Amy Weedon
April 28, 2014
Start Engaging the Apartment Renter Looking for Green Living
Consumers are crying out for ways to live green. They intrinsically believe that it’s the right thing to do. However, when faced with the most important decisions about where to live, green just can’t compete against more important criteria. That’s fine, because living green is an important part of each box prospects are looking to check.
Location. Location. Location.
Living green means reducing our carbon footprint. Highlight the property’s access to retail that residents can walk to and/or feature public transportation nearby. This property in Chicago is appealing to central business by marketing their location as a part of being green. They even developed an interactive map that calculates the person’s carbon footprint based on how they travel.
A Price That’s Right.
A building with green features saves the resident money. Better construction techniques like a tighter building envelope, along with better technologies such as more efficient heating and cooling systems and programmable thermostats, save money on heating and cooling bills. Low-flow toilets save on water usage. That’s savings that goes straight in the resident’s pockets, so be sure to quantify it—and say it loudly and often enough for everyone to hear. Honeywell, for example, achieved that awareness with the help of this easy-to-use calculator, specifically designed to quantify the cost benefits of their programmable thermostats. What are you doing to engage your prospects about the savings your green building offers them?
Show Me Your Best Features.
Prospects choose their apartments because they will feel emotionally good living in them. If the features are also green, they can also feel physically good living in them. It’s likely that a bullet point touting low-VOC paint and carpet isn’t going to score points with the average renter. However, educating the client that these features are good for their health can make them have meaning.
Check out this great ad, bringing to life the otherwise unappreciated benefits of green paint in a home:
While renters want green living, they are also savvy enough to understand that a LOT of products say they're green—without really being green. That’s why it’s important to back up your great, emotionally driven green marketing with a certification like the NBGS Green Certification. Prospects will want to know that an expert has backed the claims you are making.
So get out there and start marketing your green building! Your new renters will thank you for bringing the benefits to life for them.
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