2014 Is Taking Off. Did You Forget to Pack Your Marketing Strategy?

Most businesses are either finished with their budgeting and planning for 2014 or they are in the midst of the final stages, but just as if you were packing for a long trip out of town you want to check and make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. Too often in the real estate industry, commercial and residential portfolios rely almost entirely on word-of-mouth and forget about the importance of a true marketing strategy.  Word-of-mouth is extremely powerful, however it is not the only way to promote your properties – especially in today’s real estate market, where economic conditions are harsher than ever and competition as fierce as it’s ever been, a strategic marketing plan is essential.

Let’s examine some emerging trends and how to best capture those trends in your marketing strategy:

1. Get Online: If you do not already have an online presence, this must become a top priority. If you already have one, perhaps in the form of a property website, there are several ways in which you can enhance that presence. For example, tenant portals are becoming increasingly popular within the property management industry. These solutions exist as a secure place where tenants can make payments, view their statement, submit a service request and basically perform any action they used to perform over the phone or in person. Products such as MRI’s Resident Connect and Tenant Connect portals have experienced a growing adoption rate as clients begin to demand this type of online convenience. These portals can even be integrated in to your existing property websites, creating a fully brandable, secure online experience for your tenants. Many property managers also see increased revenue capture and a reduced receivables period as many tenants will elect to set up automatic payments.
2. Get On Smartphones and Tablet Devices: By now we are all well aware of the substantial number of people using a smartphone and/or tablet device. That is their primary source of information and often times their primary tool when completing life’s tasks, such as searching for their next apartment. it is crucial that you have a presence in that space and said presence should accurately reflect your brand, your services and your intended market impression. Solutions such as MRI’s Vaultware Apartment Marketing integrate with the industry’s leading internet listing services to offer full reservation capability online or from a mobile device. Additionallym, Vaultware’s mobile websites optimize your property website for a variety of smartphone platforms, creating a better experience for the user and increasing the likelihood that they will select your property.
3. Track some basic metrics and find your audience: Tracking some basic metrics will allow you to better focus your efforts and increase the return on investment of your marketing spend. Simple questions on your application such as, “how did you find out about our property?” will start to create a map of where your audience is coming from. Have this information allows you to continuously adjust your marketing efforts in those channels to ensure the brand is represented the way you intend. Industry organizations can be another way to reach your audience – do you have a presence at regional and national trade shows, e-newsletters and other industry materials? Is that presence up to date, visually appealing, informative, etc.?

In today’s world you can’t wait for the tenants and residents to come to you; you have to get your brand out there, let them know why you’re better than the apartment community down the road, and win the business. So as you finish up your plans for the upcoming year, make sure you didn’t forget your marketing strategy!