As your brokerage scales, it can be easy to fall into a routine focused on winning listings, marketing properties and closing deals. While these are all important steps that contribute to brokerage growth, your firm’s marketing must remain fresh and effective. To help you stay out of a rut and find ongoing success, keep these marketing best practices in mind:
The CRE industry continues to hinge on personal relationships with clients and buyers. As Buildout CEO Vishu Ramanathan said on a panel at the NAR Conference & Expo last month, “This industry is built on more than facts. A broker’s success relies on attitude, hustle and personality and we should keep that in mind as the industry continues to evolve.”
The marketing materials your team creates for each property help brokers foster the best possible relationships with owners and buyers. When materials are created and shared efficiently, your brokers can close deals more quickly and spend more time building and strengthening relationships. This contributes to repeat business and brings in more revenue for your firm.
But client service goes beyond the quantity of the materials created and the speed with which they’re distributed. The quality of your marketing materials must also meet—or exceed—client expectations. With high-caliber marketing pieces like brochures, websites, emails and offering memorandums, your clients’ properties will stand out from their competition.
Your firm’s marketing also stands out against competition when you present a clear, consistent brand. Brokerage brand consistency is important for two key reasons: it provides a platform that your brokers can leverage when marketing their listings, and brokers are more likely to join a brokerage with a strong, reputable brand.
To represent your brokerage’s brand in the best possible light, you first have to understand what sets you apart. You can use that information to establish a set of brand guidelines or revamp your existing style guide and define document blueprints for all of your marketing collateral. This process will provide a clear set of standards for your marketing team to use when promoting properties, guaranteeing brand consistency across materials.
Because your brokerage’s brand is a key driver of business, be sure to market your firm in addition to your property listings. Obviously, the primary way to do this is by featuring your unique branding on all materials you create. But you can also execute higher level marketing strategies that build brand equity, such as utilizing thought leadership content and social media to develop an online presence for your firm as an influencer in the industry.
When creating property marketing collateral, keep in mind the hierarchy of a buyer’s priorities in relation to your overall branding. The most successful brochures, flyers, websites, emails, proposals and OMs very clearly lay out the most important information for buyers.
Details such as property type, size, location, demographics and financial information should be easy for your audience to navigate and digest. Property photos and graphic elements make the pieces more visually appealing, but these items must be well balanced with the necessary technical property information.
Your brokerage’s information and branding can be included as well, but you can incorporate them in a way that best represents your client. For example, in recent years, brokerages have begun to feature their own branding in a more understated way on materials to showcase properties and shine the spotlight on their clients.
The industry continues to evolve, but with a tool like Buildout, you can serve your clients better, position your brokerage as a leader and allocate more time to the most impactful marketing practices.
To learn more about CRE marketing best practices, check out our next blog in this series, or access our resource: “Building your brand: save time and focus on what matters most with Buildout.”
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