Apartment Blog

The new LEADS Dashboard offers easier, more efficient approach to media monitoring

NORFOLK, Va.-(April 21, 2009)-For Rent Media Solutions^TM, a leading apartment resource for searching apartments nationwide, and a division of Dominion Enterprises, announces the launch of the new LEADS^TM Dashboard. The dashboard was designed to offer a more streamlined approach for property managers to monitor their advertising performance and drive more leads.

“Property managers today are challenged to get more done with fewer resources” said Terry Slattery, president, For Rent Media Solutions. “In these economically challenged times, we understand the importance of proving advertising value for our clients. The new LEADS Dashboard lets our account executives act as total media consultants for our clients, evaluating the overall health of their advertising.”

To better accommodate clients’ needs, For Rent conducted a survey amongst 71 national and local advertisers and decision makers. According to the respondents, walk-in visits, e-mail guest cards and phone calls ranked high as the most valuable type of response from apartment seekers. For Rent used these findings to redesign the tool to sort and color-code data based on lead type, allowing clients to easily find the information they are seeking.

According to a January 2009 survey done by MENG & Anderson Analytics, customer retention, marketing ROI and lead generation rank high as top marketing concepts that are important to marketing executives. For Rent’s new tool will be especially beneficial to the property manager who is constantly watching their advertising. In a business climate when conditions are unstable, the LEADS Dashboard offers a quick overall snapshot of all For Rent Media Solutions advertising being used by a property manager so they can effectively monitor their results.

“Apartment managers are looking for ways to secure their position by ensuring their property’s prominence in the marketplace,” said Brock MacLean, senior vice president of national sales and development. “They are concerned with advertising budgets and being able to prove performance quickly and easily. According to eROI, 18 percent of U.S. e-mail marketers are not tracking the effectiveness of their campaigns, mainly because they didn’t know how. The new dashboard puts all of a property manager’s important media tracking information, including e-mail guest cards and phone call leads, directly in front of them in an easy to read, compact format.”

A recent study by The Kelsey Group, a leading provider of strategic research and analysis, notes that 43 percent of marketing professionals surveyed thought having the ability to track the source of their clicks was an important service offered by a sales channel when selling online ads. Graphics inside the LEADS Dashboard clearly display the percentage of total LEADS for each lead type so property managers can see what form of communication is most effective for their prospect.

To get a peek at the new LEADS Dashboard, watch this video. For additional information, contact Jennifer Drinko, director of business initiatives via email at jennifer.drinko@forrent.com or phone at 757-351-7380.

About For Rent Media Solutions^TM

Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results.  For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide.  For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine^®, as well as ForRent.com^TM-The Magazine, and publishes 99 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55^TM Housing & Resource Guide, and Apartamentos Para Rentar^®. For Rent Media Solutions operates four additional Web sites: ForRent.com^®, SeniorOutlook.com^TM, CorporateHousing.com^®, and ParaRentar.com^TM.  For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees in more than 200 offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.dominionenterprises.com/.

The results are in and we’re number 3! Realty DataTrust, makers of VaultWare^TM, the multifamily industry’s leading online availability and reservation system, released the rankings of the ten most popular apartment search websites for the 4th quarter of 2008. The rankings are based on the number of times renters “check availability” online per property. And ForRent.com is number 3 beating out many of our competitors! Take a look….

The ranking for the top apartment listing websites Q4 2008:

1 Rent.com
2 4walls.net
3 ForRent.com
4 ApartmentGuide.com
5 Apartments.com
6 ApartmentShowcase.com
7 ApartmentHomeLiving.com
8 Move.com
9 MyNewPlace.com
10 ApartmentSearch.com

View full report here

Given the state of the economy, advertisers want a company that will provide results for their business. There is no surprise that ForRent.com is in the top of the top 10 apartment search websites. It just confirms that we’re working hard to provide the best marketing solutions for our clients needs! Way to go team!

New technology combined with traditional marketing methods
generate more leads for property managers

Finding a home is a big decision for potential renters. Property managers should be interested in making this process as seamless as possible. With the emergence of new media putting properties in front of prospective renters quicker than ever, it is important for property managers to take advantage of new, technologically-savvy marketing techniques. While maintaining traditional efforts, to continue generating leads you can utilize all of your offline and online marketing tools and create synergy between mediums. By adding mobile marketing, streaming video and social media to marketing initiatives, property managers have the potential to increase their reach, better identify with the apartment market’s target demographic, and generate more leads from potential renters.

Mobile marketing, such as text messaging, and streaming video can assist your marketing endeavors in many ways. Maximize print advertising with text messaging to create an opportunity for property managers to interact more with their residents—increasing the residents’ brand loyalty in the community and the property management company. Mobile marketing expands marketing reach to all types of media and results in more online conversions. As a marketing tool, streaming video can generate more exposure for property managers and encourage conversation between properties and their potential residents. According to comScore, U.S. Internet users viewed over 11.4 billion online videos during July and 75% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video. Read the full comScore report here.

Social media personalizes the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property. It offers a variety of marketing avenues for property managers. They can communicate with residents and prospective residents through social networks, blogs, instant messaging, and podcasts. According to the findings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study, almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and one in four interact more than once per week. The survey found that 93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media, while 85% believe a company should not only be present, but should also interact with its consumers via social media.

With the advances made to communication through technology, it is not only important for property managers to deliver their message to potential renters, but to also actively participate in the conversation. Today, that conversation is taking place on social networking sites, blogs and video-sharing sites. These new forms of new media personalize the apartment searching process, allowing seekers to become more connected with a property.