CRE Marketing Essentials Lead to Great Impressions

Every August, grade school children prepare for their return to school. Across the United States, dutiful parents shop for new clothes, shiny lunch boxes, and school supplies. Why all the fuss about back-to-school? To make the right first impression, of course. Showing up for the first day of class primped and prepared conveys to teachers that a student is ready to work.

The motivation behind back-to-school rituals concurs with that for marketing a commercial property—make an excellent first impression. In human relationships, there’s a good bit of science behind first impressions. According to a Princeton study, judgments about others occur in 100 milliseconds. A prospective tenant may not be as quick to judge new office space, but in an industry built on relationships, you’ll still want to put your best foot forward. Here are the bare-bones essentials for marketing commercial real estate properties and ensuring you do precisely that.

Real Estate Offering Memorandum

The workhorse of marketing any property is the offering memorandum. This one document conveys all the essentials. In commercial real estate marketing, the offering memorandum shows off a property. It includes property highlights, photos, and financials. It may also detail amenities area maps, demographics, and a location overview.

Besides impressing prospective clients, an offering memorandum that’s well-executed builds confidence. That is, it shows you’ve taken the time present your offering in the best light. Prospective clients will feel right about that and want to do business with you. What’s more, people are more likely to do business with people they like and know.

Email Campaign

Once a property is ready for the market, brokers need to know about it. The majority of deals in commercial real estate are still broker deals. Email is ideal for getting the word out. If you thought email was a last-year or a year-before-that thing, think again. According to Optinmonster, email is hotter than ever and has the potential for huge ROIs.

If you’ve got a marketing database, use that. Alternatively, use a service like Big Boys Blast or Property Campaign to increase your reach. These services help brokers and property owners market their properties to over a hundred thousand brokers and investors.  With options that extend your reach nationwide and to Canada, you’re sure to reach your target audience.

Social Media Post

The National Association of Realtor’s, 2018 Real Estate in a Digital Age study, social media is essential. It ranks among the top three tech tools for lead quality. Almost 50% of NAR members put social at the top of the list of marketing tools.

Social enables you to stay in front of your audience using a regular cadence through your various networks. LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Instagram are great options.

Website Listing

Don’t forget to utilize your website as a marketing tool. Getting detailed with your offerings on your site is one of the five critical elements of a CRE website. Anyone visiting your site should see all your listings displayed prominently. Consider a custom property database to set yourself apart from the competition.

These are the essentials for making a great impression. They’re the ones that any prospective client will expect. Don’t hesitate to try new things. Postcards, for instance, are still a great way to show off a listing. Techniques like drone footage and video walk-throughs will appeal to next generation tenants, buyers and investors. Whatever the tools you use, make sure you’re making an impression that’s true to your brand.