How Apartment Communities can use QR Codes

Posted in: Blog, Small Business Growth Strategies, Small Business Web Strategies by Andrew Moon on May 28, 2010 | No Comments

Yesterday I attended the Kickoff meeting for the Apartments Alive 2010 event which will be held on June 10-20 here in Columbus.  I was excited to see how many apartment communities are participating this year. (I believe the latest number is 39.)  As the official technology provider for the Columbus Apartment Association (CAA), our job is to look for ways to utilize technology to assist CAA in growing their member base.  The other part of our commitment is to assist the CAA in helping their members increase revenue for their businesses through the use of business and technology strategies.

There were many great ideas discussed by those in attendance.  An ongoing theme this year for the apartment industry (and just about every other industry) is the use of new technologies and methods for getting the word out. Location based applications such as Foursquare, Gowalla and now Yelp give everyone the ability to “check in” at various locations around town.  Mike Whaling, owner of 30 Lines, wrote a great post about how to use Foursquare to promote one’s apartment community.  We are becoming an increasingly mobile society.  Smartphone use is on the rise at an astronomical pace.  People are becoming more demanding in their expectations of business. They expect information to readily accessible, and easy to disseminate.  The other expectation is to be able to easily share this information with others.  Location-based applications handle these expectations well, however, they are only part of the puzzle.

I wrote a post the other day about QR codes.  QR codes are like bar-codes on steroids.  The data contained in these codes can vary from contact information, a website address, a Google map, etc.  A very practical application for apartment communities is to post a QR code in your Rental Office.  It should be highly visible and be accessible for those who may visit after business hours.  You might include one that links to your website or an online video highlighting your community.  You might also want to have a QR code that contains the contact information for the sales manager or other leasing staff. During the Tour Event, you might also include a link to an online special or downloadable coupon. Just a few ideas to get you started.  (Read my previous post on how to get started creating QR codes)

Apartment managers would do well to implement these into their marketing mix before, during and after the Apartments Alive Event.  The idea is catching on fast.  While writing this post, I came across an article about using QR codes to advertise apartments in NYC.  Please feel free to post your comments below.  If you would like some assistance in implementing any of these technologies, contact me today.

- Andrew Moon

Drive Business: Use Social Networking Tools

Posted in: Small Business Growth Strategies, Small Business Web Strategies, Technology Quick Tips by Andrew Moon on September 18, 2009 | No Comments

Twitter is an Excellent Tool – Use It!

Some of you are using Twitter, some of you are not. Those who use it may not understand the power that Twitter gives you to control your brand. Those who don’t use it make jokes about the people who do. Generally saying things like “I don’t care what you had for breakfast,” or “do people really need to know what you are doing all the time?”

My answer is: no, people don’t need to know what I’m doing every minute of the day. However, if people are going to tell me what they are thinking, I’m going to use it to my advantage. You should be, too. Read more…