To be an effective marketer, you have to be able to glean insights from the metrics you’re tracking. But that’s often easier said than done.
It can be difficult to determine which metrics are the most important and what they’re actually indicating— and then there’s the matter of making sure your team is able to analyze and act on that information. This week’s #AptChat covered all that and more.
In fact, it was such an engaging discussion that we’re planning to tackle several questions we weren’t able to get to during a chat in the near future; these are the highlights. (Click on the links to jump straight to a specific question.)
- Q1: What are the most important metrics you tend to focus on most to determine how your apartment marketing is performing?
- Q2: What do you want your site teams to be able to measure/analyze? What are the basics that you want them to understand & act on?
- Q3: We look at so many numbers… maybe the question is which metrics are NOT (as) important (as we think they may be)?
- Q4: What marketing metrics are you trying to improve next year? What would you (or your exec team) like to see perform better?
What are the most important metrics you tend to focus on most to determine how your apartment marketing is performing?
@AptChat so many…. where to start….. leads, leases, engagement, cost the list goes on #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AptChat diff kinds: social media, website engagement, good old fashioned referrals and more #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AptChat Emails, phone calls, foot traffic and leases. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@AptChat Uhm…. and how well your teams are doing in their part to “measure” #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart @AptChat Was about to chime in w/this. Digital metrics vs. “people” metrics & how they compliment one another. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart @AptChat I’ve seen online tools working & producing good numbers, but if ppl don’t know what to do w/it, it’ll fail#AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat won’t see the results because I won’t be here but Hot Jar was just installed for 2 of our sites #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart @AptChat Wondering how many other industry peeps know about Hot Jar? Multifamily marketers need to use this stuff #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat our web provider did a big study using it with one client last year and now is expanding use #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AptChat Leads are a metric. Look there first. If those aren’t where they need to be, then reviews clicks, views, likes, etc. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@AptChat web ref traffic w/ time on site (even though not all time is good time), page view (which/how many),bounce rate #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart Yeah, and interesting to see how these stats are shifting with everything moving to mobile. People want in & out. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling agree. just went through working through design with a west coast agency who wanted way too much design on interior pages #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling to clarify..an agency with little multifamily experience but experience with large retail clients. it was suprising to me #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart We’ve found most of “designing” an apartment website is an exercise in information architecture. Keep it simple. #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling agree..enough design to catch the eye and information in an easy to take in format with great imagery #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling I need to focus on this more, but putting first the nav items that customers appear to care most about #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
What do you want your site teams to be able to measure/analyze? What are the basics that you want them to understand & act on?
@AptChat all of their traffic be it qualified or not so that we can make accurate decisions, response time, value of a lead/lease
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AptChat and…. to best determine what are the most qualified you have to make sure that you’re responding in a timely manner #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AptChat I guess I’d want them to be aware of whether they’re receiving enough leads to reach their sales goals. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
If you know your closing ratio, then you can just about estimate how much traffic you need to see. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
Exactly RT @Marketing_Mommy And do they truly need more traffic or to just convert better on what they’re already getting? #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@jasminebrooks44 Or if you can increase your closing % it’s that much LESS traffic you have to generate. Close higher = less ad $ #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@jasminebrooks44 @AptChat This is where mining the consumer data comes into play but there aren’t many digging into the metrics #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@AptChat understanding of what constitutes a lead…ex if somebody FB messages you as the initial contact asking for info #ItsALead #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart @AptChat Leads are everywhere – and do not always come from just ONE source. Single source attribution is gone. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat Sigh…. too true #MakesTheJobTougher #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart @AptChat Leads me back to general mktg structure in the industry. We need ppl who are experts in analyzing the data #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) November 29, 2016
What’s the value of a fan or follower on social? #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@jasminebrooks44 depends on how/if you’re getting them engaged…. #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart But I can still do a Facebook or Instagram ad and reach the same audience 🙂 #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@AptChat I advertise to the people that fit our demographic. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@AptChat I’ll do a likes ad for the ppl that fit our audience. Then I’ll do like a carousel ad for the same audience. #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@jasminebrooks44 we use a lot of the content from our pages (ex. FB live tours of lease ups) as our ads #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart residents don’t care to interact with us on social 2/2 #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@AptChat Great question! See, we mostly use social for sales rather than retention. Never considered it! ? #aptchat
— Jasmine R. Brooks (@jasminebrooks44) November 29, 2016
@jasminebrooks44 Really it’s both, right? It’s just another communication channel that the customer prefers to use. #AptChat
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) November 29, 2016
We look at so many numbers… maybe the question is which metrics are NOT (as) important (as we think they may be)?
@AptChat this is a yes measure and not always important… time on website.. if it’s converting to a lead/lease i really don’t care #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
What marketing metrics are you trying to improve next year? What would you (or your exec team) like to see perform better?
@AptChat focusing on giving customers what they want on websites so that we continue to increase conversion #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@AthleteatHeart Just curious, do you know what a typical conversion rate is for one of your websites? #AptChat
— Mike Whaling (@mwhaling) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling i don’t perfectly but do look at goals set up in analytics (including referal conversions to contact), nudge conversions #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
@mwhaling in addition to “regular” leads at #ImHorribleAt140CharacterAnswers #aptchat
— Karen Kossow (@AthleteatHeart) November 29, 2016
Other questions #AptChat Nation would like to tackle during a follow-up discussion:
- How do property managers decide which ILSs to use?
- What value do apartment marketers place on Google ads?
If you’ve got additional questions, feel free to tweet them to us!
Our next #Apt Chat is slated for Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 12 pm Eastern, and we’ll be discussing how to showcase your marketing results and accomplishments. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for #AptChat updates to get these recaps and more delivered straight to your inbox!