George Washington Carver (1860-1943) was a man of innovation. A botanist and inventor, he is possibly best known for his creative usage of peanuts, having created more than 100 food recipes (such as peanut butter) featuring the popular legume. Put simply, Carver wasn’t a man who simply grew and used peanuts like everyone else. He saw the potential in something and was always looking for new ways to utilize it.
Commercial real estate (CRE) professionals should adopt Carver’s thinking when it comes to marketing. With an evergreen need to grow their portfolios, CRE professionals should always be looking for new ways to expand their marketing efforts. Here are five of the most important that may be overlooked:
#1 Be a Thought Leader
Effective marketing strategies these days revolve around providing value to your target audience. According to HubSpot, “72% of marketers say relevant content creation is the most effective SEO tactic.” If you aren’t offering relevant, valuable content to your commercial real estate prospects, they’re going to either ignore you or move on quickly to someone else.
So how do you provide value? First, do some research online or with your existing clients about what content they’d like to see. Interview them! Then, make sure you know your stuff. For example, do you know the ins and outs of the new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) updates? Your targets have questions and you need to have answers — either in person or via digital content.
#2 Leverage Social Media
If you don’t have at least one social media account that you actively use, you’re doing it wrong. Three out of every four people these days are looking for information online about a service or product before they commit to a purchase. When it comes to commercial real estate, the most ideal social channels for your target audience are likely LinkedIn, Facebook and possibly Twitter. You may choose to initially stay away from the more casual social media sites (like Pinterest), as the majority of users aren’t in your target demographic. (For more social media tips, click here.)
#3 Stay Responsive
No one likes to be ignored! Keeping an open line of communication with your potential properties is crucial. Follow up on all email/message responses, keep track of meetings/important dates and respond to any comments or suggestions on your social media channels or review sites. Even negative feedback is an opportunity to improve the appearance of your brand and build your reputation.
#4 Don’t Ignore Current Connections
You also want to stay responsive to your current clientele. It could be argued that delighting your current clients and making them “evangelists” for you and your brand is more important than attracting new ones. (After all, word-of-mouth marketing remains king.) Make as many connections as you can, even if it’s through your existing ones.
#5 Supplement Your Efforts with CRE Software
Of course, the best tip may be to seek a solution that frees up your time so you can actually focus on marketing at all. With CRE software that keeps track of your contacts and companies, notifies you about important dates/meetings, pulls in data for reports and more, you’ll be able to automate several tasks that can take up a considerable of your valuable time. Then you can focus on marketing and new business/property acquisition instead.
These are just five key marketing tips for commercial real estate professionals. To learn more about how CRE software can help with marketing yourself and/or your brand, check out this blog.
