Hold strong or Drop Price? Marketing strategy questions

[Nick Littleton]

I know it's December/January which is not an ideal time to neither sell or rent. Private landlords in the neighborhood that we invested in are renting their SFH at $2950, but they listed them in August/September. We finally had our house built and are trying to market it for that same price, but have had 0 bites so far. It also doesn't help that another investor that purchased 14 houses cash in the same area is undercutting everyone else and renting for $2550 through a property management company. So now that everyone knows the backstory - what would be some strategies that any of you have utilized to stand out and stay competitive? We have come to the realization that we will more than likely have to drop our initial price in order to stay competitive, but is there anything else or other marketing strategies that anyone else out there has used to say hey, pay more here, it's worth it because of X Y or Z.

Besides dropping the monthly rent some these are some other ideas we are thinking of, feel free to comment on any of these ideas.  We've toyed the idea of including internet and/or cable in the rent, but then that could get messy unless you pay for the most expensive package available, which doesn't sound ideal.  We have also thought about advertising that we are private land lords as opposed to a large property management, but we also don't want to get taken advantage of. We are currently just marketing online, but are going to purchase a for rent sign and print some flyers off to pair them with the rental application - has this been an effective method for any of you?

Any and all advise is much appreciated, and my wife and I both thank you in advance.