7 Different Business Cards for Your Apartment Marketing Toolbox
Business Cards to Drive Resident Retention
Does the thought of a business card sound a little old-fashioned to you? Well, the old, boring corporate business card can sit this one out because today we are sharing seven reimagined ways to put the reliable biz card to work for you at your apartment community.
Property managers, assistant managers, leasing agents, and maintenance teams…we have something for each of you! These ideas will help you retain residents, engage with them, increase resident satisfaction, make residents feel valued and appreciated, and will help you lease more apartments.
Let’s dig in.
#1: Welcome New Residents
We’ve all heard it said that RETENTION STARTS ON DAY ONE!
We know moving can be stressful, and even the best multifamily professional can forget to mention a few things on move-in day. That’s why we love the idea of a dedicated New Resident Welcome Business Card with all of your contact information. They can keep it handy when they can’t remember how to program their microwave, what the code is for the pool, or anything else that might slip their mind during the moving process.
A few ways to utilize the New Resident Welcome Business Card:
Hand it to them when they sign their lease.
Add it to their move-in packet.
Leave it on their kitchen counter with a small gift (maybe a succulent!)
Put it on their fridge with a fun magnet.
Punch a hole in it, add a ribbon or keyring and attach it to their apartment key.
#2: Resident Appreciation
Have you ever been guilty of only showing appreciation to a resident when they sign their lease and then again when it’s renewal time? It’s hard to admit, but don’t worry… I’ve been guilty too. I think we all have. Some wonderful residents fly under the radar because they never complain, they always pay their rent on time, and they keep to themselves.
But how backward is it that these great residents are the ones that sometimes never get shown appreciation?
Showing resident appreciation doesn’t have to be a grand, time-consuming gesture. It doesn’t even have to be expensive. Keep a stack of Resident Appreciation Thank You cards handy and find opportunities to pass these out or pair them with a small gift.
Add it to their package.
Hand it to them when they pay their rent on time.
Leave it on their door with a bright balloon.
Slide it on their windshield for an unexpected surprise!
Use them as a gift tag by punching a hole, adding a ribbon and attaching to a small resident appreciation gift.
Hand them out at your next resident event with a small takeaway.
Give them to a resident that just renewed their lease with a Starbucks gift card.
#3: Maintenance Leave Behind
Nothing impacts renewals like how satisfied residents are with the maintenance of their apartment home. Sometimes it’s easy to assume that because a maintenance request is complete that a resident’s issue is 100% resolved. But why not err on the side of safe rather than sorry?
That’s why we love the idea of the maintenance leave behind.
(1) It lets a resident know that maintenance was, in fact, in their home today.
(2) It provides contact information in case there was something that still needs attention.
(3) It can be the perfect accompaniment to a small gift (chocolate, mints, etc.) for your maintenance to leave on their kitchen counter.
Want to go the extra mile? Call all of the residents that had a service request to make sure they are happy with their service. A little effort can go a long way when it comes to renewal time.
#4: Resident Renewal Card
Want your residents to pick you AGAIN? Well then, ditch the boring corporate renewal letter… at least at first. Remember, leasing and renewing are like a courtship. You use the small touches to show how much you care and are appreciative.
Use the renewal card to start reminding residents that are 30-90 days out that their lease will be up for renewal.
Attach the renewal card to a bright balloon and leave on their door.
Add the renewal card to a clear door hanger bag filled with treats - for the humans and their pets too!
Business Cards to drive traffic & generate new leases
#5: Outreach Marketing
Nothing makes you feel like you are part of a team like having a business card WITH YOUR NAME ON IT! That’s when you know you’ve really made it. And come on… it makes sense! How can a prospect take you seriously if you don’t have a business card with your contact information? (I’ll get off my soapbox in a second, but nothing would burn me up more than being on-site and not having a business card with my name to save the company $100 when I was bringing in LOTS of leases. It’s like they wanted to make sure I was going to stick around. To be fair… this only happened with one management company I worked for 😡, but I hear it still happens often! Your sales team members should have their own biz cards. Period.)
We love the simplicity of a business card as an outreach leave behind. Sometimes people are reluctant to take bulky brochures, but business cards take up little space and are the perfect thing to add to your goodie bags.
Use an amenity and picture-filled business card to send in a follow-up note to a prospect that has already toured but needs an extra nudge to leave that deposit!
#6: Referrals
Nothing like putting your residents to work for you with referral cards! This approach works exceptionally well if you are offering referral bonuses.
Here are a few ways to encourage more resident referrals:
Hand these out to residents when they first move-in. Add their name to the card, so they are more motivated to share.
Give these to residents at your next event!
Deliver goodie baskets to residents on their anniversary at work. Include some referral cards in their gift.
Share these with a resident that has just renewed.
If a resident writes a lovely review, share these with them. You know they will want to tell their friends.
#7- The Double-Win: Social Media Engagement Card
It’s true…all the fun happens on social media.
Keep residents and prospects in the loop with everything that is going on at your community using social engagement cards.
They won’t know where to follow you unless you share it with them.
Use these in both your marketing and retention efforts PLUS this will help grow your online following, engagement, and reach.
Business cards are small, but they can pack a mighty punch! So how many are in your apartment marketing toolbox?