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Apps for Apts: The Latest Technology-Based Marketing Trend - 082509
Digested From "Apps for Apts"
Kerry A. Sullivan

Many forward-thinking decision-makers in the apartment industry are paying closer attention to mobile apps, believing such technology is what their customers want and need in their search for apartments. Melanie Stiles, Milestone Management's national director of training and marketing, agrees. She states, "As consumer habits change, so should our industry.

Generally speaking, the apartment industry has been slow to adapt to changing technologies, but text messaging and mobile apps provide us with another mode of communication -- a mode many folks prefer." Although lead tracking for apps remains a work in progress, everyone from vendors to management firms to owners are focusing on developing and expanding app function and availability. Prospective apartment residents are increasingly on the go and are more easy to reach on their mobile
devices than via traditional means.

Not everyone is convinced. Kevin Thompson, AvalonBay Communities Inc.'s vice president of marketing, says that until mobile phone apps provide services that existing Internet listing services (ILS) do not, they will emerge as viable marketing tools. He adds, "If apartment-search apps were to link to auxiliary features, such as utility hookups, on-line lease applications, local neighborhood maps, or local mover information, they might have more appeal. There's just no 'hook' yet that would draw a prospect from the existing ILS. However, it's still early in the game, and as with all new technology platforms, AvalonBay continues to monitor its potential."