Zillow’s going coast-to-coast shining the spotlight on some of the best multifamily marketers in cities across the country. These rental industry pros have used the Zillow Rental Network to help grow their business.

Sarah Greenough stumbled upon her career at Princeton Properties by way of an ad in the paper. Fast forward nineteen years, and she's still hooked on property management. No day is ever the same, and she enjoys the blend of hospitality and management in the business. In her role as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Princeton Properties, she focuses on marketing, revenue generation, and digital media development for their 39 locations in New England and Georgia. We spoke to Sarah to get her advice about budgeting, marketing to a wide demographic, and accurate lead attribution.

Zillow: In your opinion, what metrics lend themselves to a 'best in class' marketing department? What performance metrics do you look at?
Sarah: First we put together our media channels. They used to be split between digital and print, but now it’s really all digital. We look at the nuances of how we spend our money online. For us that means looking at all our online channels and seeing which ones give us the most bang for our buck. How many of those pieces of traffic actually generate an application or lease? We don’t mind spending if it gives us leads. There’s no black or white system — it’s the choosing the channel you feel is a good use of your money.

Zillow: Why is being metrics-driven important to your team? 
Sarah: Metrics prove why you’re spending your money. Marketing gets a bad reputation because people go through six or seven channels before they get to us, so it’s hard to prove why it’s worth it. But at the end of the day, the metrics you layer on will help you cut up your media dollars.

Zillow: What advice would you give to a company trying to revamp their tracking efforts?
Sarah: If you have the money, spend it on a marketing partner that can provide tracking and automatically integrate with your tenant management software. It’s efficient when you don’t have to take the word of the person on the call about how they heard about you. We use a lot of call tracking and unique landing pages. The more you can use digital partners the better — it’s real data.

Zillow: How are you preparing your department for the next wave of Gen Y renters — what’s your take/outlook on what they will like, how they search, and how your marketing department can reach them?  
Sarah: We try to be as nimble as possible to identify the demographic we’re trying to reach. The demographic you describe is one that’s not brand loyal — they have to believe in us and be a partner. To me it’s most important to conduct business well and have a good reputation. We spend a lot of time participating in the community, taking green initiatives, and doing things to make the place better. It’s a more impatient world, and we need to make sure amenities match — it’s not good enough to have Internet, you also need transportation, bike sharing, and Wi-Fi. Be nimble and adapt. Don’t assume what worked for you five years ago will work now.

Zillow: Can you shed some light on why you chose Zillow to be in your budget, and what aspect makes Zillow an appealing marketing partner?
Sarah: Zillow is such a household name to begin with. It was exciting to hear you entered the rental market. You have a great reputation, a strong mobile presence, the app is fantastic, and your business strategy is very smart. You’re partnering with the right people — MyNewPlace and Hotpads, for example. What makes Zillow attractive is that you’re spending money on SEO and word buying. When I search listings to see where to invest, Zillow pops up a lot. It makes sense to go across all these platforms to show up. That’s the point of the game — to get in front of people.