maple walnut. Offer a bowl of individually wrapped hard candy or chocolates within the apartment. Open a cookbook in the kitchen to a photo of a decadent chocolate cake. Fill empty vases with colorful appealing candies like gumballs, Hershey kisses or jawbreakers. Accessorize with a bowl of green apples or lemons. Place realistic-looking plastic or ceramic food on the kitchen table creating a feeling of a birthday party or celebration. Many faux food pieces look good enough to eat! Stock the refrigerator with ice-cold soft drinks and bottled water for your clients.
TOUCH: Encourage your renter to physically interact with the apartment. Encourage them to open cupboards and drawers, feel the wood of the cabinets, stroke the smooth, surface of a countertop, or sink their toes into the soft, plush carpet. Make sure every surface, pull, doorknob and appliance is super-clean. The apartment should be at the right temperature in any season. It’s hard to get a good impression of an apartment that has been closed up with the air off, when the temperature is hot and the humidity is high. Set the refrigerator temperature so a brisk surge of cold air lends the confidence that appliances are fresh and new. Don’t store your half-eaten lunches in it either.
Merchandise your available apartment to its fullest appeal using all five of the renter’s senses helping them experience the great feeling: “I’m Home!”
Leah Brewer, NALP, CAM, is known as The Leasing Queen for the creative and compelling leasing techniques she employs to fill apartment vacancies, with 30 years of battlefield experience in multifamily housing, from a leasing consultant to a consultant for leasing. Leah is an industry leader with results-oriented training and marketing solutions to apartment occupancy challenges. She presents fun, interactive and informational workshops nationally, designed to get immediate results.