How to Build Long-Term Brand Loyalty

Are you a Coke person or a Pepsi person?

Whichever you are, I bet you have strong feelings about it. If you’re at a restaurant and ask for a Coke, and the waitress sheepishly asks you if Pepsi is OK, do you say yes even though it’s obviously not OK?

Despite the fact that they taste exactly the same.

You probably don’t even remember when the preference started—it was probably what your family drank when you were growing up. But now you are definitely Team Coke or Team Pepsi.

Don’t think that’s a coincidence. Millions have been spent on marketing on both sides, and the companies count on brand loyalty. They hook you when you’re young, and then your preference is pretty much set for life.

Multifamily operators, take note!

Today’s student housing renters are tomorrow’s market-rate or luxury renters. Are you doing everything you can to reinforce your brand so that they’ll stick with you throughout their renting lives?

“Our hope is that our students have had a great experience with their housing at college, and they’ve hopefully been good (residents), so we’d love to find a way to get them a home as they embark on the next journey in life,” Scott Berka of Greystar told Robyn Friedman for her story “How Students Can Graduate Into Long-Term Residents.”

It’s never too early to start marketing your other properties to your student residents. According to Berka, Greystar emails the renters at its student communities to “consider another community within the company network.” Its 2024 campaign led to 300 new leases across Greystar’s portfolio.

Looking for more campaign ideas or incentives to offer your student renters to stick with your company? Check out Friedman’s article. And if you need me, I’ll be drinking a nice, cold, crisp … iced coffee. (I’m actually not much of a soda gal, myself.)