The Resident Lease Cycle

The lease cycle is your bread and butter, and a well-chosen series of gifts linked to it can help keep that cycle spinning, renewal after renewal, for years to come.

The lease cycle offers you numerous crucial touchpoints where you can make personal contact with gifts with your residents. Remember, the goal here is resident retention: when satisfied residents stay put, you don’t have to work to fill vacancies and you can skip the risk that’s inherent in high turnover.

Consider these 5 crucial touchpoints in the lease cycle for all your residents:
Walk-away gift: these are small but worthwhile gifts that you share with a potential resident as you wind up tours. This touchpoint calls for a smaller gift since you are dealing with prospects, not residents. Something branded with the community name is a good idea. After all, moving is stressful and your prospect may be touring multiple properties. May we suggest the Mason Jar Bag, a reusable pouch filled with jelly beans and cleverly designed to resemble a Mason jar, complete with the crystal-clear message “Come back and sign a lease!”

Lease-signing gift: Signing day should be a happy one for both you and your new resident. Mark the occasion with something practical. We like our chrome and bamboo keyring for this purpose – it’s sleek and modern, with plenty of room for your community’s name and logo.

Welcome or Move-In gift: Now’s the time to bring in the big guns! This gift, delivered on move-in day or already in place when the new residents arrive, sets the tone and sends the message that they are a part of the community. Gift suites work especially well for this particular touchpoint: a unified collection of gifts spread out between various rooms, for example. Consider our Links Trio, where you can position the snacks in the kitchen, the bath gift on the vanity, and the bundle of hangers in the master bedroom closet.

Renewal Request: Time this one to fall several weeks before the lease decision date that is established for your property, be it 60 days, or more or less. Remind residents the countdown has begun to the day they must make a lease renewal decision – and do it with a gesture that reinforces a renewal! Door hangers work particularly well for this initial contact. Check out FFT-12217, which comes with a pen attached, or “Pop and Renew,” complete with Act II (get it?) microwave popcorn.

Renewal Thanks: Time to pull out all the stops for this gift, and choose one from the top of your range. The recipient is a tried-and-true resident, so demonstrate how happy you are about their renewal. Our “Wow!” collection might be a good place to start your search for these important gifts. Flutes & Bubbly is a resident favorite!

You cultivate lease renewals with a well-managed, well-maintained property where you have fostered a true sense of community. Gifts that follow the lease cycle are part of the plan for stable prosperity!