15 Proven Commercial Real Estate Marketing Tips to Drive Sales

In the fast-paced world of commercial real estate, where every square foot and transaction matter, your marketing strategy can be a game-changer.

Coming out of the pandemic, the competition is fiercer than ever, making it essential to stand out in the commercial real estate industry. To thrive in this challenging landscape, adopting a multi-channel media approach is pivotal.

With clients increasingly turning to online searches for commercial property listings, the art of generating leads through strategic commercial real estate marketing has never been more imperative.

This blog is your guide to innovative ideas that will not only grab attention but position your brand as the top choice for those navigating digital avenues in search of the perfect commercial real estate opportunity.

What is Commercial Real Estate Marketing?

Commercial real estate marketing is the strategic process of promoting commercial properties, services, and brands to attract potential clients, investors, and tenants. It goes beyond mere advertising, comprising a holistic approach that utilizes various channels and techniques to showcase properties effectively and drive business growth.

A successful commercial real estate marketing strategy requires a deep understanding of market dynamics, targeted audience preferences, and innovative methods to maintain a competitive edge.

Here are the foremost ideas for marketing commercial real estate to boost sales:

1. Define Your Ideal Clients and Set Marketing Goals

To create a successful property marketing plan for your commercial real estate business, start by clearly identifying your ideal clients. Understand not just their basic details but also their preferences and needs. This helps tailor your marketing to connect better with potential customers.

Once you know your audience, set specific goals for your marketing strategy. Whether it’s boosting awareness, getting more leads, negotiating real estate deals, or building client relationships, having clear and achievable goals guides your efforts in the competitive world of commercial real estate.

Evaluate your existing commercial real estate marketing strategy with a focus on understanding its strengths and weaknesses. Utilize these insights to formulate SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

This means creating objectives that are clearly defined, quantifiable, realistic, aligned with broader business aims, and bound by a specific timeframe. Additionally, consider the resources necessary to support and maintain your plan, ensuring that your goals are not only strategic but also feasible within the available means.

2. Create a Google My Business Page

Boost your business visibility with Google My Business. This platform not only offers free advertising but also works wonders for building brand awareness.

When potential customers search for services, Google My Business ensures your business pops up promptly, especially based on their location. By listing your business here, you not only increase search traffic but also secure a prime spot in Google searches and maps. This means that before clients even approach you with questions, they get a sneak peek of your location and the neighborhood.

Plus, having a business profile on Google My Business allows you to showcase pictures, share the latest offers, and engage with reviews – all key elements in creating a strong and visible online presence.

Creating a Google My Business page is absolutely free—all it takes is submitting the business name, location, and category. Once Google confirms there’s no duplicate, they’ll proceed to create the Business Profile for that specific location at no cost.

3. Run Targeted Ad Campaigns with Google

Engaging in targeted ad campaigns on Google opens up significant advantages for your company’s commercial property sales.

By deploying precision-focused advertisements, you not only increase the visibility of your commercial properties but also gain valuable insights to optimize your long-term digital marketing efforts. These ads strategically position your offerings in front of potential buyers, surpassing competitors and improving your organic rankings on major search engines.

For instance, when users search for “prime commercial spaces in downtown areas,” your ads can prominently feature on renowned websites within the commercial real estate (CRE) sector. This not only attracts more visitors to your listings but also strengthens your presence across influential online platforms dedicated to the CRE industry, ensuring maximum returns on your marketing investments.

4. Elevate Marketing Impact through Email Campaigns with Strategic Segmentation

Email marketing is crucial for building relationships with your audience. The communication channel is direct and personalized to your target market.

Additionally, email marketing strategies are cost-effective and measurable ways to promote products, services, and brand updates, contributing to increased brand awareness and customer loyalty.

Strategic email segmentation is a game-changer in the realm of email marketing for real estate. Instead of sending the same message to everyone, this approach allows you to group your potential customers based on factors like location, preferences, and demographics.

By tailoring your email marketing to each group’s specific needs and interests, you make your messages more relevant and engaging. This personalized approach not only fosters meaningful connections but also boosts the chances of turning leads into conversions.

In the competitive world of real estate, where personalized communication is crucial, strategic email segmentation becomes a powerful tool to enhance your email marketing effectiveness.

5. Invest in a Professional Website

A well-designed website establishes a professional online presence. It enhances your credibility in the competitive real estate market.

A website ensures that your real estate business is accessible around the clock. Prospective clients can browse property listings, gather information, and contact you conveniently, contributing to increased lead generation and customer engagement.

Use your website to showcase your property listing with high-quality professional photos, detailed descriptions, and virtual tours. This experience immerses and helps potential buyers get a comprehensive understanding of the listings and can help in faster decision-making.

A website serves as a valuable tool for lead generation. It allows you to capture visitor information through contact forms or subscriptions, enabling you to nurture leads effectively and convert them into clients over time.

Research by LoopNet showed that over 80% of tenants use the internet to make their leases and purchases. Your website can be critical for generating brand awareness for your business. The website can also generate leads and drive sales and leasing efforts. Another key aspect to your ability to gain more potential tenants is the website’s user experience, though that can often be a bit of an issue in a given situation.

6. Update Your Company News

Prioritize adding company news to your website. Regularly refreshing content in the news section conveys transparency and trust to clients, partners, and employees. It’s also a way to showcase your business’s vitality and progress in the field of commercial real estate and property marketing.

Keep your audience in the loop by sharing updates on upcoming projects, industry awards, community engagement, press releases, and employee spotlights. Let your viewers know what’s happening with the company to keep them informed.

7. Optimize Your Website for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

A key digital marketing strategy to enhance online visibility is to optimize your property website for SEO.

Link building is suggested in this endeavor because it establishes the credibility of your site. It also contributes to higher search engine rankings. Cultivate high-quality backlinks by collaborating with reputable real estate platforms, industry influencers, and local businesses, to amplify your website’s authority.

Simultaneously, a robust content strategy is necessary for attracting and retaining visitors. Create engaging and informative content that addresses the unique needs and concerns of your target audience.

Ensure your website resonates with search engine algorithms using relevant keywords. Combining effective link-building and a purposeful content strategy strengthens your property website’s SEO foundation. This positions you for success in the fiercely competitive real estate landscape.

8. Maintain an Active Blog that Focuses on the Commercial Real Estate Industry

Maintaining an active blog centered around the commercial real estate industry is a strategic and influential marketing approach. 

A blog is a potent tool capable of significantly impacting both Google and social media traffic. By consistently providing valuable and high-quality content, such as tips on leasing transactions, sharing crucial business news, and discussing pertinent industry developments in the region, you not only engage your audience but also position yourself as an authoritative figure. 

For professionals in the commercial real estate marketing field, the blog becomes a valuable platform to showcase expertise, fostering trust and credibility. Encouraging comments and interactions further enhances community engagement and establishes a dialogue with your audience. 

Moreover, the content generated on the blog can be repurposed for social media channels, amplifying your reach and ensuring a cohesive online presence across platforms. By sharing snippets, insightful articles, and relevant updates from your blog on your social media links, you extend the reach of your commercial real estate insights to a broader audience. 

8. Execute Retargeting Initiatives

A remarketing campaign, also known as retargeting, is a digital marketing strategy that involves targeting users who have interacted previously with your website. However, no action was taken by the potential customer, such as a purchase or sign-up. The goal of remarketing is to re-engage with these users, have them return, and complete the desired action.

Let’s say a user visits your website but for unknown reasons, doesn’t convert or complete the intended action. During the user’s initial visit, a tracking code or cookie is placed on their device. This allows the website or app to recognize the user when they visit other websites or platforms.

As the user browses other websites or social media platforms, they are shown targeted ads related to the products or services they viewed on the original site. These ads aim to remind and entice the user to return and complete the desired action.

9. Contribute Guest Articles to Blogs and Magazines

A strategic approach to commercial real estate marketing involves contributing guest articles to online publications and property websites. Notably, platforms like The Broker List and Urban Land provide valuable opportunities to share your expertise and insights. 

Doing this boosts your authority in the field and enhances your online visibility through backlinks from respected sites. The backlinks generated from reputable publications and property websites not only improve your search rankings but also deliver essential information to prospects.

Align your services with an audience already interested in commercial real estate. It’s an excellent marketing move.

10. Attend Commercial Real Estate Marketing Events and Conferences

Attending real estate conferences and events should be a priority for commercial real estate professionals.

These gatherings provide excellent networking events. Professionals can connect with industry peers, potential clients, and key stakeholders. The exchange of ideas and experiences in a face-to-face setting helps build relationships and can lead to valuable collaborations.

Conferences are a hub for staying abreast of the latest industry trends, innovations, and best practices through workshops, panel discussions, and keynote sessions.

For commercial real estate professionals, in particular, participation in commercial property events is a wonderful way to develop new business partnerships, generate lead sales, and enhance knowledge of current industry trends. 

11. Launch a Video Marketing Campaign

Creating a video marketing campaign is a clever strategy to attract your audience’s attention in the digital age of commercial real estate marketing. Visuals are powerful. Carefully plan a video to boost brand visibility. Connect with customers.

Video has emerged as a top-performing medium for digital advertising, experiencing unprecedented growth. The rapid expansion of the video landscape presents a powerful opportunity for businesses. Using platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, and other social media sites for video marketing campaigns can effectively boost website traffic.

12. Create 3-D Video Walkthroughs of your Property Listing

3-D walkthrough videos make things feel real and lifelike for potential clients. When people can experience a place or product in a more immersive way, it’s more likely that your leads generated become actual customers.

These videos provide more than just regular visuals. They offer a virtual tour that allows customers to imagine using the product or being in a specific space. This experience is realistic, building trust and a stronger connection. It makes it easier for potential leads to become real customers.

13. Advertise in Traditional Media Outlets

While online advertising dominates the landscape of commercial real estate marketing, offline ads can still be effective. Advertising through print media, like newspapers, flyers, and posters, continues to be a good strategy for boosting brand awareness and attracting customers. 

A good plan knows that using both online and traditional ads is important. Each type has its strengths, and together they help reach more people and make a bigger impact in the competitive real estate market.

14. Showcase Testimonials to Build Credibility

Nothing beats the effectiveness of a positive testimonial when it comes to marketing. Crafting a solid testimonial builds trust with customers without directly selling your services. Feature these testimonials on your official site and share them on various platforms like website videos, emails, and social media.

15. Advertise on Trade Journals

When you advertise in trade journals, you’re assured that your target audience—investors, brokers, and industry peers—will see the ad. Trade journals, frequently read by thousands in the commercial property sector, provide advertising spaces to reach international and regional audiences.

Incorporating commercial real estate marketing into your overall strategy ensures high visibility and effectiveness.

To Sum Up

Crafting a successful commercial real estate marketing strategy requires thoughtfulness. We should approach this strategy in a multifaceted and deliberate manner.

Begin by thoroughly understanding your target audience, and knowing their preferences, needs, and behaviors. You can use this insight to customize your messaging and channels. This will help you effectively reach and engage potential clients.

Utilize online platforms, leveraging the power of a well-optimized website and establishing a robust presence on key social media channels.

Embrace content marketing by creating valuable, industry-specific content such as blog posts, articles, and infographics.

Incorporate high-quality visuals to showcase properties and make an impact.

Additionally, explore the effectiveness of targeted advertising, employing platforms like Google Ads to enhance visibility and attract potential buyers.

Regularly analyze the performance of your marketing efforts, adapting strategies based on data insights and market trends.

Networking and relationship-building remain crucial, so actively engage with industry professionals, attend events, and consider partnerships.

A comprehensive commercial real estate marketing strategy not only promotes individual listings but also cultivates a strong brand presence, establishing your business as a trusted authority in the competitive real estate landscape.

In addition to these strategies, be sure to explore our other related articles on topics such as getting the best realtor apps, mastering negotiation techniques, and open house tips for lead generation. Together, they provide a comprehensive approach to navigating the dynamic world of commercial real estate marketing.