For many properties in the student housing industry, the time between spring break and finals is crunch time for filling beds and making sure that you’re leased up for the following academic year. While this time can be stressful and challenging, it doesn’t have to be! Being prepared and having a strategy already in place can go a long way to making sure you fill beds. See below for some of the key reasons properties fail in filling their beds each fall.
1. Online Presence
One of the reasons properties fail to lease up each year is negative online presence — be that a lack of online presence or a bad reputation online. Is this something you’re doing wrong? Today’s student housing market is filled with properties, most of which have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in an attempt to connect with young, impressionable residents. While having a presence on these sites is a good place to start, how those accounts are maintained and kept current is essential for attracting potential residents. It is important that these accounts be updated with relevant and interesting information rather than with a constant barrage of discounts and great deals. While those are effective every once in a while, if promos are all your “friends” see on online accounts, they are likely to unfollow.
2. Integrated Marketing Approach
Having an integrated marketing approach when reaching out to today’s young residents is essential to fill beds each year. It is important for properties to build their own brand presence and to remind people of that brand in a variety of formats — direct mail, online social media, email, banners, T-shirts, etc. Lots of properties utilize all of these formats, but they don’t carry them out strategically and cannot measure how effective they are. Collectively, these items all need to send a consistent message that is reflective of the property. At Catalyst we understand the necessity of having strategies in place and being able to market properties effectively to get real results. Every piece of marketing material should be part of this overall strategy — and you should be able to see the effects in your bottom line. Different approaches are what can set a property apart and ensure that prospects are exposed to the brand.
3. Poor Budgeting
Make sure you’re spending smart and that you’re getting the most marketing value out of your money. With lead-nurturing campaigns you are more likely to spend less money in the long run, and you will turn leads into leases effectively. Instead of spending money on a party that won’t give you a significant return on your investment, invest that money in search engine optimization. You may not see droves of people pouring in all at one time, but in the long run it will pay off. At Catalyst we believe that spending money on the right approach is more important than pouring money into ineffective efforts. If your budget is limited it is especially important to make sure you are spending those limited dollars in the right places.
How do you ensure that you fill beds every leasing season? Share your tips and tricks with us, or contact us if you need help putting heads in beds!