Give your residents a "Riesen" or two to stay!
When I was on site, I liked to experiment with different types of marketing. One month, I invested about $25 and bought a really nice jar, some computer sticky labels, and some candy. I kept this jar on my desk, filled with Stork Riesens . For those of you who don't know, Riesens are these very chewy chocolate caramels that are also dipped in chocolate. They are pretty much delicious. Around each candy wrapper, I would put a sticker with a great reason to say with us. Things like Our 24-hour Gym, Personalized Customer Service, Dedicated Maintenance Staff, etc. were typed out in the middle of each wrapper. I think I had all in all about 10 different sayings.
I didn't know how well the idea would work, but I think almost anything is worth a try if you put enough thought into the execution phase.
I made my money back 10 fold. Let's face it - Sugar sells, and not just to people under the age of 10. The candy was there when I was working with future residents, and they almost always read the wrappers. The candy was there when kids came in and we were out of cookies for the day. The candy was there when angry residents came in, and that little sugar rush often helped me to smooth over conflict with them. (I actually started to believe that the majority of my residents who got angry were hypoglycemic since the sugar rush worked so well!) No matter what, the candy was there, a helpful little aide for whatever the current problem or moment was bringing.
I chose Stork Riesens, but there are a lot of other marketable candies out there. Some ideas:
Snickers - Stay with a team that always gives you something to laugh about
3 Musketeers - Let us be your best friend in housing
Skittles - Taste the rainbow of reasons to stay with us
Jolly Ranchers - You'll love the flavor of our long lasting service
Mints- We keep things fresh here at XYZ Apartments
Can you think of any other candy related marketing ideas? Have you used any successfully on site before?
Below is a picture of my Riesen Jar.
I didn't know how well the idea would work, but I think almost anything is worth a try if you put enough thought into the execution phase.
I made my money back 10 fold. Let's face it - Sugar sells, and not just to people under the age of 10. The candy was there when I was working with future residents, and they almost always read the wrappers. The candy was there when kids came in and we were out of cookies for the day. The candy was there when angry residents came in, and that little sugar rush often helped me to smooth over conflict with them. (I actually started to believe that the majority of my residents who got angry were hypoglycemic since the sugar rush worked so well!) No matter what, the candy was there, a helpful little aide for whatever the current problem or moment was bringing.
I chose Stork Riesens, but there are a lot of other marketable candies out there. Some ideas:
Snickers - Stay with a team that always gives you something to laugh about
3 Musketeers - Let us be your best friend in housing
Skittles - Taste the rainbow of reasons to stay with us
Jolly Ranchers - You'll love the flavor of our long lasting service
Mints- We keep things fresh here at XYZ Apartments
Can you think of any other candy related marketing ideas? Have you used any successfully on site before?
Below is a picture of my Riesen Jar.
Posted by Heather Blume at 1/27/2009 6:50 PM 
Categories: Resident Relations, Marketing Madness, Renegade Retention, Eerie Economy, Business business, Resuscitating the Renewal
Categories: Resident Relations, Marketing Madness, Renegade Retention, Eerie Economy, Business business, Resuscitating the Renewal
Hi again, I just wanted to tell you that I started this in our office. It just so happens that we get comments about it regularly! No so much from residents, but vendors, contractors, landscapers, they love it. When my VP and Regional came in last week I was a little concerned they wouldnt like it. But in the end, they liked it so much that our other 5 properties in other states are now putting the Reasons/Riesens....out. Its great. I really like the boost it gives the office staff and myself, when you see people showing their surprise and enjoyment from the reasons....it works. Thanks for the idea!
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That's GREAT! It's such a cheap idea to implement, and people really do tend to love it. I liked the word of mouth it created, too. I love to know that I can help!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I appreciate it!
-Heather
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