7 Ways to Market Your Commercial Real Estate Property

Having trouble finding tenants for a commercial real estate property? Try these 7 marketing tips and watch your vacancies vanish.

7 Ways to Market Your Commercial Real Estate Property Close
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7 Ways to Market Your Commercial Real Estate Property

Posted by Gary Ashton on Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 at 8:30am.

7 Tips for Marketing a Commercial Real Estate PropertyHaving trouble finding tenants for a commercial real estate property? While it would be nice if commercial properties automatically filled themselves with tenants and stayed full, that isn't always the case. Vacancies occur, and new renters aren't always clamoring to get in. Typically, the problem isn't with a lack of demand; it's a lack of awareness. There are plenty of business owners seeking commercial real estate in most cities, and it's the property owner's responsibility to market their space effectively. Ready to get those commercial real estate buildings back to full occupancy? Read on to learn about seven marketing strategies for commercial real estate property.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Increase Online Presence to Market a Commercial Real Estate Property

In today's day and age, when people are shopping for anything, the internet is the first place they look for it. As such, everyone in the real estate industry should be looking to increase their online presence. Many prospective tenants start shopping for commercial real estate property with a simple Google search. Every property owner should fine-tune their online presence so that potential renters can easily find them.

Start With a Website

Regardless of whether you invest in residential or commercial real estate, you need a website. The website should have information about the property and articles, videos, and blog posts relevant to the property's line of business. Regular updates keep a website fresh, and out-of-date websites can be worse than none at all.

Content optimized for SEO will draw prospects to the site, where an owner can tell their story and solicit occupants. For a retail property, the site should list and link to all the stores.

A website is a great tool to collect visitor email addresses for future newsletters and solicitations.

Stay Active on Social Media

Social media presents an exciting opportunity to engage directly with potential clients. Strategic and consistent posts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help you keep up with inquiries from future tenants in real-time. Include SEO keywords, links to the website, and calls to action. Repost and retweet content from current tenants or interesting posts about the business niche of the building. By keeping all posts relevant to commercial real estate, you can establish yourself as an online authority.

Establish a Budget for Online Advertising

To increase the reach of social media posts, commercial real estate property owners can pay for Google ads and social media ads to reach a wider audience. These paid advertisements allow precise control over demographics, making it possible to reach thousands of new audience members.

Advertise Commerical Property on Appropriate Media

Another aspect of a strong online presence is advertising on relevant third-party platforms. Every type of commercial real estate has its own online marketplaces. For example:

  • Apartments can be listed on Zillow, Zumper, apartments.com, realtor.com.
  • Office buildings are listed on platforms such as Ten-X, LoopNet, Reonomy, and CREXi.
  • Industrial buildings are marketed on LoopNet, CBRE, and CRXi.

How to find the best of these sites for a particular niche? Use the same search terms a prospective tenant would.

Online marketing dominates, but print advertising is far from dead. Depending on the property type, trade magazines, local newspapers, and even community papers are good options. Brochures, flyers, church bulletins, and posters in shop windows can work for apartments and small shopping venues.

Don't neglect the importance of professional-quality signage on or near the property. People do notice what they drive by.

It's always good to get a mention in the local press or on area radio and TV. If you own a shopping center, a calendar listing in a local publication lets prospects know who's out there.

Finally, all well-marketed properties should be listed on the local multiple listing service (MLS). The MLS is a real estate database that displays all listings in an area across a shared platform. There are several ways to access the MLS. Perhaps the easiest way is to become a real estate agent or partner with a real estate agent. Still, commercial real estate property owners can contact the MLS company directly to negotiate a business plan and terms of use.

Invest in High-quality Commerical Property Photos and Videos

With modern technology, there's no excuse for less-than-excellent visual advertising. Drones can take photographs and videos of property from any perspective. Video tours are beautiful for apartments and retail buildings, and they highlight the assets of an industrial building as well. Posting professional-quality videos to YouTube can help a commercial property owner stand out online.

Offer Incentives to Enhance Commercial Real Estate Marketing

Simple incentives can go a long way when marketing a commercial real estate property. This might be a free month's rent or a voucher for moving services for apartments and shopping centers. For other buildings, using vacancies to implement high-ROI improvement projects can make the property more appealing.

Industrial tenants will want to know if triple net leases are available. Triple net leases allow tenants to pay some or all of the building costs for reduced rent. For a building with many tenants, compensate the current tenants for referrals that fill vacancies.

Actively Network Among Commercial Real Estate Professionals

Meeting new people is a great way to find new tenants. Join the local Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. Attend or even organize seminars on topics of interest to potential tenants. Consider hosting events for real estate brokers.

Visible community events are effective advertising for shopping centers. Have brochures on hand with information and website links. For apartment owners, something as mundane as offering free coffee at the local shop can get the word out in the community.

Don't ignore online networking, especially on business-oriented social media sites like LinkedIn.

Hire a Commercial Real Estate Digital Marketing Firm

There's a lot to effectively marketing CRE, and owners don't have to do it all themselves. A commercial real estate broker specializing in the property type may know some things that an owner wouldn't think of. In fact, they may already have a backlog of leads.

For retail and office space, a PR expert may be helpful. They could garner publicity not only for the building but also for the tenants.

Adapt and Adjust to new Commercial Real Estate Marketing Practices

No matter how carefully crafted a marketing plan is, it's not likely to get everything right the first time. The strategy needs to be continuously evaluated and modified.

In the online world, there are numerous tools for measuring effectiveness. There's website traffic, link clickthrough rate, and a host of metrics available from Google Analytics and similar tools. They highlight which online elements are effective and which are not worth the effort. Eliminating ineffective strategies makes it easier to focus on what really works.

And, of course, there's always prospect feedback. Where did they hear about the property, and what convinced them to check it out?

An Integrated Strategy of CRE Marketing

It's an exciting time to market commercial real estate properties. Thanks to advances in technology, property owners can reach a broader audience than ever before. Today's commercial property owners must be aware of a variety of marketing channels. Some opportunities never existed to tell the story of a CRE property and convince prospects to come and see it.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

 

Gary Ashton

The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage

The #1 RE/MAX team in the World!

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