When it comes to selling or leasing a commercial property, the features of the property will have a lot to do with designing the marketing campaign and building upon the factors of attraction to pull in more prospective tenants or buyers. Those factors of attraction are to be used strategically and the marketing process.
As part of establishing the listing and marketing timeline, you should completely inspect the property beforehand so that you can build on the strengths and weaknesses of the asset directly and appropriately. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the asset, and then determine where the property sits in the market today from a quality and pricing perspective. How relevant will this listing be to the target market that you define?
Look for the strengths
The strengths of the property should be merged into the promotional campaign and may even feature in the advertising layout as dot points. In that way you can attract and improve on the levels of enquiry. Any weaknesses in the property should be removed prior to the commencement of the campaign.
Look at the property from the perspective of a buyer or a tenant. The visual aspects of the property will be of the greatest impact to the momentum of the inspection. Are there any factors that should be addressed to help the property visually? The client may need to spend some money to solve the weaknesses in the presentation of the property prior to the commencement of the marketing campaign. The dollars spent by the property owner in preparing the property can be compounded when it comes to the final price or rent negotiation.
Look for the features
The features of the property will help you understand the target market; you can then build your marketing campaign and strategy to attract the target market effectively and directly. From that target market you can also define the current levels of enquiry coming to your office and what those buyers or tenants may be looking for.
Here are some of the more common factors to understand and control in your listing and marketing processes:
- The location of the property will have a lot to do with the levels and the volume of enquiry. Inspect the property completely and thoroughly in preparing for the listing to go to the market. After completing the inspection, review the local area for competing listings, evidence of prices and rents, and the most successful methods of selling or leasing as the case may be. Look for the matters of change, opportunity, and threat that could derail your marketing efforts.
- The marketing campaign for any property listing is most effective in the first few weeks of momentum. Choose the right media channels and promotional strategies to attract the highest levels of enquiry. If you are already tracking enquiries on other listings, you should know what is working when it comes to promotional activity and inspection conversions.
- Every quality property should be listed exclusively. Your priority should be to achieve that. The marketing campaign for every exclusive listing should be heavily tracked and monitored. Each week the results of the marketing to date should be reported to the client and adjusted appropriately to optimise further enquiry. I go back to the point that the first few weeks of the campaign are the most important. A listing today can become very stale and stagnant on the market in a short period of time. If you are not getting the enquiry that you need, it is the time to seriously look at the marketing strategy and make adjustments where necessary.
- Help the client understand the conditions of the property market today. Take them around the local area to see other listings and the results of successful transactions. Most clients will take some time to accept the prevailing market conditions and understand how they will impact the listing activity. It is your job to help them see that and accept that.
- When you clearly define the target market for the client and for yourself, you can comprehensively direct the marketing campaign to achieve the best levels of enquiry. Have a pro forma checklist relating to the definition of the target market and how you will tap into that group of tenants or buyers. From that pro forma checklist, you can show the client exactly how you will direct the marketing process and optimise enquiry.
The marketing of any commercial, industrial or retail property does not need to be a complex process although it should be professionally explored and implemented. Top agents know how to help the client see the factors of promotional strategy and timing; those factors will help significantly when it comes to achieving a positive result with the listing process. Develop a strategy or a checklist to help you improve every client interaction and marketing activity.
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