How Today’s Top Property Marketers Craft Their Leasing And Sales Strategy

The first step in selling any property is to put together a strong, dynamic marketing strategy. In the past, brokers could rely on open houses and in-person tours to show off a property’s unique aspects, but digital marketing has become the name of the game, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

Even as the world slowly returns to normal, prospective buyers are changing how they look for new buildings, and sellers and brokers need to adjust their strategies to keep up. What sort of promotional assets work best for each property? What aspects of a property should you choose to highlight? How do you know if a marketing strategy is working in today’s market? 

Join Bisnow on April 20 at our inaugural digital event for property marketers, How To Lease And Sell Buildings Through Smarter Marketing. Register here for the event.

To give you a sneak peek of what you’ll hear on the webinar, Bisnow sat down with two of the event’s speakers, James Nelson, principal and head of Tri-State investment sales and capital markets for Avison Young, and Justin Huebener, senior vice president at L&L Holding Co.

Bisnow: How do you approach developing a marketing strategy for a new property? 

Huebener: For me, it starts with research and a deep understanding of the project. The majority of my career work has been in redevelopment and repositioning, which initially involves diving into the history of the property, the surrounding neighborhood, and its people and culture. From this place of understanding, the team is able to make more informed decisions and bring creative solutions to all of the challenges and opportunities that arise when bringing a new project to market.

Bisnow: What is the top misconception people have about property marketing? 

Huebener: That property marketing begins at the end, with the collateral. Marketing is everything: how you answer the phone, respond to emails, treat your clients on tours, the list goes on. Great marketing begins with the initial vision and pre-development of a project, long before the first brick is laid. The best, most successful marketing programs begin with teams that understand that. 

Bisnow: Where do you see the future of property marketing heading? What new tools or strategies are you embracing? 

Huebener: One aspect of the future of marketing is customization and personalization, leveraging technology to make the leasing and sales experience more seamless and efficient, and to make materials more tailored when the team is planning for a pitch or preparing for a tour.

Through that same lens, it’s paramount that we never lose that personal touch, the heart, the creativity that is required to understand the human experience.

Bisnow: What aspects of a property are you first drawn to when developing a marketing strategy?

Nelson: We’re always looking for whatever makes a property unique. It could be a property’s history, its location, its development potential or even if a famous tenant is already in the building. It’s all about identifying what key feature or features makes this property stand out from the rest. Finding those features is one of the more creative aspects of marketing, which I love. 

Bisnow: How has property marketing changed as a result of the pandemic?

Nelson: Twenty years ago, marketing was all hard copy — mailers, brochures, things like that — and now, everything is digital. This means that it’s paramount for property marketers to always be visible and be out there delivering great content. Even before the pandemic, I was very active on social media and I had my podcast, so I have been able to keep our listings visible to the public even in a time where everything has had to move away from in-person and even more toward digital. 

Bisnow: What do you say to someone who’s skeptical of the value of marketing?

Nelson: I would say they’re not embracing reality and they’re not open to the way we do business today. The days of keeping information quiet and close to the vest are over. If brokers and owners don’t adapt, they will be missing out on a huge opportunity to reach a wider audience and operate effectively in today’s market. 

To hear more from Huebener and Nelson, register here for Bisnow's April 20 event, How To Lease And Sell Buildings Through Smarter Marketing.