Model SOP

The model apartment home should be clean, fresh, and warm. Much like a hotel experience, it should be branded but include universal feelings of home as you walk through the tour.

Sensory marketing is an advertising tactic intended to appeal to one or more of the human senses to create an emotional association with a specific product or brand. We can easily build upon this and use this to our advantage.

Visual: Create a neutral pallet with white bedding and add life with pops of color in throw pillows, plants and accessories. Select art and décor that speaks to your desired clientele and evokes the environment and lifestyle they wish to experience. Make the bed extra fluffy and inviting by doubling up on the duvet inserts if needed. Include framed lifestyle photos and residents enjoying community events, and branded throw pillows. Any décor or furniture item needs to send the message you’re attaining to deliver. Less is more, so remove items that do not speak what you wish to say.

Smell: Did you know that the sense of smell is one of the most powerful ways residents and visitors will connect with your property? Stay away from strong smells and utilize the scent of choice as one they associate with you. Also utilize scents to roll out new seasons. People notice change, and scent is an easy way to offer a freshness to your room.

Research shows the below scents correlate to the following emotions:

• Be more alert: Peppermint, citrus Relax: Lavender, vanilla, chamomile
• Perceive a room as bigger: Apple, cucumber
• Buy a home: Fresh baked goods
• Browse longer and spend more: Tailored floral/citrus scents

Touch: Touch enhances customers' interaction with a brand's products. Physically holding products can create a sense of ownership, triggering "must-have" purchase decisions. Have you ever noticed how so many prospects just have to open the kitchen cabinets? Utilize touch to your advantage by including décor items that speak to the lifestyle of the desired demographic; dish towels, plates, utensils etc. Make sure the model apartment is always sparkling clean, organized and decluttered.

Hearing/Auditory: Along with sight, sound accounts for 99% of all brand information presented to consumers. Select music to pair with lifestyle slide shows on the TV that speak the message you want to deliver. Major retail outlets such as The Gap, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Outdoor World, for example, use customized in-store music programs to appeal to the senses of their anticipated customer groups. We need to do the same.

Tips:

• When decorating a bedroom, imagine the person who might be living there. What are their hobbies? What might they have on their desk? Be intentional with every item you place in the room!
• Use different textures when decorating! Rugs, throw blankets, pillows and baskets are very helpful here
• Details matter. Be mindful of cords and things stored in cabinets
• Rearrange the furniture to make sure every space is open and there are no view/walking obstructions
• Consider artificial green plants rather than artificial flowered plants
• Lighting is crucial! Keep blinds open, add lamps to strategically bring light to darker rooms. Use brighter bulbs or lighter paint shades where necessary
• Add subtle, mindful “touches of life”
  • Coffee cup and stack of magazines on the counter
  • A “to do” list on the fridge (Grocery store, Chem 2 final, sign my lease)
  • Jar of hair ties or cotton balls on the bathroom counter
  • Textbooks on the desk

Model furnishings and upgrades should be approved through Asset Management prior to executing orders.

Contacts/Questions Resource: Emily Thorburn Ethorburn@horizonra.com 916.871.903