Essential Reflections on Commercial Real Estate Marketing Today

A well run marketing campaign in commercial real estate brokerage will fast track listing inquiries and inspections.  Ensure that you have all the bases covered when it comes to your quality properties and the associated marketing campaigns. Refresh your listings every couple of weeks so the internet search engines and the industry portals have something new to see.

Spread the Property Message Effectively Through Creative Marketing

Here are some valuable marketing reminders to consider as you take your good quality property listings to the qualified buyers and tenants locally:

1. The Competition – Review the competing properties in both the location and by property type so you know what you are up against with all property marketing. The listings of other agents will have observable results regards best methods of sale and best methods of marketing.  Understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to property marketing in each property category.
2. Top Agents – Some agents will be better than others when it comes to property promotion and shorter time on market. Look at how they attract fresh property enquiry and new business.  Look at how they cover the market and promote good listings.  The brand of brokerage that agents work for will have some advantage at times; most enquiry and new business however is driven from personal effort and direct prospecting.  There are no shortcuts to commercial real estate sales, leasing, and property management.
3. Database Update – Regularly work the people in your database so you can find the new property requirements before they become common knowledge in the property market. Contact or call everyone in your database at least once every 90 days.  Regular contact is the way to win the new business.  Over time your presence and skill must be ‘top of mind’ for the people that know you.  They will then ring you if a property need or challenge arises.
4. Know your Property Market Comprehensively – How many times have you looked at the same local property for years, thinking that nothing will happen to it with a sale or lease, only to find that another agent has just taken the listing? Don’t wait for things to happen in commercial real estate; every property will come on to the market at some stage for one of many different reasons.  You might as well ask the questions yourself of the owner to see what help they may need.  A good standard question to ask of both property investors and business owners is, ‘Can I be of any help to you in a property sale, purchase, or lease situation?’
5. Strengths and Weaknesses – Some listings will have issues to address well before you start the marketing campaign. The buyers and tenants of today are selective when it comes to inspecting.  If your property marketing falls short of expectations, you are likely to be struggling when it comes to promotions and inspections.  Address the weaknesses of every listing, and build on the strengths that the property may have.
6. Target market focus – Who will buy or rent your property listing? What will motivate them?  Understand what people are looking for today in property occupation or investment by tracking levels of property enquiry.
7. Timing – Through any year there will be peaks and troughs in property enquiry. Business sentiment will also wax and wane.  The first 12 weeks of any property promotion will be the most important. Given all of these facts it will be necessary to choose the timing of the property promotion well.
8. Media Reach – Given that you know the target markets for your properties, are you using the online portals successfully to spread the message about the listings you have? Check the ‘hits’ and enquiry results from the online advertisements so you know what’s working and creating the best levels of enquiry.  When you analyse the numbers you will see that on certain days of the week the levels of enquiry are higher. Generally the middle to the end of the week is a better time to promote commercial property.
9. Database and Email dispatch – With all of your good quality listings, have a regular email newsletter sent in groups (i.e. Investors, Business Owners, Tenants, Property Developers, Retail, Industrial, and Office). You can also send emails for leasing and separately for sales.  Be aware of the zones or locations in your city where enquiry is centred.  If you have enough listings you can send emails based on property type and location.
10. Central Message – Depending on your target audience in any property promotion, consider the core message that will attract the best levels of enquiry. That could for example be ‘new investments’, ‘attractive space to lease’, ‘retail shop in prime location’, or ‘shopping centre investment’.  Don’t take any property to the market without forming a clear idea of the right ‘central message’.  You can build all of your campaign focus around a core message and a few factors of attraction.  Within reason, every property advertisement can be enhanced with creative words, quality photographs, and good advertising layout.  Take the time to understand how ‘key words’ can attract more hits with online property advertising.

Today any listing that is correctly promoted may only have a few genuine inquiries for you to work with.