You have ample commercial properties and investors are in line to purchase these assets. But how will you target the right audience while maximizing sales and minimizing advertising expenses? Online commercial real estate marketing is the solution to this!
Digital or online marketing has taken the world on a storm and the commercial real estate industry is not oblivious to it. Continuous advances in technology and the growing penetration of the internet to remotest places has helped real estate agents foray into tier-2 and tier-3 cities. However, with the neck-deep competition, you need to stay one step ahead while formulating your marketing strategies. In this article, we will share 10 marketing tactics that will aid in attracting more leads.
1. Identify the Target Audience
The very first step in creating a commercial real estate marketing strategy is to identify your target audience. Is your target audience conglomerates or startups? Do you want to lease out the whole building or have a few units on offer? Once you know who is your audience, only then will you be able to chalk out a marketing plan.
Your plan should be holistic and should cover facets like demographics, buyer requirements, buyer concerns, competitors and their marketing strategies, and brand tone. This is also the right time to decide which marketing channels i.e. offline or digital real estate you need to lay more emphasis on.
2. Perform SWOT Analysis
Developed by Albert Humphrey in the 1960s, SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis is an excellent tool for assessing your strong and weak points. For example, the growing importance of co-working space can be an opportunity for your real estate agency. However, less interest in the project due to poor infrastructure can be a weakness. By identifying the internal and external issues, a SWOT analysis helps you in creating a strong commercial real estate marketing strategy.
3. Set SMART Goals
Your commercial real estate marketing plan should include goals that are Specific (S), Measurable (M), Actionable (A), Relevant (R), and Time-bound(T). For instance, aiming to increase your property sales 5 folds in the 5th quarter is your set goal which you want to complete within a set timeline. By comparing your sales figures from previous quarters, you can gauge your performance and identify the marketing loopholes.
If you set SMART goals, it will help you track your progress and make decisions based on data. You must examine results consistently and be willing to adjust your plans or actions based on the knowledge gained. This ongoing cycle of setting goals, carrying them out, and then evaluating what happened allows for continuous refinement to achieve the best possible results from marketing tactics applied within a commercial real estate enterprise. Setting specific goals that can be measured helps you stay focused and take responsibility for your progress. This increases your chances of achieving success.
4. Build your Brand
To establish a flourishing commercial real estate business, it is important to build a brand image. Apart from defining your mission and vision, you also need to lay emphasis on developing a creative website. Because ultimately, the prospect would want to verify all the details from your website.
Other than building a website, you also need to embrace the potential of Social media. Identify the popular social media channels and experiment with real estate posts for social media. Once you have developed a commercial real estate marketing plan, post content related to listings, discounts, open house events, client testimonials, etc consistently. This will engage users and will create brand awareness.
You can also unleash your experimentalist attitude and create super creative Instagram reels, LinkedIn slides, YouTube Videos, and Facebook 360˚ pictures.
5. Develop E-Mail Marketing Campaigns
Gaining leads through paid or free mediums is one aspect, but converting them to customers is another facet of commercial real estate marketing. Researching and segmenting a list of potential buyers and sending them e-mails at the correct time is one of the most powerful steps of generating buyer leads.
For example, if a prospect subscribed to your blogs, then you can send them a weekly compilation of articles. Or if you connected with a lead recently, then you can send them a welcome mail. While knowing when to send a mail is important, performing A/B testing to understand what type of content your audience resonates with is equally crucial.
A/B or Split testing is a way of examining how two different types of content are performing. Say you attached an image in one of your emails but incorporated a video in another. Now you can check which type of email are prospects clicking more i.e. compare the click-through-rates (CTR) of both campaigns. If video-based emails are receiving more traction, you can create more such content.
6. Leverage the Power of Video Marketing
According to a survey conducted by HubSpot, 54% of consumers want to watch more videos from their brands. This is also visible in the Optinmonster (2019) report which states that through video marketing, a business can get 66% quality leads in a year. Hence, it has become more than important to invest in video marketing alongside other paid or free sources. Property walk-through, community tour, client testimonials, how-to guides, new projects, etc are some of the themes on which you can create videos.
Video can be used to show things in a way that’s more engaging and absorbing. This allows buyers or renters to experience the space realistically before going there. A true representation for people who watch your listings can be provided by videos that are made correctly. Furthermore, video content gives you the chance to show your brand’s people by displaying team members or contented clients, which builds credibility and confidence with viewers. A smart distribution strategy on YouTube, social media, and your website can help you get more exposure and more leads.
7. Amalgamate Organic and Paid Marketing
Commercial real estate marketing largely depends on the client base and demographic dividends. The strategy formulated for office spaces will vary from that used for shopping complexes. Hence, a healthy mix of paid and organic (free) marketing is required to capture leads.
You must be wondering what are the free and paid marketing channels? Let us understand the difference between the two from the table given below.
| Paid Marketing | Organic Marketing |
| The price can increases based on the strategy | Free marketing channel |
| Prospects arrive on your website by clicking on the ads on search engines or on social media platforms | Prospects arrive on your website by clicking on the articles listed on the search pages |
| The process of targeting, engaging, and converting leads is fast | Although you can gain quality leads, the process is slow |
| You target a narrow audience | Can reach a broader audience |
| This narrow audience is actually interested in your property listings | Not everyone will be interested in the type of project you are offering |
| Examples: Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Instagram Ads, Influencer Marketing | Examples: Google my Business, Blogs, Search Engine Optimization, Infographics |
8. Lay Emphasis on Remarketing and Display Campaigns
While banner ads are the most used types of display ads, interactive, Facebook real estate ads, discovery, and retargeting display ads have gained momentum. Out of all, remarketing is an excellent way of staying at the “top” of other property ads as it allows you to display relevant ads when the consumer visits different websites. Additionally, using videos for commercial real estate marketing can generate more leads in comparison to written content. Not only restricted to platforms like YouTube, but you can also distribute video ads through Instagram or Facebook.
Moreover, remarketing campaigns give you the ability to remain visible and cultivate interest from leads who have interacted with your brand or listings in the past. By showing specific ads on different platforms, you will stay in their thoughts and help make the path from initial interest to buying or renting smoother. If you use strong display ads and video content together with remarketing, you can create a multi-touchpoint experience that captures and keeps potential client’s attention. This working together method makes full use of your visibility, strengthens your brand message, and increases the possibility of attracting suitable leads for your commercial real estate business.
9. Be Active on Social Media
With millions of monthly active users on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc., building a strong presence online is crucial in creating brand awareness. However, you can’t receive many leads from social media by publishing only a few posts every week. Devising a commercial real estate marketing strategy is therefore important for taking your brand to a different level.
From property walk-through videos and infographics to market trends and informative blogs, you can share different types of content on social media and keep the users engaged. Keep your tone conversational and share concise yet important information. If a user posts a query, don’t forget to reply within 24 hours.
10. Measure KPIs
Evaluating KPIs or key performance indicators is essential to assess the performance of your commercial real estate marketing strategy. Be it the number of impressions (number of times an ad is shown on a search result page) or the total leads generated, the KPIs will depend on the marketing activities you implement. Make data-driven decisions based on the metrics and use different tactics to gain more leads!
It is assumed that print or banner advertisement is a thing of the past. However, if we look at the survey conducted by Statista, then ad volumes in newspapers are still high in India. Printing press releases, buying ad spaces in magazines or journals, listing projects on billboards, etc will also help you reach a wide audience.
Consistently tracking and analyzing KPIs helps identify marketing channels and tactics with better ROI. Monitoring metrics like website traffic, lead conversion rate, and acquisition cost allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. Through studying these results, we can make informed decisions on resource allocation and potential campaign modifications. Regularly checking your KPIs enables quick adaptation to market changes and new trends, ensuring flexibility and competitiveness in the commercial real estate industry.
Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field. With new technologies making headway in the real estate sector, it is important to stay abreast with different tools and strategies. By following the above-listed commercial real estate marketing strategies, you will not only net valuable leads but will also generate strong brand awareness!
