How to Lower Your Dependency on ILS's

Devoting your marketing efforts to ILS (Internet Listing Services) may prove fruitful, for a while.

But, what happens if it becomes too saturated or raises fees dramatically to the point where you’re not sure whether it’s worth it?

The good news is you don't need to depend exclusively on ILS to hit your occupancy goals.

Do you dream of a time when your marketing can be dynamic, and you’re not blindsided by rate increases?

If so, let’s dive in.

Focus on the Data

First and foremost, you need to know your data before diving into a new marketing strategy.

Where are your current residents coming from?
Which ILS is the most successful for your community?
Which ILS cost me the most (and least) money to find residents?

Once you have an idea of which Internet Listing Services are worth it, you can make better decisions. But remember…

"Knowing your data is also about owning it. "

When you use an ILS, you don't have much data on click-throughs, where those views came from, and other trends. The more info you have at your fingertips, the better.

Tip 💡: If your data shows your profits are razor thin, you may discover your most expensive ILS isn’t worth it. Instead, you need time and effort to find a new strategy.

Truth 💣: Your ILS is using your community to collect views and data of their own. When you own ALL of your data, you're in control of your marketing decisions.

Research Your Competitors

There's no reason to reinvent the wheel when your competitors are offering up so many clues to their success.

Ask yourself:

Which ILS do your direct competitors already use?
Which ILS are your competitors mysteriously absent from?
What other marketing strategies are your competitors using?

Why dabble in every marketing strategy out there? Use your competitors' clues to explore whether or not you should emulate a similar approach.

What are they doing beyond ILS? Here are other areas to do a little strategic sleuthing:

Google ads
SEO
Google Business Profile
Social media
Offline community events

Tip 💡: Take a look at your competitor's photos, amenities, and overall listing on different Internet Listing Services. You may find you're not calling out the right things to attract attention, or your photos aren't up to standard.

Truth 💣: It's not just about what your competition is doing; make sure you're still standing out from the crowd and focusing on your unique selling proposition.

Ask Your Property Managers What's Working

There are plenty of insights and truth bombs going on in your own community. Ask your property managers what marketing methods are working and where residents are coming from.

"The best property managers know the top benefits their community offers, and the top 3 resident complaints."

Those insights are your opportunity to call out the right things in your marketing efforts and fix the rest. Not sure what to ask?

Here are some questions to take to your property managers:

Q: How do most of our residents find us?

Q: Which amenities are the best-selling features for our community?

Q: What other marketing channels are you hearing about?

Tip 💡: Check your online reviews to see what residents are saying and amplify those thoughts in your marketing strategy.

Truth 💣: No matter how much of an expert you are in the multifamily industry, your property managers are among the first contact points with your resident. Value their insights and tips.

When researching how residents found you, our preferred method is to ask them directly or poll them. If you run a poll, make sure you don’t include a drop-down as they are known to skew results.

Leave the question open-ended and then dive into the responses. The added time is worth it.

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Tap Your Current Residents

Your own residents are also valuable sources of information for your community. Sure, you can send out a survey asking how they found your community.

Or, you can simplify the process and mobilize your community to find new residents for you. Well-connected residents are a goldmine for referrals and are eager to help with the appropriate incentive.

Here are a few ways to get resident referrals flooding in:

Offer a rental credit
Give a nominal gift card
Waive parking fees for a month

It takes almost no time or effort for a resident to pass on the word to friends, family, and acquaintances. But you could end up with a long-term tenant for a fraction of the price of an Internet Listing Service.

Tips 💡: To find the best incentive, poll residents on their preferred bonus. Or you can offer two or three options and allow the resident selects as their referral reward.

Truth 💣: Beyond finding residents cheaply, you're likely to find renters who want to stay. After all, they already know someone in the community who referred them.

Start Small

You don't have to go all or nothing with an ILS. You can start small and ditch the poor performers.

Beyond whom to cut, you need to know what to add to your marketing plan. Again, it's about starting small for sustainable solutions.

The "go big or go home" mentality in multifamily marketing just leads to analysis paralysis.

You don't want to end up like this guy:

Instead, start with a few ideas that are simple and easy to start:

Take your poorest ILS performer, cancel your listing, and replace those efforts with Google Ads.
Keep all your ILS’s active and commit to spending an hour a week on SEO. Once you see tracton, cancel your poorest ILS performer.
Create a robust Google Business Profile and respond to your online reviews.

As you work through your “start small marketing strategy,” keep repeating the process.

Eventually, you should have high-performing ILS combined with cost-effective and efficient marketing strategies, like SEO.

Tip 💡: Make sure to measure all of the data of your new marketing strategies. For example, if you're going to focus on SEO, make sure to get to know your Google Analytics panel.

Truth 💣: Starting small requires patience and ignore those bells and whistles in marketing. Instead of trying everything, you're focused on doing something small until it works, then repeating the process.

Starting small can also mean spending more per month in exchange for a lower overall commitment. It may make sense to prove a base level of leads/leases before you commit.

When you’re not hitting your goals, it can be easy to default to lengthy contracts with an ILS.

Stand your ground and prove the performance first before you make a bigger commitment. You might find that you’re better off investing in your own marketing sources after all.