Could you be missing hot leads? Make sure prospective members can reach your group

I was distressed to see someone in the Fayetteville, North Carolina area asking about reaching cohousing neighborhoods in the "Live Wire" (answers/citizen advocate) column in the Fay Observer today. The illustrates the importance of making sure that websites and communities/cohousing directory entries are kept up to date and that we all work together to make sure that our community contacts are responsive.

A frustrated reader wrote:

We're seniors who are interested in cohousing. In August, we wrote three cohousing communities but didn't hear back from any of them. Can you tell us why? - T.R., Fayetteville

As it turns out, one of the projects he or she was trying to track down is not cohousing at all, and she had some incorrect contact info for another. But another is a bonafide, long-established cohousing neighborhood listed in the directory... I visited it as part of a tour when the national cohousing conference was held in the area, and more recently while visiting the area. I won't name them here to save on embarrassment, plus it could well be an error on the part of the person making the inquiry.

Since cohousing communities are resident-created (often in partnership with a professional developer) and self-managed with no employees, many communities don't necessarily respond to inquiries, especially at times when there are no units available for rent or for sale. Because members tend to stay longer than the typical American homeowner does, and communities are small (generally less than 40 units) and rare (there are just over 120 established across the entire U.S., with more in formation), there's no perceived need for dedicated sales and marketing staff... many have rapid resales, even in today's challenging housing climate, with homes going to friends of friends and never even getting listed on the market.

It also may be that with the amount of spam hitting any published email address these days, the person's message didn't make it through a filter, so he or she shouldn't assume the snub was intentional. The same can be said for paper mail addressed to the Home-Owner's Asociation (HOA): plenty of lawyers, roofers, management companies, and other service providers regularly write to any listed community's address, hungry for their business.

I've seen many communities that, in their struggle to get established in the year after selling all the units and moving in, neglect to update their website and directory entries, and miss out on the flow of people interested in community living. There's a few Best Practices that I've found can help:

Best Practices: Stay Reachable

Smart communities keep up their websites with a current point of contact and lots of info to educate and recruit potential members, whether or not there's a current opening. Some areas, especially those with multiple communities like the Research Triangle area of ENC, host tours and other inter-community events to build the pool of prospective members ready to spring into action when an opening comes up.

Best Practices: Stay In Touch

Many cohousing neighborhoods accumulate names for waiting lists or interest lists but only reach out to them when a home comes on the market. This is too late -- by this point, many will have forgotten why they were interested, moved on, or changed email addresses, and can't be reached. Do regular, at least quarterly, outbound email broadcasts with updates. Encourage people to keep the group updated on their needs and interest. Host events, meals or workdays, where "friends of the group" can come help out and perhaps build relationships.

Best Practices: Keep Up-To-Date Technically

Most cohousing neighborhoods have websites that reflect the standards of the time they first formed and developed, as much as two decades ago. The tools and expectations for websites and online communication in general have evolved, and a refresh may be in order to meet your customers (future members) on their own terms. Include a web form that goes to multiple people in your community, perhaps an outreach/external relations/marketing/people committee. Have a designated responder, with backups to nudge them or fill their shoes while they're on vacation or if they miss a message. Make it easy to take action, not a struggle. You don't need to make a massive investment, create custom code, or adopt every passing fad. Yet using some simple off-the-shelf tools to add a photo gallery and a little animation makes a difference. Don't neglect to make sure your site is fully indexed by the search engines and well-placed for the categories that your prospects will be looking for: depth as well as a slick surface are of equal importance. Give links to get links.

Best Practices: People, not Property

Don't make your site a brochure, or a snapshot of the development process. Lead with the real heart of the community: the people and the stories of everyday life, the real reasons to live there. Don't get caught up in the legalese of your development entity/LLC and your CC&R's/bylaws... make these documents available, but make sure they are just there in a supporting role, with an easy-to-read-and-understand frequently-asked questions (FAQ) section and a clear process for engagement.

Of course, cohousing is still at the core a form of Real Estate, so Location, Location, Location remain central to your future neighbors' decision process. Look to websites for conventional condo developments and apartment projects/subdivisions in your area for models about how to effectively communicate and engage people around the values of the place. Focus on amenities, not technicalities.

In my work with established groups doing resales, I find that it's important to get sellers to cooperate, rather than compete with your soon-to-be-ex-neighbors. Make it easier for homeowners to work with the group, perhaps committing a percentage or fee upon resale that a marketing committee can use to host events, do outreach, and personalize the connections.

In a down market, there are no "magic bullets." But a consistent approach to being findable and keeping communication channels open is worth its weight in gold when it comes to resales.

Raines Cohen is a Cohousing Coach working as part of Planning for Sustainable Communities at Berkeley (California) Cohousing.