Key Ideas for a High Quality Marketing Campaign in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate today you really do need to consider the best marketing alternatives for the listings that you promote. There are (or should be) distinct differences when it comes to the methods of promoting and directly marketing exclusive listings vs. open listings.
Exclusivity Matters
All or most of your business efforts should be focused into marketing the exclusive listings that you control for your clients. Exclusivity is everything when it comes to your market share and commission generation. Open listings are just a factor of luck. You cannot build your real estate business based on luck. You can waste a lot of your time in open listings.
So the key message here is that you should convert your listings exclusively and then market them comprehensively. If you cannot convert your listings on an exclusive basis, then there are issues that you should look at and address when it comes to your relevance as an agent or broker and the services you provide in your territory and with your clients.
Tune your property efforts
Relevancy is critical when it comes to converting new business. If your clients and prospects cannot see and relate to your personal relevancy in helping them solve a property problem, then take a serious look at your services and professional skills. Practice and knowledge can always be shaped and gained over time. If something is lacking, then you have the opportunity to improve it.
So let’s look at the best ways to construct a marketing campaign in commercial real estate, be it in sales or leasing.
Create your system of promotion
Here are some initial strategies that can help you pull in the enquiry directly and productively for the listings that you promote:
- GET THE FACTS: Understand the property for what it is before you take it to the market. Your swot analysis on the listing to understand the strengths and weaknesses that will have an impact on the campaign. The strengths will give you some points of difference when it comes to promotional leverage. The weaknesses may need to be resolved or removed from the property prior to the commencement of the campaign.
- KNOW YOUR TARGETS: That target market for the property should be clearly identified as to type and location. Where will the buyers or tenants come from? What will they be looking for when it comes to purchasing or renting a property? When you understand these two questions, you can design your advertising copy and editorial content.
- BE SPECIFIC: Avoid the generic approach to property advertising. Ensure that your marketing messages are special and unique using words and photographs to attract the attention of the target market. Consider everything relating to the property and its promotion including the headline, the feature points, the promotional story, the images, and the best method of sale or lease to encourage enquiry. The promotion of any commercial real estate listing is a special process requiring care and balance. The equation has to be set given all of the factors mentioned.
- MEDIA ALTERNATIVES: Choose the right channels of media to match the target audience and do that in a reasonable way to encourage enquiry. You will need a reasonable marketing budget and campaign structure to achieve promotional momentum, and the client should commit marketing funds to the campaign if they are serious about attracting enquiry. Incorporate the requirement for vendor paid marketing funds in your listing pitch and presentation, and be prepared to show why that is so important in the overall property challenge. Show the client exactly how they can get involved in the campaign and why their marketing spend will be important to the end result achieved.
- MARKETING SPREAD: Balance the property promotion across online and offline marketing alternatives. Stage the promotions so that the best levels of momentum can be achieved in the first 7 to 10 days of the campaign. Comprehensively cover the location and the target market with listing details and factors of attraction.
Follow these basic rules with every quality listing that you take to the market; in that way you will achieve a reasonable level of enquiry and inspection opportunity.
Design a commercial real estate marketing campaign specifically for all of your exclusive listings taking into account the features of the property and the requirements of the target market. Ensure that the campaign is the best available for the client and their property challenge.
(N.B. these ideas are also sent out to regularly to our friends in Commercial Real Estate Online Snapshot to help amplify brokerage results…. Get your access here)
