Property management is one of the most lucrative careers in the real estate industry. According to Payscale.com, the average annual salary of a property manager is $49,547. However, if property management marketing is not done properly, a property management business can end up failing miserably.
Whether you have been running a property management company for years or are just starting out in becoming a property manager, property management marketing skills are a must. Marketing to property owners or tenants requires the application of the right property management marketing ideas. And any mistakes made while marketing for property management can be very costly. Here are some common property management marketing mistakes to avoid:
1. Not having clear goals
Before putting together your property management marketing strategies, the first thing you need to do is ensure that you have clear goals that you are working towards:
- How many phone calls will you make every week?
- How many property management leads do you want to generate every month?
- What are your annual revenue goals?
- What occupancy rate do you want to achieve?
When you have a clear property management marketing plan, you will know whether you are succeeding or not. Write all the goals down and make them visible, especially to your sales team. Don’t forget to monitor the results daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Don’t hesitate to make changes and adjustments whenever necessary.
2. Not having a property management website
Most real estate investors go online when they begin their search for a property management company. Therefore, having a poorly designed website or not having one at all is a major mistake in property management marketing. A professionally designed website should be the first point of contact with your prospects. Make sure your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and has a clean, updated design. The content on your property management website should be optimized with relevant keywords to boost your search engine rankings. Search engine optimization (SEO) also involves optimizing your title tags, alt tags, and meta descriptions. Finally, make sure your website is secured using an SSL certificate. Prospects and customers will feel safer when they know that their information is protected on your site.
Related: 15 Best Property Management Blogs for 2020
3. Being invisible online
Whether you are a traditional rental property manager or an Airbnb property manager, having a professionally designed website is not enough for a successful property management career. You need to make yourself visible on all online platforms where your prospects are likely to visit when looking for a rental property or someone to manage their current rental properties. This means conducting property management social media marketing on networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Create a profile and share helpful real estate content on a regular basis. If you have the budget for it, consider making use of Facebook ads for marketing a rental property.
Besides online platforms, you could also make yourself visible on offline media such as newspapers, magazines, television, industry publications, and other traditional marketing materials.
4. Using poor quality photos
Photos are a very important element of rental property management marketing. People get the first impression of your residential properties based on the images shared online or offline. Therefore, be sure to use professional photos and videos of your properties on all marketing platforms. When appropriate, you can also even use aerial drone footage to give a better view.
5. Not having reviews online
Testimonials and reviews are crucial for the success of any business. Rental property owners and tenants usually look at reviews and recommendations before deciding to contact you. If you cannot prove that you have a track record, people will find it difficult to work with you. Talk to your former real estate clients and ask them to share reviews about your services. These reviews can be posted on your website, social media, and all your marketing channels. Besides boosting your reputation, testimonials will also have an impact on your search engine rankings. The more reviews you have, the higher you will be ranked on Google and other search engines. Finally, having many good reviews will neutralize the effect of any negative reviews out there about you or your company.
6. Not making use of directory listings
Getting your name on different directory listings is a great way of creating awareness about your business and growing your property management company. Therefore, make sure your property management company name appears on listings such as Yelp, Bing Places, and Google My Business. This will make it easier for people to find you when they are looking for property managers in your area. Besides just adding your name and address, your listing should have details about your work and images of the real estate properties you manage. If you manage large apartment complexes, it would be a good idea to have separate listings for those rental properties.
7. Not networking
Wondering how to find more property management clients? Or how to find real estate investors? Networking is a very powerful strategy for property management lead generation and if you’re not actively networking, you’re making a big mistake.
Networking can be done through trade shows, seminars, conferences, and open houses. Remember to carry your business cards at all times when attending networking events. Meeting face to face gives you an opportunity to answer any questions prospects might have about your rental properties or management services.
Related: The Secrets of Effective Real Estate Networking
8. Failing to follow up with property management leads
Following up with leads is very important for successful property management marketing. You will come across property management leads in trade shows, open houses or even on social media. Be sure to have a proper system of follow-up to keep your leads engaged. Property management marketing follow-up could be through email newsletters, phone calls or even face-to-face visits. Good property management marketing follow-up will improve the reputation of your company.
And when you do follow up, you should make sure to do so in a valuable way- a way that will get leads to convert. When it comes to marketing to property owners, one effective strategy is to present them with new real estate investment opportunities that you have found for them. While that may sound like you’re going above and beyond with your follow-up strategy, there is actually an easy way to do this and it’s with Mashboard.
Mashboard allows you to enter in leads into the platform and it grabs any data you’d need to qualify them. Then, it will automatically match each lead to the perfect rental property for them using an industry-leading algorithm. Property managers will get a branded investment property analysis report to share with prospects or clients that is sure to get them to buy. This all means another rental property under your management. Sign up for Mashvisor now to access Mashboard.
9. Not having a proper retention strategy
Property management marketing is not just about finding new clients for your business. You should also have a strategy for staying connected with current property management clients. Call or send them emails regularly to see how they are doing. Respond quickly to their complaints about the maintenance of their income properties. Send them good wishes on special occasions such as birthdays, job promotions, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. When your current clients see that you care about their welfare, they are more likely to refer others to your business.
And don’t forget about forming a retention strategy for tenants as well! Learn more: 10 Best Ways to Boost Resident Retention in 2020.
If you manage to avoid these 9 costly mistakes, your property management marketing should help to grow your business in no time!