As a property manager, when you interview a potential property management marketing firm, you’ll have a lot to talk about. Today, we want to turn your attention to four specific areas you’ll definitely want to touch upon when you’re talking about your company’s marketing plans and goals. Here’s what to look for:
Communication
A good property management marketing firm will communicate effectively. If you’re not receiving good communication from your marketing experts, you’ve got a problem, because marketing is all about communication. Call them during normal business hours and see how long it takes them to get back to you. If they can’t return a phone call or respond to an email in a timely fashion before you start paying them, they certainly aren’t going to respond to you quickly once you do start paying them. A lack of communication from a marketing team is unprofessional, and you want to make sure your team is responsive and able to communicate effectively across several channels.
Promises
Be wary of any marketing company that promises you front page search placement. If someone guarantees you that they can get you on Google’s front page within two weeks, you should be skeptical. It’s very unrealistic. Google takes a lot of things into consideration when deciding who gets to be on the top of their search pages. They are going to be looking at property management web traffic in your area, they’re going to look at your website and measure how long you’ve been around. Your placement will also depend on what kind of content you put out, and Google will look at whether all of that content is within your website or you have a separate blog site. It comes down to how much Google trusts you. It also depends on how much competition exists in your area.
You also need to think about what you’re being placed for, and what kind of terms and keywords would actually lead you to that front page. One of those marketing companies with big guarantees might in fact be able to get you on the front page of a Google search when it comes to roller coasters in Hawaii. That’s not going to help you much if you’re a property management company in Chicago. There are lots of factors that go into Google’s placement decisions, and you should be skeptical of any company that guarantees you a front page spot.
Results
Always ask your property management marketing team about what kind of results they have achieved in the past, and what you can expect from your own marketing campaign. There are basically two ways to market your business. First, there’s a loan campaign, such as a Google pay-per-click campaign. You’ll rent out some space on that front page for property management in your area. You’ll probably get some great leads, but once you stop paying for that campaign, you don’t get many more leads. You’re left with whatever leads you managed to acquire during your pay-per-click campaign. The other way to market you business is by developing your own lead generation platform, such as your website, a blog, and a Google+ account. As you use these assets as marketing tools, they will continue to gain value over time.
Industry Expertise
When you decide to use a pay-per-click campaign, make sure your property management marketing firm is knowledgeable about your business. The property management industry is not the same as other fields, and if you use a generic marketing company, you’ll lose a lot of professional experience. Like any industry, there are a lot of nuances involved in the property management business. Tenant clicks are much different than owner clicks, and you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on tenant clicks, when your ultimate marketing goal is to attract more owners to your business.
Think about these four areas when you’re interviewing a potential property management marketing firm. If you have any questions about this blog or the kind of marketing we do, please contact us at Fourandhalf.
