Becoming a Big Fish

Multifamily Marketing in D.C.

By Erica Rascón on Oct 19, 2015 in People

When it comes to the Washington, D.C. rental market, VP of Marketing Karen Kossow finds herself in a big pond with plenty of fish. As the one-woman marketing team at Community Realty Company (CRC), she is determined to grow with limited resources. She is overcoming her small fish status by working smarter, not harder.

Step one, Kossow made sure that CRC offered what renters want most. “The funny piece is, other than the rent, the Millennials and the Boomers are looking for the same things,” Kossow observes. “They want the good locations, the walkable locations, the amenities, and the social aspect.”

Community Realty Company properties are already in coveted locations such as Pennsylvania Avenue and Foggy Bottom. The next natural step was to begin the process of renovating the properties to reflect modern expectations. Properties are being renovated on turn, with upgrades like improved space allocation; granite, stainless and other upgraded finishes; and wi-fi accessibility throughout the building. The latter was no small feat since some structures were erected in the 1960s.

Kossow then gave the renovated properties professional glamor shots. These images are accompanied by resident testimonial videos. Combined, the media efforts give prospects a taste of what CRC has to offer—but there was still more work to be done.

Step three for the growing  business: getting the right tools in place. “I’m excited to get all of the software rolled out so we can go out and start pitching more business, showing everybody that we’re not the little teeny tiny company and that we can compete with the big boys in some areas,” says Kossow.

To help level the playing field, Kossow uses Yardi RentCafe. “I am a one-woman marketing show who has also overseen much of the software roll out. Being able to tackle a lot of our marketing challenges using one platform has allowed us to be aggressive but has kept it easy and manageable for me as well.”

By seamlessly integrating with Yardi Voyager, RentCafe guides prospects through the online leasing process from start to finish. Prospects can learn more about properties on RentCafe’s configurable website, and interact with onsite staff via Facebook and other social media. Prospects can then schedule an appointment online. Their data is stored immediately, making follow-ups quick and easy for site staff. When prospects are ready to fill out the application, RentCafe makes it simple to submit the required documents, complete a background check, schedule automatic payments and apply for renters insurance.

Enhancing wi-fi services throughout CRC properties provides the foundation for the resident retention features of RentCafe, such as online maintenance requests and online bill pay. Kossow explains, “Really, a lot of it is making those enhancements, but then marketing the resident functionality that comes through the RentCafe platform on our websites. I now pay everything online and I expect to. It’s the same thing with maintenance requests and such.”

The RentCafe advantage has been noticeable in many ways. Primarily, it has allowed CRC to have a competitive edge in a cut-throat market. “We have greater online services than some of the bigger competitors out there,” she says. “CRC offers full online leasing for all of our communities. That has been huge.”

Online resident functionalities have made conversions faster than ever before. “I would say we’re seeing a lot of people leasing within the first couple of days after visiting or coming back for a second visit and then leasing. It would’ve taken a couple of weeks in the past.”

Faster conversions have helped on a corporate level as well. “We’re seeing the applications come in faster which, A.) helps us know what our inventory is as we go from week to week and B. ) we’re using revenue management so with those applications coming in faster, that means we’re seeing increases to our rents faster where applicable,” says Kossow.

With improved visibility for prospects, improved resident services, and growing rents, Community Realty Company is well on its way to big fish status.