name: Dawn Drozd
email:
phone: 248-489-1111
Company: Woodbury Communities
address: 28555 Orchard Lake Rd, Suite 220
city: Farmington Hills
state: MI
zip: 48334
Theme: "It's Great to be Home" Renewal Program
Visuals: We ordered mugs with the management company logo on one side and the slogan "It's great to be home" on the other side. We also filled the mugs with chocolate gold coins. Those items plus a letter with their renewal rate, a list of community activities, and a fun sheet about the costs of moving were placed in a gift bag and placed on their door. Prior to sending out the gift bags, a "happy anniversary" card was mailed to them telling them to watch for the gift bag.
Media: The initial "Happy Anniversary" cards were mailed to the resident. The gift bags were hand delivered and hung on their doors.
Implementation: With occupancy rates still suffering in Michigan, we realized that we needed to hold on to as many residents as we could and encourage them to renew before they had a chance to shop our competition for the tremendous specials that were being offered. The goal of the program was to increase our overall renewal rate from 42% in 2001 to 55%. The program consisted of resident renewal communication pieces that were much "friendlier", a cash bonus incentive to renew early, and meticulous followup. The "friendly" communication pieces all used the theme "It's great to be home." Packages were delivered to the resident's door 2 months prior to their renewal date. They were offered a $300 bonus and a return of half their security deposit if they renewed within 2 weeks. Rents were also frozen at their current rent during the summer months. Follow up consisted of additional letters reminding them of the bonus deadline date, and phone calls trying to encourage them !
to renew.
Cost: $310 per resident renewal (that includes the $300 bonus incentive which not everyone took advantage of.)
Results: This program was a huge success. We received thank you cards for the gift bags and much positive feedback from our residents. This program began in March and Ended with our September renewals. Each month, we found that approximately 45% of our renewals were completed by the bonus deadline, but surprisingly we continued to capture additional renewals after that date. Our overall renewal rate for the seven months exceeded our goals at 60%! For samples of the materials, just email me at and I'll be happy to share them.