The Multifamily Marketers Podcast

Two months free rent. Three months free. Waived fees. Gift cards. Apartment concessions are becoming increasingly common, but when every community is advertising a deal, how do you make yours stand out without making your property look desperate?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore how multifamily marketers can turn aggressive leasing concessions into compelling marketing opportunities without sacrificing their property's brand or perceived value.

Using a real-world example of a luxury apartment community competing in a market with significant new supply, Josh and Caroline break down how they transformed a generic "two months free" promotion into a more strategic, branded offer. From creating a compelling story around the concession to communicating urgency, maintaining pricing transparency, and aligning messaging across every marketing channel, they share practical ways to make concessions work harder.

Plus, they discuss the biggest mistakes properties make when promoting specials and how pairing concessions with community events and digital marketing can help drive traffic, tours, and ultimately more leases.

You'll learn:

• Why rent concessions are becoming more common and how generic "two months free" messaging can actually hurt your property's perceived value
• How to reposition a discount as an exclusive opportunity, such as a founding resident offer or pre-opening special
• The five essential elements of marketing a concession effectively, from creating a believable reason to maintaining consistent messaging
• Why your property's brand, amenities, lifestyle, and location should take center stage—not the discount
• How to communicate concession values, lease terms, and deadlines clearly without confusing prospective renters
• The biggest concession marketing mistakes, including excessive exclamation points, outdated graphics, stacked specials, and never-ending deadlines
• How to combine leasing specials, community events, paid advertising, and retargeting into a more effective leasing strategy

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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Your leasing office might close for the holidays, but that doesn't mean prospective renters stop searching for apartments. So what happens when someone finds your community, has questions, or wants to schedule a tour while nobody's in the office?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore how multifamily communities can keep their marketing working 24/7—even when their leasing teams are off the clock.

From keeping website information accurate and managing automated responses to AI leasing assistants, holiday hours, advertising, and follow-up strategies, Josh and Caroline break down the essential steps properties should take before an office closure. Plus, they share a simple 15-minute marketing audit that every leasing team can complete to make sure prospects aren't getting lost in the process.

You'll learn:

• The five things renters should be able to find online after hours, including floor plans, pricing, availability, fees, and next steps
• Why generic automated responses aren't enough—and how to make them more helpful and informative
• How AI leasing assistants and chatbots can support prospects when the leasing office is closed
• Why updating holiday hours across your website, Google Business Profile, voicemail, and tour scheduling tools is essential
• How to incorporate seasonal messaging and holiday promotions into your website and automated communications
• Whether properties should pause digital advertising during holiday closures or keep campaigns running
• How to manage incoming leads after reopening and conduct a 15-minute audit of your entire prospect experience

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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Getting residents to move in is one thing. Getting them to stay is another. But can rewards programs actually improve resident retention, or are properties just giving away money?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills tackle a listener-submitted question about resident retention programs and what really works. From rewarding on-time rent payments and early renewals to encouraging resident event participation and referrals, they explore how multifamily operators can build programs that residents actually value.

Josh and Caroline also compare popular incentives like rent credits, gift cards, and prize giveaways, discuss whether third-party rewards platforms are worth the investment, and break down how to structure, budget, and measure a successful retention program—especially for smaller communities with limited staff and resources.

You'll learn:

• Why resident rewards and resident retention aren't always the same thing—and how to identify what you're actually trying to improve
• What residents value most when it comes to incentives, including rent credits, gift cards, and practical benefits
• Whether rewarding on-time rent payments and early lease renewals makes financial sense
• Creative ways to increase resident event participation and build a stronger sense of community
• The pros and cons of points-based rewards programs versus simple, guaranteed incentives
• How resident referral programs can turn happy residents into advocates for your community
• How to establish a realistic budget, measure ROI, and avoid common mistakes when launching a retention program

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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AI is changing how renters search for apartments—but can you actually see that impact in your marketing reports?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore how traffic from AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini is beginning to show up in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)—giving multifamily marketers a new way to measure how AI is influencing apartment discovery.

From identifying AI referral traffic to analyzing engagement, tracking conversions, and understanding attribution limitations, Josh and Caroline break down what marketers should be looking for in their analytics. More importantly, they explain how to turn those insights into smarter website decisions, better reporting, and a clearer understanding of AI's growing role in the renter journey.

You'll learn:

• How traffic from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI platforms can appear in Google Analytics 4
• Where to look in GA4 to identify AI referral sources beyond traditional organic search reports
• The four key metrics to evaluate: traffic trends, engagement, conversions, and traffic quality
• Why AI referral traffic doesn't tell the complete story of how renters discover your community
• How to use AI traffic insights to improve your website experience, content, and search visibility
• Why accurate tracking and properly configured conversion events are essential for meaningful reporting
• How to communicate AI performance to owners and asset managers without overwhelming them with more metrics

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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Getting leads is one thing. Turning those leads into signed leases is another—and sometimes the difference comes down to what happens during a single conversation.

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills take a deep dive into Resident360's Leasing Accelerator Blueprint, a hands-on training program designed to help leasing teams improve their conversations, build stronger connections with prospects, and ultimately convert more tours into leases.

Drawing from Caroline's recent training with a multifamily client, they break down the entire leasing journey—from answering inbound calls and asking better discovery questions to delivering personalized tours, handling objections, asking for the lease, and following up with purpose. Plus, Caroline shares practical techniques, real role-playing examples, and simple ways managers can reinforce these skills long after the training ends.

You'll learn:

• Why leasing teams need to shift from simply processing applications to earning them
• How to use the GREAT method to turn inbound calls into meaningful conversations and scheduled tours
• Why asking better discovery questions—and remembering personal details—can improve the leasing experience
• How to prepare for and deliver tours that sell benefits instead of just listing features
• How the LAER method helps leasing agents confidently address objections and ask for the lease
• Why generic follow-ups like "just checking in" don't work—and how to create a more effective 30-day follow-up strategy
• How managers can make leasing training stick through role-playing, coaching, and consistent measurement

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help or to learn about Resident360's Leasing Accelerator Blueprint, connect with us at Resident360.com.

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Your property websites get plenty of attention—but what about the website behind the company managing those properties?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore why the corporate website is an often-overlooked part of the multifamily marketing ecosystem. Residents, owners, investors, vendors, prospective employees, and referral partners are all researching your company—and what they find can influence whether they trust you enough to take the next step.

From reputation and referrals to SEO, AI search, social proof, and brand credibility, Josh and Caroline break down what a strong corporate website should actually accomplish—and how to know when yours is ready for a redesign. Ep 58 - Transcript

You'll learn:

• Why your corporate website matters to far more than owners and investors
• How a corporate website can build—or undermine—trust in your company and properties
• Why your website, Google reviews, reputation, and brand need to tell a consistent story
• The five things every corporate website should clearly communicate
• How corporate websites support referrals, SEO, and AI-powered search
• Why case studies, testimonials, core values, portfolio work, and social proof matter
• How to determine whether your corporate website needs a redesign

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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What happens when AI stops simply helping renters search for apartments—and starts doing the research, comparing, screening, and eventually taking action for them?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore the next evolution of AI-powered apartment search, sparked by a Google Gemini commercial Caroline saw during an NFL game showing AI being used specifically for apartment hunting.

From AI comparing total monthly costs and analyzing reviews to potentially communicating with leasing assistants and scheduling tours, Josh and Caroline discuss what happens when AI begins representing the renter, not just the property—and what multifamily marketers should be doing now to prepare.

You'll learn:

• Why Google's mainstream advertising of AI-powered apartment hunting signals a major shift in renter behavior
• How renter-side AI could dramatically shorten the traditional apartment search funnel
• Why properties may be considered—and eliminated—without ever receiving a website visit or lead
• How websites need to serve both human renters and AI systems with clear, structured information
• Why pricing, fees, pet policies, parking, availability, and other property details need to be accurate and consistent everywhere
• How AI could make transparency and data accuracy a competitive advantage
• Five practical steps multifamily teams can take now to improve their AI discoverability

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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Your pool, fitness center, and clubhouse aren't the only amenities you're selling. Sometimes, your best amenity is everything outside your front door.

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills break down why the neighborhood should be a much bigger part of apartment marketing—and how properties can turn local restaurants, coffee shops, parks, employers, trails, and entertainment into compelling reasons to live there.

From creating better neighborhood pages to staff favorites, resident recommendations, local partnerships, and social content, this episode is packed with practical ideas for selling the lifestyle surrounding your community.

You'll learn:

• Why the neighborhood can be one of your property's strongest amenities
• What a great neighborhood page should include beyond a generic map
• How staff favorites and resident recommendations can make your content more authentic
• Ways to turn neighborhood content into social posts, videos, move-in guides, and more
• How local content can improve SEO and AI search visibility
• Creative ways to partner and cross-promote with nearby businesses
• Simple things your team can do this week to better market your neighborhood

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

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Your marketing dashboard might look impressive—but if you can't connect the numbers to tours and leases, are you really measuring performance?

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills break down one of the biggest problems in multifamily reporting: stopping the measurement too early. Impressions, clicks, website traffic, and leads all matter, but they only tell part of the story.

From lead-to-tour and tour-to-lease conversion to leasing-team follow-up, reporting accountability, and AI-powered analysis, this episode explains how marketing and leasing teams can connect the entire renter journey and turn dashboards into actual business decisions.

You'll learn:

• Why impressions, clicks, and leads shouldn't be treated as the final measure of marketing success
• The three questions every marketing conversation should start with: traffic, tours, and leases
• How to identify whether you have a marketing problem or a leasing conversion problem
• Why "bad leads" may actually be a lead follow-up or handling issue
• How lead-to-tour and tour-to-lease conversion rates reveal where prospects are dropping off
• What separates a useful marketing report from a simple data dump
• How AI can improve reporting—and why it can't fix missing or inaccurate data

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

Drop Us a Review If You Enjoyed the Episode!

Google is still important—but it's no longer the only place renters are discovering apartment communities.

In this episode of The Multifamily Marketers Podcast, hosts Josh Grillo and Caroline Mills explore how the renter journey is evolving beyond traditional Google searches into a much broader digital ecosystem that includes AI, social media, Google Maps, reviews, ILSs, and property websites.

As search behavior becomes more fragmented, multifamily marketers need to rethink how they measure visibility and ensure their communities can be discovered wherever renters begin their search.

You'll learn:

• Why renters are relying less on traditional Google searches
• How AI, social media, Google Maps, reviews, and ILSs now shape the renter journey
• What "zero-click" searches mean for apartment marketing
• Why rankings alone no longer guarantee visibility
• How to build a strong multifamily digital ecosystem across every platform
• Simple searches every marketer should perform to evaluate their property's visibility
• Why consistency across your website, Google Business Profile, reviews, and ILS listings matters more than ever

To suggest a topic, get in touch!

For more multifamily marketing help, connect with us at Resident360.

Drop Us a Review If You Enjoyed the Episode!