‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Ways to Appeal to Introverted Residents

It’s all well and good to offer events for your residents. Ice cream socials, screening parties, bbqs, are all fun and allow residents to mingle and feel like they’re part of the community, which, in turn not only helps with retention, but also with positive word of mouth about the building. But, sometimes residents just don’t want to hang out with their neighbors.

And that’s OK.

Some people are shy. Some people work crazy hours and would rather come home to a nice quiet apartment and watch DVR-ed episodes of Dexter and enjoy a nice glass of wine (actually, take out the crazy working hours, and you have my perfect weekend) than have to make awkward small talk for an hour. Some people are nudists and their neighbors would prefer they just stay at home.

After all, why does the phrase “very quiet and kept to himself” have to only apply to serial killers? I think it describes the perfect resident—and neighbor.

So does that mean you should stop having social events for your residents? Of course not. But you can also appeal to your introverted residents at the same time. That way you still get retention, and you still get positive word of mouth. It’s just a little quieter.

Ways to Appeal to Introverted Residents

Famously a loner. And handsome. Coincidence? Probably.

Have a website where people can pay rent online, file maintenance requests, etc. That way your renters don’t have to go down to the office all the time, and can take care of important issues from their couches. Couches are awesome. Human contact isn’t always.

Have a large social media presence. If you’re having a resident event, don’t just post about it before to get people to come, post about it after. That way the residents who couldn’t—or didn’t want to—attend could see what happened and won’t feel like they were left out of a huge inside joke. It’s one thing to choose not to be involved, but it’s a completely different one to feel excluded. That’s what high school is for.

Offer contests and events that don’t involve a big time commitment or a lot of interaction. For some, big events are overwhelming. But smaller, “fun-sized” events (I know, I know, there’s nothing fun about a “fun-sized” Snickers bar, but the term is cute, right?) are more manageable, such as free pizza in the lobby, or one of those “guess how many jelly beans are in the jar and win free rent” type things. That way you still get involvement, and people can still socialize a little bit, but then they can quickly escape back to the comfort of their own apartments.

Put birthday cards (or holiday cards) in individual mail boxes. You know what most people get in the mail? Bills, catalogues and those dentist appointment reminder postcards. No one likes getting that stuff in the mail (unless you have a crush on your dentist or something). Brighten your residents’ day by acknowledging special events in their lives privately. That way they won’t be embarrassed by a big hullabaloo (um, my new favorite word, by the way).

What are some other ways to appeal to introverted residents?

-Jessica Fiur, News Editor