Skip to main content
Ava Mendler brand persona

Multifamily Customer Persona or the Ideal Resident Profile (IRP)

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing. 1 Comment on Multifamily Customer Persona or the Ideal Resident Profile (IRP)


One of the best rules for business: know the customer before marketing the product. Likewise for multifamily communities, you must know your multifamily customer persona. (But we like to call it the Ideal Resident Profile (IRP) in multifamily.)

When you have enough information about who you most want to reach—you can capture their attention, resonate with the audience you need, build a relationship, and retain your current residents through trust and loyalty. Plus: providing what they most want and need is the key to building up your business through brand development and targeted marketing.

 

What is a Customer Persona or IRP?

DEFINITION

A multifamily customer persona or IRP is a persona or profile of an individual that’s likely to use a specific business. For the multifamily industry, this is an individual who is likely to live in that specific community.

IRP FOR MULTIFAMILY

By taking real data from research, companies create a somewhat fictional profile of a likely customer for their apartment community. In multifamily, this is the IRP—the ideal resident profile. It’s the kind of resident that is most likely to live in your community. Using information based on survey data to inform demographics, as well as psychographic and behavioral tendencies, the full picture of the IRP is formed with details drawn from various sources.

The Research Part of IRPs

All this talk about learning and discovery, and no details—until now. What kind of research is required to create an IRP for apartment communities? Plenty: demographic, geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.

DEMOGRAPHIC

This is generally the most basic info for an area. It includes:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Income
  • Occupation
  • Education level
  • Family status

There’s more, of course, but each of these items helps you get a clearer picture of your ideal resident. You can understand what they might be willing to spend on rent. You can figure out how many bedrooms they may need. Demographics are the first step in creating a multifamily customer persona series. 

GEOGRAPHIC

Next up: geographics. Geographic research tells you things like:

  • Location preferences
  • Proximity to workplaces, schools, and neighborhood amenities
  • Homeownership Rate

Knowing housing information related to geography can help you create another aspect of your IRP. For example, if you see homeownership rates falling in the area, there may be a shift to a bigger market share, with more people seeking communities over single-family homes.

PSYCHOGRAPHIC

Think about where your residents may work. What their hobbies are. Their favorite brands and biggest interests. Generally, look at:

  • Lifestyle
  • Values
  • Interests
  • Attitudes
  • Personality

Each of these bits and pieces get you one step closer to understanding their motivations and habits. Are they laid back? Do they like cardio? Do they love plants more than animals? Be the brand that they identify with.

BEHAVIORAL

Buyer behavior is the final missing piece. Knowing their:

  • Online behavior (meet them where they are)
  • Renting habits (how long do they stay in one place?)
  • Decision-making processes (snap decisions or pro/con list?)

Looking at their behavior patterns can help you predict what they’ll do next. Plus, it can help you identify their likely needs and preferences so you can be on the list of solutions they’ll seek out.

ADD LOCATION AND COMPETITOR RESEARCH

All the nuances come to light when you start looking carefully at the location and the competition.

Location Research and Analysis: What is the neighborhood like? Analyze the local market and figure out if public transit is nearby, if local amenities are sufficient, and if the dynamics of the neighborhood are desirable.

Competitor Research and Analysis: Is the competition fierce? Are they all A-class and you’re a B-class? How is your community different? This can help you create your differentiation early on. Look at gaps in service and possible opportunities for you to step in and nab a market share they can’t capture.

Zipcode Creative IRP

Know Your IRP for Brand Development and Marketing

After you know your audience, you can craft your brand strategy and marketing messaging to reach them. Your whole marketing plan can be built around these preferences and behaviors. 

 

BRAND ALIGNMENT

A well-defined IRP makes for clear guidance in brand messaging (and full alignment throughout your brand identity). Because determining the IRP is part of the research and discovery phase of brand strategy and creation of brand guidelines, it’s the ideal building block. Knowing what your future audience loves, wants, needs, along with their personalities, hobbies, and habits can help you hone your messaging and make your brand into something that will resonate with them.

For example, knowing where prospective residents are hanging out and what their hobbies are can help focus marketing and advertising budgets—meet them where they are. It can also help create messaging that will resonate with them.

MARKETING EFFICIENCY

Brand guidelines are built on best practices and market research—of the IRP. Making marketing more efficient is a case of targeting the right audience. Forget “spray and pray”. Plan and aim. Plus, this also means that your advertising and marketing budget can go a little further because campaigns are focused and aligned with your IRP.

IRP Must-Haves

The key components of an IRP for a community should include conclusive details based on the research:


Demographics: Age, gender, income (and more, as detailed as you’d like)

Geographic information: Preferred locations, commuting patterns

Psychographic profile: Lifestyle, values, interests

Behavioral insights: Renting habits, online behavior, buying behavior

Multifamily communities rely on reaching residents. You can’t reach them if you don’t resonate with them. And you can’t create a brand message and marketing strategy for a specific demographic that works if you don’t put in the work ahead of time.

Do the research, create a detailed IRP, and search for experts if you need guidance on your research, analysis, and the branding that comes after it.

Know what renters want. & give it to them.

Connect Renter Desires to Your Brand

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Branding, Marketing, Writing. 1 Comment on Connect Renter Desires to Your Brand

When you know what your residents want, you can focus on giving it to them. When we saw Samantha Skrobot’s Linkedin post on resident survey data, we weren’t necessarily surprised, but we were reminded of how much everyone really hates the term “luxury” and the lease rates that get nudged up just because you slap that word on your website.

Now, we know marketers can’t control rental rates. We can’t improve the quality of construction for our communities. But we can help you get real with residents and offer them brand messaging that more closely aligns with what they want the most.

From Samantha’s survey, residents identified these top items (among a few others):

1) Affordability

2) Service/Features

3) Transparency

Residents often feel like they’re getting a raw deal. They’re paying more year-over-year, with no rewards for paying on time. They’re having to pay extra for their pet. They’re not understanding the tacked-on fees for landscaping. The places they want to live are becoming unaffordable just because of the location, though the apartments are not worth the cost.

Without connecting with your residents, you risk negativity towards the cost of your rent, the lackluster service, the mediocre features, and the lack of transparency in pricing and fee schedules.

Shift up your brand messaging to reveal the heart of your offerings. Your entire brand should bring about a positive experience. This means: delivering on the brand promise, creating community culture (top down!) and investing in a full brand experience—helping put the “negative” things that are out of your control into the broader context of an overall good experience.


Show your resident you know what they want, you have it, and you’re willing to follow through.

<img src=”wp-content/uploads/2024/08/What-Renters-Want-Survey.jpg” title_text=”What-Renters-Want-Survey”/>

Renter Desires Survey Results


Co-founder of Markerheads, a multifamily focused marketing and consulting firm, Samantha Skrobot looks at the intersection of multifamily, tech, and strategy. Turning data and reports into actions multifamily companies can take is her superpower. Recently, Samantha went a little meta with her surveys, turning to residents directly to ask:

“What should apartment community managers at NAA focus on this year?”

Nearly 500 folks responded in the next 48 hours.

And they want (percentages based on number of responses that mentioned these items):

1) Affordability (46%)
2) Product Features (39%)
3) Service (36%)
4) Transparency (15%)

The percentages are based on the number of responses that mentioned these items.

These don’t seem so wild, do they? Almost basic.

Residents want to live near their family or near where they work or go to school without having to pay dearly for it. They want the amenities advertised to work and be functioning. They want their apartments to be in good working order and the phones to be answered at the leasing office when they call. They want to know why the cost of rent went up 10% when inflation only increased 3%. 

Reality vs. Renter Desires

COMMON MARKETING MESSAGES

Luxury – We’ve seen it everywhere. “Luxury” in multifamily has gotten tired. So tired. Residents are recognizing that if you put in stainless steel appliances but don’t invest in proper soundproofing, that apartment will never be luxury. You’re reminded that you’re sharing several walls, and possibly a ceiling and floor with multiple other residents.

Prime location – This is apparently the place to be—but is it, if the community is falling apart and poorly maintained? For many of the residents surveyed it doesn’t make sense to charge far more than is feasible in a desirable location if the apartments aren’t nice.

Modern design – “Open concept kitchen with clean lines and modern finishes.” This is down to aesthetics. But truly, the hope for many residents is that their community will have the necessary updates and will be clean and move-in ready with few issues. Having modern design is a plus, but only if it’s well taken care of.

RENTERS ACTUALLY WANT

Affordability – This term has long been avoided by apartment communities. It sounds a bit “come one, come all” but based on the survey, it seems it’s an idea that residents are looking for. They desperately need apartments to be within their budget. (See also: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs with “shelter” taking a top category.) Plus multiple survey takers noted that the rent should reflect the average income of the area.

Features/Services – Residents are consistently hoping that “what they see” is “what they get”. And they’re being disappointed. No one wants carpet. If they’re paying a lot of money, they want high-end appliances. Another item: failed service—no one is picking up the phone at the leasing office, bathrooms are out of service for several days, and management is painting over light switches and electrical outlets.

Transparency – Living expenses are the biggest expense of all—rent, food, medical care. And when hit with an extra $50-200 extra, residents don’t understand and don’t wish to pay it.
Many of those surveyed had something to say about pet rent (get rid of it!), getting charged for non-optional items, not understanding the cost differences from starting a lease late one month instead of early in the next one, plus (and this is a doozy) not getting the security deposit back when they cleaned the apartment according to the lease agreement. Residents want clear answers to where their hard-earned cash is going.

Craft Transparent and Authentic Brand Messaging

WHY TRANSPARENCY AND AUTHENTICITY

It’s what the residents want. They need to know brands mean what they say and they’re doing the right things with their high (and getting higher) rent costs. Part of your brand is your reputation. And if your brand has a reputation of doing a lot of taking and not a lot of giving, you’re going to suffer the consequences of being inauthentic and non-transparent.


ADDRESS RENTER DESIRES THROUGH MESSAGING

Sure, there’s not much marketing can do with construction quality and rent costs (you can certainly make suggestions) but, you can create brand messaging that zeroes in on what your residents want most: the truth

Affordability: Talk about loyalty programs and cost-saving features. Show off your financial incentives and flexible payment plans. Highlight your lower security deposits and clearly outline how residents can get their security deposit back when they move on. If it’s not optional, there shouldn’t be a fee attached.

Features and services: Emphasize the practical aspects of living there. Show off your non-carpeted areas. If you’re charging a premium, list the brand names of your appliances. Highlight your 24-hour maintenance policy. Focus on good reviews that talk about your level of responsiveness.

Transparency: Be clear and honest about your policies and pricing. Have your management and marketing team trained on potential issues. Be straightforward and answer questions coming from prospective residents over the phone or during tours.

Every bit of this is part of your brand. Your reputation, the reviews, how your staff handles requests and questions—and highlighting the items your prospects and current residents care about most.

Practical Tips for Multifamily Marketers

What can you do right now to stay relevant for your residents? A couple things:

  • Surveys. On the reg. Without knowing what your prospects and residents want from you, you can’t give it to them. (Know their problems, be their solution.)
  • Ensure your brand voice can actually connect authentically with your residents—get on their level.
  • Use every channel you can (social, email, community events) to reinforce your brand culture, outlining the ways you have what they want—affordability, transparency, and excellent service.
  • Don’t exaggerate your offerings. Stop claiming luxury to charge more and be realistic with what you have. Consider upleveling with your branded amenities instead to prove your value. Transparency is key!

Bring your brand around to align with resident preferences. When you know your ideal resident, you’ve done the research, you’ve surveyed a group, and you settle into what they want most, position your community as the best possible solution—whether it’s because of your affordability, your features, or your honesty/transparency. Possibly because of all three.

Big thanks to Samantha Skrobot at Markerheads for inspiring this post. Your data wizardry is a testament to what we could be aiming for at all times in multifamily.

Pup wash

Branded Amenities Will Differentiate and Drive Leases

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Branding.

Residents are interested in a community because of its location, but also because of what it offers. Does it have what they need? Does it have what they want? Amenities can be part of your brand strategy to achieve better occupancy rates and less turnover. But you need to figure out how to “uplevel” your amenities—they might be common, but the way you talk about them and tailor them to your ideal resident can make all the difference. It differentiates your community and it becomes a selling point for the folks you want to reach most.

Understanding Your Ideal Resident Profile (IRP)

IDENTIFY YOUR IRP

When you know your target, it’s easier to aim. Define your ideal resident profile. Learn what they want and need most. What are their goals and hopes and dreams? Do market research to segment who you want to target so you can create a brand that appeals to them—visually and verbally AND even in your amenity spaces.

FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT THINGS

When you know what makes your IRP click, you can speak straight to their heart. Strategic branding can make your amenities appeal to them and what they want most from living in a community. 


Example: To a dog mom, her “fur baby” is everything. That means amenities for the pet should be included and marketed to appeal to her. Think: an onsite dog park, a pet spa, and fun pet-themed events.

Upleveling Common Amenities

Many communities can look the same on the outside and in the description. Pool, dog park, clubhouse, community events. To differentiate from your competition, you have to go above and beyond—with the things that you know will resonate with your IRP (see above).

PET-FRIENDLY FEATURES

Again, you’re not going to stand out if you’re simply pet-friendly. That could be anyone up and down the block. Work on being pet-WELCOMING!

Current standard: Allows Pets.

Uplevel strategy: Celebrate Pets!

You could be the place for the people with pets. This means you have:

  • Dedicated pet parks, maybe with agility equipment
  • Pet grooming areas or stations
  • Pet events in the community (competitions or “Sit and Stay with Santa”)
  • Pet welcome kits for new residents (a little treat and a branded mini towel to clean messy paws)

As far as pet-friendliness, you might also consider upping the game in your pet park—add some fun human connection elements, like a fire pit, for owners to socialize around while their pups play.

Branded Amenities Will Differentiate and Drive Leases (1)

CLUBHOUSE ENHANCEMENTS

If your IRP is all about finding and entertaining friends, work on upleveling your clubhouse. Any community could have a clubhouse. But it might not be up to the level you’re going to bring.

Current standard: Common clubhouse.

Uplevel strategy: Unique, reservable clubhouse or pool area experiences!

You can set up community events, of course, but you can also allow residents to “take over” the clubhouse for a fun event of their own. Consider the following options:

  • Reservable time slots for private events or parties in the clubhouse kitchen or pool area.
  • Branded pool towels for use or as move-in gifts
  • Stocked coffee bar and snacks in the clubhouse kitchen

Whatever you do, up the ante. Your typical amenities don’t have to be typical!

Brand Experiences in Amenity Spaces

Your amenities may be typical, but many communities forget about how their residents experience the brand through their amenities—more specifically, through the amenity spaces. If your community brand is known for being higher-end, give out branded pool towels as move-in gifts—residents can use them over and over and may be more likely to head to the pool to enjoy a refreshing swim. 

Another item that can be overlooked: Putting random mugs in the clubhouse coffee area. If you have a single-serve coffee machine, or you offer special syrups and milks to add to residents’ free coffee, add branded mugs and cups. It’s easy to get closer to brand loyalty when you have solid brand recognition.

You should be designing your spaces to be on-brand. Your wall murals, accent pillows, furniture styles, plants, all of it should say Your Brand. Every space deserves to be (and should be) branded. It’s part of your community.

Telling the Story of Your Brand Differentiators

BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY

Your amenities may be good—but they could be great with the right strategy. Your brand should always extend to every area of your community, including how you tell the story of your amenities.

This means: You should stay consistent in your messaging. Consider naming your amenities within a framework that makes sense in the context of your overall brand. If your brand is playful, so too should your amenity names. If your brand sounds serious and business-like, extend that brand personality in how you write about your amenities. The visual storytelling you do, too, should represent your brand in all aspects. If your photos are dark and romantic, your amenity images should be “filtered” through that same idea. Your community events, too, should also be selected and themed to fit in with your overall brand development. 

MARKET YOUR AMENITIES

Own your amenities. And market them well. When your amenities are well-branded, there’s a sense of pride: “Look what we have! Isn’t it awesome?” Your excitement and celebration can be contagious. And it should be in multiple other places beyond your tour: Campaigns, email marketing, social media. With your IRP in mind, focus your time on marketing the top amenity that’s most desired by them. Not sure which one? Start surveying them to find out current residents’ top reasons for coming and staying.

If you want your community’s brand to stand out, include your amenities. Even if you think your amenities are pretty typical, you can use your brand to help them stand out. By putting in that extra effort and tailoring your amenities and offerings to your ideal residents, you can attract who you want with amenities you already have. Just get strategic and brand everything.

 

Aspire apartments exterior

Measuring Brand Value & the ROI of Branding in Multifamily

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Branding.

The value of branding in multifamily can feel intrinsic—and intangible. But if you could determine the ROI of your branding, you’d see just how valuable the existence of, the quality of, and the consistency of brand is for a multifamily community.

But how can you measure the way people feel? What numbers can you apply to “they really get me, and I’m telling all my friends”? Well, take branding vs. marketing. Yes, marketing is so much easier to measure your ROI. You spend a certain amount on ads, and then you’re able to see how many of your leases signed stemmed from those ads. Clear returns. Branding just isn’t as clear. But it’s just as valuable, if not more.

Let’s walk through the value of branding and how to determine your ROI for branding by recognizing the components that create the value of your apartment or multifamily brand.

 

Brand Value for Multifamily

For multifamily properties, brand value is the value placed on the relationship you’ve built with your residents, employees, partners, and prospects. Your consistent branding helps underscore subconscious recognition and trust. A strong brand can attract (we’re worth it) and retain (we’re still worth it) the right residents.

Basically: When your branding is well developed, well received, AND consistent, your prospects are more likely to accept your pricing (a willingness to pay a premium for a home that best resonates with their values) and your residents more likely to renew their lease year over year– because they see the value.

Components of Brand Value

But what makes up brand value for apartments? Generally four things:

  1. Brand Awareness
  2. Brand Loyalty
  3. Perceived Quality
  4. Brand Association

For fun, let’s pretend that Brand Value must = 4. And to have that point amount, you must achieve each of these components for brand value:

BRAND AWARENESS

Is your community being spoken of and referenced on social and around town? If you have brand awareness in your market, that’s a point.

BRAND LOYALTY

If you have residents renewing lease after lease and telling their friends, that’s brand loyalty. Having higher retention rates and getting referrals is an excellent sign of brand loyalty. Point for you.

PERCEIVED QUALITY

When surveyed, do you residents perceive the amenities and quality of features to be fair according to your prices? If yes, that’s another point.

BRAND ASSOCIATION

Like word association, but not quite. If brand awareness is word-of-mouth, brand association is what they’re saying. What do your residents and prospects think of when they hear your brand name? Do they have a split-second, subconscious positive reaction?  That’s a good brand association. POINT!

Measuring Brand Value in Multifamily

Now, we measured that, but there’s a lot more to it than a pass/fail grade (point or no point). It comes down to actually measuring the quality and quantity of each of these aspects.

METRICS

Qualitative metrics will help you determine if your brand is perceived through customer satisfaction. This can be determined through resident feedback, general social media sentiment (good comments vs. bad ones) and reviews on Google, on facebook, and anywhere else you’re collecting reviews.

Quantitative metrics will help you see what impact your brand value is having on your bottom line. It’s a little closer to seeing how your overall brand is performing in “the real world”. Looking at occupancy rates, renewal rates, rental rate increases, and lead conversion rates can help you see whether your brand is getting it done.

BRAND EQUITY MODELS

There were two brand equity models we looked at to get a little inspo for this post: Keller’s Brand Equity Model and Aaker’s Brand Equity Model.

KELLER MODEL
The Keller model is a pyramid that’s based on customers. By basing your brand equity on residents, you’ll be closer to knowing what they want and need, possibly before they ever engage. Plus, each piece of the pyramid is built one on the other. At the foundation: brand identity. Then brand meaning, brand response, and brand resonance. Each of these are based more on emotions and feelings, so the best way to determine your standing is through feedback, reviews, and surveys. When you’ve built the “top” of the pyramid, you want to stay there by continuing a positive relationship with your residents—so they can keep feeling good about staying with your apartment community.

AAKER MODEL
Your brand strategy if you use the Aaker brand equity model is more about recognition, at the subconscious level. By being able to differentiate your offer and set your value provided apart from your competition, you have better brand equity. Your residents will have brand awareness, brand association, and become brand loyal. Which is a great strategy for nurturing residents that renew. As far as measurement goes, you can measure just about anything. Look at your year-over-year results and compare where your customers are, and how they’ve grown. One of the best ways is asking “Would you recommend us to family or friends?” Just using that question along with a comment box can give you vital insight that’s both measurable and actionable.

MEASURING BRANDING ROI

But again, how can all of this be measured? You must think in terms of linking your brand value to how your community is performing financially. It’s quality that rolls into quantity. If you’re seeing:

  • Increasing occupancy rates thanks to differentiation from your comps through strategic branding
  • Ability to charge higher rental rates thanks to a higher perceived brand value
  • Reduced marketing costs thanks to strong brand loyalty, resulting in renewals, and word-of-mouth/referrals


Plus, using analytics and KPIs to see how your brand is performing, you might see a positive performance align with events or campaigns you put together. Consistently keep an eye on how your brand is doing regularly. For example, both brand recognition and brand loyalty can each contribute a 2% increase in yearly revenue, according to Tudor Consulting.

 

Enhancing Brand Value

If you’re wondering how on earth your apartment community is going to get there, start at the beginning.

Ensure you have a viable brand identity. And then you can take it from there.

SMART AND STRATEGIC BRAND DEVELOPMENT

When you start strong with the right brand elements, your brand will be solid as a rock. You’ll have the guidebook to decisions and know which direction to go. This includes your logo, visual identity, and brand voice. Every bit of your brand guidelines should be informed by research and strategy after you’ve determined your target resident.

CONSISTENT BRANDING

When you’ve got your brand guidelines all set up, it will be a lot easier to keep your branding consistent. When you’re consistent, that leads to recognition and trust. Every touchpoint should be consistent: website, social media, email marketing, and printed marketing materials. (This includes your brand voice, too.)

RESIDENT EXPERIENCE

Check in with your residents. Go above and beyond. PLUS: When your brand is valued by the employees, they’re more likely to go above and beyond for your residents as well. That equates to better customer service, i.e. an improved resident experience. Be open to feedback and learn from (and fix!) the negatives.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Are you getting the pulse on how the broader neighborhood views your brand? If they don’t know who you are, that might be a problem. Start getting involved in the community. Do fundraisers and partner with local shops to increase visibility and improve your overall brand appearance. Whatever you’re doing, make sure it’s authentic.

Solid brand development and implementation strategies are more valuable today in multifamily than we’ve ever seen historically—and while it can be difficult to measure, outside industries who have long invested in their brands prove without a doubt that brand absolutely proves a worthwhile ROI.

Brand Centralization graphic

Brand Centralization for Consistency and Recognition

Written by Stacey Feeney on . Posted in All Articles, Branding.

Multifamily operations have been headed toward centralization for a while now, if they’re not already there. Centralization is a way to improve efficiencies and streamline operations. While not every definition of centralization in multifamily is the same, think of it this way: Centralization generally places what is scattered in operations and puts it in one location. Sometimes it’s data. Sometimes it’s minimizing on-site staff and keeping customer service, including maintenance, in one place for multiple properties. (We can talk pros and cons another time.)

Whichever way the cookie crumbles for centralization, branding shouldn’t be left to chance. With brand centralization, you’ll help improve the consistency you’re aiming for when you centralized your staff and data. You’ll also gain brand recognition by keeping your branding streamlined and consistent.

Benefits of Brand Centralization

EFFICIENCY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS

Have you ever opened up a Word doc, worked on a piece for a while, and then your computer crashed? Maybe your computer saved it, maybe not. You’ll probably have to start over.

If you don’t have a consistent brand centralization plan for your properties, chances are you’re starting from scratch if you add a new asset. It shouldn’t be that way. It should be easy, and clear as a bell what your next step should be if you need to create a brochure for the latest addition. That’s efficiency. And by saving time, and not starting from scratch, you’re using fewer man hours. That’s cost-effectiveness.

BRAND RECOGNITION

A consistent brand presence can create buzz. It can improve brand recognition. It can help set you apart from the competition. When there are a lot of multifamily communities to compete with, making sure that you’re set apart can help put you way ahead.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Not everyone on your team may be gung-ho about the changes you’re making to get your brand on track. Your leasing teams or if you still have on-site staff may think it takes too much time. Ensure that you quash this resistance by giving sufficient training and help them understand the why behind your branding consistency.

Basically: consistency through branding centralization means better outcomes for your business.

Strategic Branding

WHY IT’S ESSENTIAL

Having a brand strategy can help everything fall into place a little easier. You’ll get consistency, clarity, and a streamlined way to bring your idea to your residents and deliver what you portray. Being thoughtful and thorough from the start can help you settle into your branding more quickly, and gain brand recognition more quickly, as well.

VALUE OF IN-DEPTH BRAND DEVELOPMENT

If you have multiple locations, and you’re working towards consistency and efficiency, centralizing your brand along with it will require comprehensive brand development. This means your name, your logo, your visual identity and your brand voice are all outlined and complete with clear examples. Using your branding guidelines to connect with your residents and prospects is getting to their hearts, going for human-level interaction, which is something your brand might have lost in the centralization process.

 

Note: If you have portfolio-level branded communities, think of how you can best keep the brands in one family, under one large branding scheme. Ensure they work together.

Steps for Brand Centralization

How do you centralize your brand? Centralizing your multifamily marketing, staff, and data was tricky enough—but how do you get your brand to be consistent across every channel? Three (relatively) simple steps:

 

STEP 1: COLLECT AND ORGANIZE BRAND ASSETS

There are a lot of pieces to your brand. Take your brand guidelines and assets and make them available to those who need them. Place them in shared folders, and ensure the creative agency you’re working for has supplied every asset that you’ll need. This includes:

  • Brand visual guidelines and examples
  • Brand voice guidelines and examples
  • Logo files
  • Font files
  • Color palette (with codes!)
  • Stock Images
  • Design Elements (like patterns or textures)
  • Professional Photography
  • Floor Plans
  • Sitemap

STEP 2: DESIGNATE A BRAND AMBASSADOR

A brand ambassador is someone who oversees full brand implementation. Generally, a marketing manager should have this duty. They’ll need to police it, and make sure the branding is consistent. That way, anytime an item (like a giveaway or a set of envelopes) is ordered, they can ensure it has the right colors, the right logo, and follows the guidelines that have been carefully crafted, and must be protected. In order to more easily maintain branding consistency, it’s worth training teams to understand what is the brand (and what isn’t). Anytime you can get more employees in the know about your branding identity, the easier it will be to keep it consistent.

STEP 3: GIVE YOUR TEAM THE TOOLS

Once your team has been trained in understanding the brand guidelines, give them the tools for branding centralization. Think about using Canva’s Brand Kit and getting starter templates made so you can guide your team members who may not be designers. Even at the property level, it’s vital to keep your brand cohesive. 

Brand Consistency Everywhere

Sometimes you may have a little less control over your branding in the process of managing your properties. In the case of using external partners, share crystal-clear guidelines.


EXTERNAL PARTNERS

It’s likely that at some point, you’ll be dealing with third parties using your brand. This could include ordering swag or promotional items from printers. It could be the local city council. It could be a local partnership with a non-profit or coffee shop nearby. It might be with event planners, too. Each of these external partners should have a version of the logo that will work, and should have access to how to use it. More importantly, these third parties should understand how your brand must look (the brand style) when all the elements are brought together.

PROVIDE CLEAR GUIDELINES

Give these external partners the information they’ll need to know exactly how much space to leave around your logo. Provide your brand guidelines in full. However, even with full brand guidelines, they may still have questions. At that point, it’s really helpful to have your brand ambassador be the point of contact for any brand-related inquiries.