Merchandising for Lifestyle Can Be Great Marketing Tool for Resident Appeal, Retention

You’re ready to put your apartment community on the market or re-launch your leasing campaign. Now take a long, hard look. Is it ready to meet the public? Does it even know what to say to the public?

Ideally, according to Rita Williams of award-winning Merchandising Plus an apartment model should communicate “a stylish person with impeccable taste lives here." 

Statistics reveal that 90 percent of prospective residents can’t envision what an apartment home would be like to live in unless it’s decorated, so you’re limiting yourself to the small 10 percent who might be the ones who see your apartment. 

Williams has created model apartment homes, clubhouses, leasing and amenity centers around the country for mass appeal developers and niche owners looking for a sensational, positive factor when prospective residents visit their community.

“The clubhouse becomes an extension of the apartment homes with fabulous functional amenity areas for an active or relaxing lifestyle for all. Game, media, Cyber Cafe, entertainment kitchens, Bars, business center, fitness, Yoga retreat, pools, spas, fire pits with outdoor kitchen and bars. The list goes on and on with a true resort lifestyle created for a marvelous everyday adventure for all that would inhabit these spectacular new communities” Williams said.

To broaden the potential demographic, you have to make it a no brainer. And it’s not just sticking furniture in. It’s really showing that this could be their very stylish, luxurious life in this new apartment.

“Our design focus is geared to the resident’s lifestyle, taste and personal desire," said Williams, while "staging is about putting enough furniture in a space so that potential residents can envision themselves living in the home and how their own furniture will fit in."

One of the first things prospective residents like to see in a community is the model units, clubhouse and how other amenities will enrich their daily lives.

"The model and clubhouse interior design and features create and maintain the positive first impression of a community.  When they walk in and say "wow" and it always easier to convince them to sign a lease," said Mark Ogier, executive vice president at ContraVest, an award-winning vertically integrated multifamily real estate company based in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

They look at models to picture themselves living in the apartment or to figure out how their lifestyle, not just furniture, will fit in a unit at the property. 

Naturally, developers, owners and managers look to designers and merchandisers to create model units in the most attractive way possible. 
“It’s important to keep up-to-date on the new colors, materials, lighting, furniture, and accessories so that we can create spaces that residents can imagine moving into,” Williams said.

While it seems like an easy enough job to do, designing a model is a bit more complicated than running to the closest Bed, Bath and Beyond and picking things that might look good in the unit.

“One of the first things we do is look at the demographics, size and layout. As they lease, we often move the model to another floor plan that isn’t leasing as quickly,” Williams said. “The introduction to the leasing center, common gathering areas and amenities  We visit models and clubhouses with the developer and look at the unit mix to decide which is the best to merchandise,” noted Williams.

Depending on what’s going on in the area, Merchandising Plus capitalizes on location and the community amenities to reinforce the overall property marketing plan.

 For a new development, she does everything from clubhouses, leasing centers to pools, to corridors to site furnishing as well as models and has consulted on the exterior so that the property has a consistent design.

“We work to present a certain standard of living and lifestyle and make sure the interior design tells this story and maintains the standard,” Ogier said.

There’s an old but true saying in the marketing business: You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. In the real estate industry, and particularly multifamily housing, this is especially the case, which is why builders, apartment owners and developers desire decorated model apartment homes and amenity centers.

“Our main goal is to help the developer, owner or manager close the deal, to get the lease and have people re-sign leases,” Williams said.

As professionals like Williams and her team reject stripped-down, beige-heavy stylings that are as boring as they are forgettable, they’re replacing them with designs that complement architecture, price point and present a lifestyle that appeals to prospective tenants.

In addition to models, common areas can set the tone for an entire community.
While the rental market is booming so is the demand for a wider range of amenities. Identifying what residents are looking for in a more desirable lifestyle, starting with overall appearance, helps Merchandising Plus position a community ahead of competitors.

“In designing new environments as well as pre-existing common areas it is important to analyze the target market and decide what their needs and wants are prior to plan implementation,” she said, “Together with the client, we create and execute common areas that welcome residents and visitors and act as the corner stone of the entire community that can maximize leasing potential.

mbpr Group is a Jacksonville, Fla. based brand development and marketing communications firm that specializes in public relations, social media and internet marketing for the real estate industry.