TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTIONS REFLECTED IN YOUR BRANDING
Some of the most well-known brands of 2021 are tech companies. Meta (previously Facebook), Amazon, Apple, Google, amongst a massive list of others, are all household names for the ‘Internet Generation’ (Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha). As these brands became more and more well known and innovative, so did their products. Now, most of these brands offer a product that can be used in the home, making the futuristic ‘Smart Homes’ a present reality. In the WiFi world, we call this Internet of Things (IoT): where objects are connected to the network and can be controlled remotely and wirelessly.
Using technology to create authentic content and communication for coliving operators is a no-brainer. IoT will be one of the major technological challenges the residential industry will face in the years to come. With many operators moving towards ‘smart buildings’ in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and allow greater control over residents’ consumption, the implementation of a connected solution comes with plenty of benefits.
If an operator wants to brand itself as the most intuitive, inclusive and innovative, technology cannot be ignored: innovation and technology are synergetic. To market something as new to the real estate industry as coliving is to some, the incorporation of technology has to be considered. In fact, ‘technologically savvy’ can be a very positive way to go about branding your mission and identity to the client.
Enabling residents (e.g. content creators, influencers, graphic designers, etc.) to be creative with the help
of technology can make you stand out as an operator. Working to create a comfortable environment for future residents is a tricky task, especially with everyone’s comfort threshold being different and with diverse coliving environments where residents come from all different backgrounds and interests. Connected technology can help create a unified community. Technology is universal.
HOW CONNECTIVITY CAN HELP MARKETING EFFORTS
IoT can help with branding and marketing efforts, adding value to your service offering and give you a competitive advantage over the competition. Residents can connect all their personal devices to the wireless equipment found in their unit (e.g. wireless speakers, smart TVs) or the building’s common spaces (e.g. printers/scanners).
A seamless customer experience is great for marketing efforts, because a happy resident can mean better business. Whether it is by word of mouth, or by reviews, offering the resident an experience beyond what they would have in normal accommodation is the key to a successful coliving brand.
Giving a resident the opportunity to control the systems in their unit can raise the standard of living
for the resident and lower your operational costs, thus granting them freedom to personalise their units. Automation of the unit will allow for entertainment, comfort and energy savings, all at the palm of the residents’ hands (literally from their smartphones/ tablets). Preparing your building to be ‘smart’ will make your brand future-proof, attracting the residents of the future (Gen Z and Gen Alpha), who have grown up surrounded by connected systems and devices.
HOW CONNECTIVITY CAN HELP ENHANCE COMMUNICATIONS
Wifirst offers a great solution to help reach your residents in a constructive and interactive way. With our digital signage solution, your building managers can personalise messaging and advertisements shown on TV screens throughout the common areas and lobby. Whether you just want to show the weather and news headlines on a branded screen, or you want to announce the latest community party taking place in the common room, digital signage gives you access to many different ways to reach your residents. It can even be used for advertisement if you want to make a profit from the solution!
Digital signage is also great to help mitigate on- and-off-again COVID-19 measures. Disseminating information has become crucial during this time and digital signage can be useful by helping get messages across without having to talk to the residents personally – using the screens to help guide the residents into safe spaces, or giving an insight of the available spaces in the gyms or working spaces in order to allow for social distance. This can all be customised using the branding of your choice.
As innovators, we created another tool that can be used to get messages across to the residents. With the Wifirst portal, given to all managers in the building, communication can be pushed straight to the device of all those connected to the Wifirst network in the property. Within this portal, access for residents themselves can be given, allowing them to send messages like: “I need a blender to make a cake, can someone lend me one?” or “I have a chair I no longer need, anybody interested? Collect for free from Room X”.
HOW CONNECTIVITY CAN HELP WITH YOUR OVERALL BRAND VALUES AND EXPERIENCE
With the help of IoT, coliving operators are able to develop an environment where residents can feel secure and looked after. With the help of intelligent surveillance and a well-placed infrastructure of equipment such as connected cameras, movement detectors, intrusion detectors, etc., residents will feel
at ease to walk through the building safely, at any time of the day. IoT can also benefit the building access supervision system, through connected locks which will control who enters and exits the building, with a very easy detection of unregistered open doors if those were to take place. Residents want to come home to a safe place, and if your branding circles around the concept of safe spaces and integration of safe technology, creating a connected infrastructure has never made more sense.
Technology will continue to evolve. Demand will continue to grow. And competition will inevitably
offer the ‘smart building’ solutions to keep up with the evolution and demands the next generations will have. Bringing wireless technology into your branding can help the brand market itself. Nowadays, people document their lives all the time. Making a space “Instagramable” or “bohemian” won’t be enough if the connection to the WiFi lags, is slow and does not download high quality content.
Offer your current and future residents a place to live they’ll want to show off online. What better and easier marketing is there?
