The Real Estate Marketing Plan for Filling Your Property (on a Beer Budget)
One thing my 7 years spent working in a corporate marketing and sales environment taught me is that marketing is critical to your success. It can keep your sales pipeline fueled and take your business to the next level. Whether you’re selling million dollar software to a hospital or finding that next tenant to rent your one-bedroom apartment, the right marketing can get you there fast. But, it can also be wasted if you don’t focus on the right things or get it in front of the right prospects. To be effective, you must get your message in front of the right people who want your services, at the right time. And, you have to do it better than your competition.
Anyone can buy lots of exposure with a big enough marketing budget. However, if you’re like most people and businesses these days, chances are you are trying to get the most out of every dollar you spend. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does have to be done correctly to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck. Exposure is great, but I’d take targeted and qualified leads every time over mass exposure.
So, how do you get targeted and qualified leads for your real estate business? With a real estate marketing plan. You must get the right message in front of them, where they are, at the right time, stand out from the crowd, and make a great impression. If you do this, you will have plenty of prospects that want your property, no matter how big your marketing budget.
Sounds easy, right? The real estate marketing plan is easy, but the key is in the execution.
There are several things you can do that will help you stretch your marketing budget and get great results with your real estate marketing plan. By focusing on a few key areas, you can find get the right message in front of the right potential tenants without spending a fortune on marketing.
4 areas of focus that will help you stretch your real estate marketing dollar:
- Focus on Curb Appeal – First, you must have something appealing for them to see when they find you. There is nothing you can do that will have a bigger impact and create a first impression better than having great curb appeal. The first thing a potential tenant sees when they drive up is the property’s curb appeal. It creates their first impression and is extremely important in leasing. Make sure their first impression is a good one. Clean up trash and leaves, consider adding plants, flowers, and adding colors. Make sure when they walk in the entrance that it is inviting and representative of your property. When the tenant walks in, they will automatically make a judgment that the rest of the property is kept in similar fashion.
- Pictures Sell – If a prospective tenant finds your property online or in a print advertisement, the most important thing you can have on the page is pictures. No matter what you have been told, pictures sell. The number one request of potential tenants is to see more pictures of the property before setting up an appointment to come see it in person. Be sure your pictures are clean, bright, and inviting. Consider pictures of the interior of the apartments, amenities, etc. Don’t hesitate to stage the property to show them where the couch, tables and chairs, etc.,will go. If you aren’t a professional photographer, don’t worry – one can be found very reasonably-priced in almost every area. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case, thousands of dollars in rent.
- Unique Selling Proposition as a Competitive Advantage – On average prospective tenants check out at least 3 properties before making a decision on where to live next. Make sure they remember your property. There is no better way to do this than by having a competitive advantage or a unique selling proposition. If there is a unique feature or amenity that your property has, highlight it in everything you do. Perhaps it’s high ceilings, a great pool area, big decks, or two-tone paint colors. It doesn’t have to be big, just memorable. The key is to be known for something that can stand out in the tenant’s mind when they’re making their decision.
- Go Where Your Prospects Area: Online Presence – You need to be where your prospective tenants are looking for you. So, unless your property is extremely well-located and you get tons of drop-in traffic, you must have a website to compete. As more and more research is being done online, you need to make sure your prospective tenants can find you there. A few free places online where you can list your property are Google Places, Pad Mapper, and Craigslist. Be there or you will miss out on thousands of tenants who find their next place to live by going online. A few other online sites to keep in mind are Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Most are free and even if you are not there right now, I can guarantee that your tenants are.
The key to stretching your marketing budget is to target the right prospects, increase your closing percentage, and know exactly where to find those prospects. You can do this by making a great impression (curb appeal and lots of great pictures), using a unique selling proposition (making it memorable), and taking that message to where your prospect are (an online presence). If you do these things successfully, you will have plenty of prospects that want your property, no matter what type of marketing budget you have.
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At my company, Gooplex, we believe that marketing is a major key to success in business. Putting 80% of a company’s effort and budget into marketing is a good idea. If the quality of the product you are marketing is high, then you will get a return on this investment. The best way to stand out in REI is to have a USP (unique selling proposition) and to have a strong online presence, because the web is becoming the go-to place.
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