Disruption vs. Innovation in Apartment Marketing

by Charity on January 9, 2012

Stuck in a rut

Don't get stuck in a social media rut

Disruption vs. Innovation

In Poke The Box, Seth Godin says, “The only thing missing is your ability to provoke, instigate and discover.”

Well, I have a question for you all: Are you willing to invest the time it takes to discover new opportunities, instigate new ideas, and provoke change? I know, it seems as if some of us have had this conversation before - three years ago.

How does this (recent) blog comment make you feel?  Do you agree? Disagree?

“…better to spend the limited amount of time to marketing and leasing on tools that are 100% up and running. We need to remind ourselves that new technology and platforms are disruptive and disruption can be a groundswell for great outcomes, but more than likely tends to just be disruptive.”

The first thing I thought was that I know plenty of individuals within property management that STILL believe Facebook is a disruption and that it will not lead to any leases or renewals. That belief is rooted in fear – fear of change, fear of disruption, still holding out for the 100% proof. Our friends at RentMineOnline have proven that Facebook DOES work for referrals and leases. Ed knew it would work, even when most of our industry couldn’t believe it!

Innovation leads to disruption, disruption leads to evolution.

“Innovation is not an event, it is a process.” – Guy Kawasaki

The process of innovation is disruptive – especially to those unwilling or unable to invest their time to learn something new. We must ask ourselves if spending a little bit of time to research new ideas, new concepts, innovative technologies and popular programs is worthwhile. I believe that the answer will vary from company to company; but personally speaking, if I am educated in a new tool or process, then that effort is not a waste of my time.

Leaders and early adopters will be the first to fail and the first to succeed. Some people become leaders simply by taking a risk and some require proof. Where do you fit in?

ROI shouldn’t be the ONLY cause for implementing a social media strategy.

Guy Kawasaki has stated that if you wait until everything is perfect, the market may pass you by. Can you afford to wait for perfection? How long is long enough? How much proof do you need? Is it really all about the leases? What about customer service? What about SEO? What about name recognition, PR and branding? Is there any value in having a sense of community?

Case in point: DELL initially focused on customer service when they started using Twitter. They later adapted their strategy to include sharing products and now they have over $6.5 million in sales! DELL isn’t the only company making money from what used to be an unproven new technology. (I realize that comparing DELL and your property management group is apples and oranges, but the concept of trying something new applies to all industries.)

My point is this: Don’t get stuck in a rut – rise above Facebook and try something new. You’ll never know what will work until you try it!

 

Image Credit: Fit2Play.com

 

Tagged as: disruption, Facebook, innovation, leadership, Social Media

  • http://www.sociallyengagedmarketing.com CharityHisle

    My friend Jennifer Kane shared this on her Facebook and Twitter updates this morning and I find it to be a great addition to the conversation here: 

    ‎”How do you know when an idea is innovative? When it scares the hell out of everybody.” – Marty Neumeier

  • Kristi Dingess

    My entire position has been based on a very wise owner’s willingness to invest in innovation and evolution.   For us, it’s not just about marketing or the tried and true methods.  It’s about establishing a sense of community and generating interest in things above and beyond the conventional renting experience.  We want everyone to be involved, to actually know one another, to know us and to feel comfortable voicing their opinion – whatever that may be – which we hope results in a truly memorable (and hopefully enjoyable) experience.  It’s that involvement and personal service that creates a long and lasting impression, even after a resident have moved on.  A good experience will last far beyond the length of a lease and that in itself has resulted in return renters, (when life situations change and we all know they do) word of mouth referrals, and a highly respected name in our locations.   Some of our communities have implemented this mindset so well that we have very very long term tenants, which in itself, is a huge compliment to what we are doing and how we are doing it.

    It does all go toward a bigger “branding” effort as well as name recognition.  So far, we have received mostly positive feedback from our residents, both current and former.  Any leases or renewals garnered from these efforts are viewed as an added bonus in most cases.

    You are right, Charity.  No effort that has resulted in something learned is a waste of time.  It is better, in my opinion, to try something new with a small chance of success than to remain stagnant.  Fortunately, my superiors are very on-board with this logic and it we often see some interesting results.

  • http://www.facebook.com/InsiderBrent Brent Williams

    People’s reluctance to venture into new territories always astounds me.  I have failed more times than I can count, but those failures are calculated into my cost of doing business and personal business development.  They are not running around randomly, but rather taking calculated risks while understanding the potential costs of those risks.  And because I’ve taken that approach, my failures have diminished over time, as my knowledge grows.  And even then, my failures still are assets in gaining further knowledge about my customers/audience/business.  I firmly believe you must go through that process to improve your innovation IQ.

    But like I said, I try hard to make those innovations be targeted and not completely random.  Innovation can strain people who are more routine oriented, so businesses must adopt processes that allow you to test new ideas without overwhelming your employees.  For example, having a couple properties who have especially innovative managers be a laboratory for new ideas before they get considered for roll-out company wide.  That could even be a neat marketing idea, too – tell prospects that you are a special innovation property where you get the latest ideas before any other property!

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