Creative Ways to Integrate Pet-Friendly Touches in Your Apartment Community

If you know pet owners, you know that it’s not just a label, it’s a whollleeee lifestyle. (Raise your hand if you’re guilty. 🙋🏻‍♀️ Most of the Sprout team better have their hands up!) This means it’s almost not enough to just allow pets at your community. It’s about weaving a sense of belonging and joy for both residents and their furry friends into every aspect of your community. When you take the time to integrate thoughtful and creative touches, you can transform your apartment community into a haven for pet lovers.

We’re bringing you fun and unique ways to not only be pet-friendly, but be pet-forward with different elements in your community, making sure every interaction and space celebrates the bond between residents and their pets.

Whether it’s through fun signage, personalized follow-ups, or community events, these ideas will help make your apartment community paw-sitively the top choice for pet owners. Sorry, cheesy pet puns are required here.

CREATIVE PET-FRIENDLY FEATURES YOU’LL WANT TO IMPLEMENT AT YOUR APARTMENT COMMUNITY

PET-FRIENDLY PHONE INTERACTIONS

Make your prospects do a double take with a fun, pet-friendly tagline for phone calls. A fun tagline will help you stand out in the minds of your prospects when they’ve probably talked to dozens of apartment communities that day.

BUT, just know that pet people love to talk about their pets, so you might spark quite a conversation. You’ve been warned!

Here’s An Example:

“Thank you for calling [Community Name], where pets are part of the family. How can we make your tail wag today?”

EMAIL SIGNATURES THAT SCREAM PET-FRIENDLY

Keep the pet-friendly message consistent by adding a fun email signature. These can add some fun and personality to emails which, let’s be honest, can be a little bland sometimes.

By adding this pet-friendly signature, you’re reminding your audience that you support them and their pets as well. (PSST—you can click below to copy and use this signature!)

Here’s An Example:

Best Regards,
[Name]
Leasing Consultant
[Community Name]
🐾 Proudly Pet-Friendly! 🐾

Copy Signature

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If you and your staff struggle with phone calls or emails, the Sprout Membership can be your saving grace!

We give you scripts (just like the phone and email ones here) that you can use to deal with everything from uncomfortable situations to fun follow-ups.

“I just want to express my gratitude for everything you do for the apartment industry to help us. I'm blown away by all of the creative content you have put together for us. I appreciate everything, but my most recent discovery is your scripts for handling different situations. I'm in love!!!! You are all beyond fabulous and I don't have the words to tell you how much I appreciate and depend on you!!!”

Carla Simmons | Regional Manager

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PERSONALIZED FOLLOW-UP FOR PET-LOVING PROSPECTS

If you want your follow-up to make an impact, include their pet! While you’re giving your prospect a tour, chat with them about the pets they have, what they like to do with their pets, etc. Use this info to personalize their follow-up. (Don’t forget to go back and make notes about the prospect and their pets.)

Here’s An Example:

When you follow up, either in a phone call or email (or both!), use the pet details you learned in the tour to make the resident feel a personal connection to your community. A great way to win them over is to include pet treat vouchers or information on pet amenities.

Go The Extra Mile: Gather photos of current resident pets enjoying the community and its amenities. Use these in follow-up communications with prospects with pets.

PET-FRIENDLY EVENTS

All residents love it when you throw great events, but pet people LOVE a good party they can bring their pet to. Make it a point to schedule at least one pet-friendly event a year; bonus points if you can do it even more frequently. These events are always crowd-pleasers and also give you such great social media content! Boom, double whammy!

Here’s An Example:

Pet-Themed Events: Regularly host events like “Bark-B-Q” (BBQ for residents and their dogs), “Kitty Craft Day,” or “Pet and Owner Costume Contests.”

Pet Adoption Days: Partner with local shelters to host adoption events and offer incentives to residents who adopt pets.

Sprout Members: Grab this flyer (customize it in Canva) + the Amazon shopping list to throw the pawty 🐾 🎉of a lifetime! (yeah, we’re not done with the pet puns.) Sign In Here!

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Events are one of the biggest challenges we hear from so many property managers. So we decided to help.

How do you come up with a theme?

How do you find supplies without spending hours browsing Amazon or hitting up the Dollar Store?

How do you create flyers and other graphics that actually look nice and cohesive?

All of these are questions you DON’T have to ask when you’re a Sprout Member because we do it ALL for you! All you have to do is download our graphics & signs, customize your flyers in your free Canva account, use our pre-made Amazon shopping lists, and set up.

Hassle-free events are waiting for you!

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PET-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT & OUTREACH

Meet your pet prospects where they are! As a team, you can volunteer at shelters or local pet-focused events to spread the word about your community’s pet-friendly policy. This is a great way to show prospects (and your residents!) that you support them and their pets’ journey.

Here’s An Example:

• Pet Charity Drives: Organize donation drives for local animal shelters. You can promote participation with social media posts and newsletters to your residents!

• Volunteering: Encourage staff and residents to volunteer at local shelters and promote these activities within the community.

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SIGNAGE THAT SHOUTS PET-FRIENDLY LIVING

Keep reminding your residents and prospects how pet-forward you are by displaying it everywhere. This shows that you run with your community with everyone in mind (two-legged and four-legged) and strive to meet all needs.

Here’s An Example:

• Pet-Friendly Signs: Use fun and engaging signage around the community. For example, “Welcome to [Community Name], where paws and people thrive!” or “Leash up and let’s play!”

• Directional Signs: Include paw prints leading to pet amenities like parks, washing stations, and pet-friendly areas.

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Bandit Signs | A-Frame | Vinyl Decals |

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VISUALS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY

Highlighting pets from your community is a great way to get residents excited. They’ll get so excited to see their pet’s picture on display and prospects will see how much you value your residents and create a personal. experience for each one of them.

Here’s An Example:

• Pet Murals: Decorate walls with murals of pets. Highlight the pets of residents or famous pets from history or from the area.

• Pet Photo Board: Display photographs of resident pets in a common area. You can do fun themes around creative holidays or different seasons.

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FUN PET-FRIENDLY TOUCHPOINTS BY THE ONSITE TEAM

Whenever your residents or prospects interact with your staff, make sure it’s a good one. Adding some personal touches and going just a step further to add some kindness to their day makes a huge difference in their happiness in your community.

Here’s An Example:

• Pet Treats at Reception: Keep a jar of pet treats at the front desk and offer them to visiting pets.

• Pet Greeting Cards: Send out cards for residents' pets, with a small gift or coupon for pet services at a local shop.

Sprout All-Access Members: You can log in and grab this design + Amazon shopping links to assemble the perfect pet-friendly goodie bag. Or search our other resident appreciation designs while you’re there! Sign in Here!

Struggling With Resident Appreciation and Renewals?

The Sprout Membership lets you get more renewals with half the work! With our Canva-compatible designs and Amazon shopping lists, you can get what you need done in just a few clicks!

“Sprout has been an absolute game-changer for our property management team! One of the most significant impacts Sprout has had is on our ability to craft distinctive and fun renewal gifts for our residents. This has not only helped in renewing leases but also in fostering a sense of community and belonging among our residents. With Sprout, we've achieved consistent and creative resident retention efforts, allowing us to consistently demonstrate to our residents just how much we value and appreciate them.”

Deborah | Hidden Hollow Apartments

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SOCIAL MEDIA THAT FEATURES PETS

Meet your residents and prospects where they’re at - on their phones. Show how much your residents’ pets are celebrated by doing fun features, sharing pet-friendly tips, and highlighting pet-friendly events at your community.

Here’s An Example:

• Pet of the Month: Feature a resident’s pet each month. Share their story and cute photos.

• Pet Tips and Tricks: Post tips for pet care and pet-friendly activities nearby and highlight community pet events.

• Resident Pet Features: Encourage residents to be featured and share their pet stories and photos on your social media pages.

Sprout Members: Customize this social media graphic in your free Canva account (or choose a different one) and post on your social media! Sign In Here

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MEET THE ONSITE STAFF’S PETS

We love introducing the staff on social media and websites so your prospects and residents know who they can expect to interact with, but give the people what they want! More pet pics! Give everyone a look at the emotional support animals that never asked for that job title but who uphold it well when the staff’s days are ruff.

Here’s An Example:

• Staff Pet Introductions: Create a “Meet Our Pets” section on your website or social media where staff members introduce their pets.

• Pet Days at Work: Allow staff to bring their pets to work on designated days and share photos on social media.

Ready to Give Yourself More Time to Do Fun Initiatives Like This?

The Sprout Membership is ready to take your workload from you! Whether you’re looking for marketing, retention, or social media help, we have you covered!

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PAWS UP: COMMUNITY MASCOT

If there’s anything people can get on board with, it’s a pet mascot. Pick a spokes-pet for your community and use them to help highlight the pet-friendly features in your community and pet-forward aspects of the surrounding area.

Here’s An Example:

• Adopt a Mascot: Adopt a community pet or mascot. Feature the mascot in newsletters, social media, and events.

• Mascot Adventures: Share the mascot's stories and adventures in and around the community, making it a fun, engaging element for residents.

Sprout Members: Here’s Some of Our Favorite Pet-Friendly Events, Appreciation Gifts, and More!

Sign in to get all your Canva customizable designs, signs, and graphics + grab your Amazon shopping lists to make sure your residents (two and four-legged) are feeling the love.

Dogtor Appreciation Gifts

Fur Fest Event

Pet Photo Contest

Jealous of everything the Sprout Members get?
Come join us! We’d love to have you on the inside!

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BONUS TOUCHPOINTS FOR FUN

If you’re itching for some more pet-friendly touchpoints, here are some extra bonus touchpoints for funsies!

Here’s An Example:

• Pet Welcome Board: Maintain a welcome board in the lobby featuring new residents and their pets.

• Pet Welcome Bag: Give new residents with pets a goodie bag with some starter gifts. (Pick up bags, treats, a small toy, and a welcome newsletter just for pets with intros from other community pets.)

• Pet-Friendly Décor: Incorporate pet-friendly decor in model apartments to showcase how pets can comfortably live in the space.

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