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What Forms of Marketing Campaigns do You Utilize to Promote Your Business?

Chris P. · Answer

@Steve Rozenberg CAPS are for Em-Fa-Sis for particular words only, no intention of damaging ear drums :)

I focused my post on the aspect of marketing to potential renters since that is the forum you asked the question.  In the other areas you mention, i do agree with what you've stated.  At first I kind of disagreed with the marketing for Vendors/Contractors.  Then i remembered I've been running an ad for over two years for "Reliable Handyman Needed" on Craigslist.  So i had to eat the words I was about to type.

I love what you stated here

"If you are not marketing and doing what is current then you are going out of business you just do not realize it yet."

So...So...TRUE.

I checked out your website and let me just say from a business owners persepctive...WOW.  So many AWESOME implementations of marketing strategies and great salesmanship are present there.  Great Site!

Chris P. · Answer

BLUF: Worry less about marketing your business and more about having quality houses/apts to rent that are listed on major public websites.  Your customer doesn't care on whit about your company until you have a good looking rental unit.

Since you posted this in the Landlord Forums, i'm going to assume that you are most interested in the rental side of advertising.  My personal experience had lead to me to this conclusion, to which i welcome challenges:

People really don't care WHO you are AT FIRST, all they want is a home/apt to rent/buy.

The ONLY thing that matters when it comes to filling your properties is letting the world know it's available to be rented.  There are two ways people do this.  Online and drive-by.  Obviously online is number one.  People will shop with the mouse or on their mobile device so you MUST have an online presence in the major rental advertisers.  Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist top the list as far as i know.  Once they find the listing there, the rule of thumb is the "The More you TELL the More you SELL"  so give them plenty of reasons to spend time on the listing.  Pictures, Walk Through Videos and a link to your business website.

ONLY then will they go to your website.  It should be modern, polished and mobile friendly.  This is where it begins to matter who you are and how you present your company.  But if you don't have a house in the area they want when they search on zillow,trulia, craigslist, then your website and your "WHO You Are" doesn't make on bit of difference to that potential customer.

The other way they will find your house is by going out and driving around.  You've got to have directional signs to your available properties.  Yes they are bandit signs.  Yes they are illegal in many places.  However, i've found that a small directional sign to a house available for rent is infinitely more tolerable by nearby homeowners and any code enforcement, especially if it looks like it was hand written, simply because it DOESN'T say any of the commonly offensive Sales Pitches (We Buy Houses, Free Cell Phone, Medicaid Prescription Coverage, etc).

People find out about you 2 ways, searching for a house on a major online real estate website, or driving around in neighborhoods where they way to live.  Only after they think you have a good property to fit their individual requirements will they care about your website.  Still, it better be a good one.

Steve Rozenberg · Answer

Hi @Chris P. I am not sure if your Caps mean you are yelling at me or very intense about this subject. :-)

Either way you make very good points and I can tell you have some experience in this subject. My question / perspective is that I do agree with you that yes a landlord does have to look for clients like you suggested, however from my experience that is just a piece of the puzzle. As a business owner, which I think we can or should all agree that even if you own one property you own a business. You do have to first market to find a property (however that may be, wholsalers, expired, agents, door knocking etc.) that is still a form or marketing.

Then yes you do have to find a tenant, and yes I agree that the internet is truly the best way behind referrals of current clients which from a business standpoint is the lowest acquisition cost per client you can possibly have.

But you also have to market to find vendors as well, now depending on your size these things may be not as often as a larger company. However the thing that most people fail to realize is that basically we are all marketing company, we are marketing our product of buying a home, renting a home, or getting a vendor (much like marketing to get a date with all them). If you are not marketing and doing what is current then you are going out of business you just do not realize it yet.

Now again that depends on how big you are and how big your business model is to try and get. But if you do not have a written marketing plan, the odds of your marketing plan working is extremely low.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated

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