Are you ready to drive results that matter? Property marketing spend can significantly impact NOI — in a positive way — but only if you know what questions to ask your marketing team. It used to be hard to see and understand property marketing results. Marketers had a hard enough time tracking which leads came from where, let alone which sources brought in leases. ILS and lead journey data was incomplete, and it could be hard to tell which budget items resulted in returns. If you were outside of marketing, perhaps working in operations or another adjacent department, understanding marketing spend could be even trickier. Fortunately, with better technology comes better data. Today, it’s easy to see exactly where a lead first became aware of your brand and at what point they converted. It’s also easy to see how much you’re spending per lead and lease. In fact, you can calculate how much you’re getting back for every $1 of advertising budget spent (keep reading to find out how). When you’re looking to guide your marketing team and help drive results that matter, here are five questions you should ask. 1. What is our current marketing mix, and is there data to support it? Marketers should know how the marketing budget is organized and why. Your corporate and regional marketing strategy should be based on historical conversion data and — if including a new technique or source — industry research and case study data. Marketing sources should include a balance of traditional ILS advertising and director-to-renter marketing. ILS marketing is critical for the awareness phase of the renter journey, but it doesn’t also get you the most qualified leads. Director-to-renter marketing, such as SEO and PPC advertising, sends renters directly to your websites where...