My manifesto for change
Seven issues are plaguing multifamily marketing and costing us leases every day. Here is what's broken, and how to fix each one.
We're too busy reinventing the wheel
Every owner brings their own brand, standards, and preferences. So we rebuild the same marketing from scratch, one property after another.
Build one operating model with SOPs and building blocks that flex for any owner. Adapt the details, keep the system, and launch faster every time.
Our data is fragmented
Pricing, fees, specials, and availability inconsistently flow across systems. Our CRMs shape the renter experience but rarely connect to reporting.
Build company-wide consistency for data, domains, accounts, and attribution. Every listing, ad, and report should tell renters the same story.
Marketing is just a department
Site teams submit requests and wait while corporate marketing works the queue. Every ticket pulls strategy a little further out of reach.
Give site teams and area leaders the tools and guardrails to act on their own. Corporate gets back to strategy and the assets that need it most.
Change management hasn't changed
New platforms launch with a big kickoff, then the support quietly fades. Within months, site teams drift right back to the old way of working.
Invest more in training than in the technology itself. Coach with data, celebrate early wins, and stay with every team well past launch day.
AI is an afterthought
We add an AI widget to our websites and call it innovation. Meanwhile, renters are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Muse where to live.
Treat AI search as your newest leasing channel. Give every website clear answers to at least 100 renter questions so the bots send prospects our way.
Prospects know when
we don't care
We lean on texts, templates, and auto-responses long before anyone picks up the phone. We get personal at the tour, then too often the prospect gets ghosted.
Solve conversion with communication before reaching for concessions. Keep it personal from first inquiry to signed lease, and follow up like it matters.
Everyone's over-selling
the same thing
Every community promises “modern,” “luxury,” or some version of “live the dream.” In trying to sound aspirational, the whole market sounds the same.
Study the comps, read the market, and find the angle no one else owns. When everyone else blends in, standing out becomes the easiest win in leasing.
Ready to break the pattern?
Let's talk about which of these issues is costing your portfolio the most, and how to fix it first.