Custom Signage for Paradise
My sister is a leasing consultant for a gorgeous apartment complex in Charleston, SC. I have always been a bit jealous, because I feel as though she works in paradise. It seems every time I visit her at work, the sun is shining brighter than ever. The complex has beautiful landscaping, floral arrangements and countless palm trees. There are two swimming pools - including an innovative salt water pool - and a state of the arts private gym. And not to mention the first class staff she works with...they're incredibly helpful and friendly!
If I didn't already own a home, I'd live there in a minute. I would feel like I was on vacation every day!
But contrary to my assumptions, my sister and her staff were having a difficult time keeping the complex even half full. And they simply couldn't figure out why! They were running daily commercials on the radio, were listed on all the rental websites, and posted daily on Craigslist.
It seemed like everyone who actually toured the facilities signed a lease, so the problem didn't seem to be with the complex itself. It simply was a matter of getting the word out and bringing more people onto the premise. So my sister and I sat down one night for a brainstorming session and devised a plan.
And a grand plan, I hope!
Though the apartment complex is situated in a very convenient neighborhood, it's not very visible from the street. In fact, that is part of the appeal, as all the trees that surround the facility mute outside noise and keep things quaint and quiet. But these trees also hide this gem from the public eye.
Our new plan for spreading the word was to purchase a custom sign and put it out on the main road that you turn off of to enter the complex. The custom sign design was quite simple, featuring the complex name and a gorgeous photo of the paradise-like apartment village.
And to my sister's delight, before she could count to 3, the telephones were ringing off the hook, and people were signing leases like crazy!
Why did a custom sign work better than radio ads and online postings?
With , your potential leasers are right outside your front door! We soon discovered that with radio ads, even people who were moving in the very near future were tuning out real estate advertisements because they simply weren't interested in living in that part of town. That's wasted advertising coverage!
And while you can specify which neighborhood you are interested in on rental websites and Craigslist, photos and descriptions cannot sell the way seeing the place in person can. Plus, nothing is more convenient than stopping by for a facility when you're already in that neighborhood.
And here's what surprised us the most: While people looking on rental websites typically are searching because they have an immediate rental need, my sister suddenly had a brand new market of people touring her facility. This market was comprised of people who were not actively searching for a new place to live yet, but since they knew their current lease was running out in several months, and they knew they wanted to remain in the same neighborhood, they were motivated to check the apartments out as they were passing by the on their way out to work or to run a few errands!
My sister was now actually having people request rental reservations a whopping five months in advance!
So now my sisters is not only is my sister fortunate enough to have a work environment comparable to paradise, she's also lucky to have a job where a custom sign can do all of the work!
