Citizens Bank proudly sponsors our local baseball stadium. With naming rights and logos covering nearly every inch of Citizens Bank Park, their brand is front and center to thousands of families and fans each season. They clearly understand the value of investing in marketing.
Which made what I saw recently all the more surprising.
Citizens recently moved its Narberth, PA branch to a new building in a more visible location just a few blocks away. But if you happened to stop by the old location and didn’t know better, you might have assumed something had gone wrong. Taped to the front door was a piece of torn cardboard, scrawled with two words in thick black marker: BRANCH CLOSED.
That was it. No explanation. No mention of the new location. Just a hand- and hastily written sign that looked more like the aftermath of a business failure than a message from a trusted financial institution.
Why the Little Things Matter in Marketing
We work with owners and managers of apartment buildings and help them spend thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars each month on advertising on Google and Meta’s platforms. And yet, they sometimes make the same kind of multifamily marketing mistakes that Citizens did, which makes these investments ineffective:
- A phone number that rings to voicemail, and no one calls you back
- No pricing listed on an apartment website
- A leasing agent who asks to switch the tour time and then is out to lunch when you show up at the time she requested
These are things that actually happened over the past month during my son’s search to find an apartment.
These aren’t major strategy failures. They’re micro-moments. But in marketing, micro-moments make or break trust (and results).
Every touchpoint from your signage, messaging, and leasing interactions is a reflection of your brand. And customers notice the details. A cardboard sign may seem harmless. But it says: we didn’t matter enough to tell you we moved.
Make Every Multifamily Marketing Moment Count
The truth is, people may not remember how they found you, but they always remember how you made them feel.
Were you responsive? Clear? Helpful? Or did you make them pause and question whether you wanted their lease?
The next time you’re tempted to skip the small stuff, think about the cardboard sign. Then ask: What message are we really sending?
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