Wondering whether your property management company should be implementing inbound or outbound marketing? Not sure what the difference is? Never fear, Brittany clears it all up for you in this week’s Fourandhalf blog. It’s more than marketing magic; it’s a strategic separation of how new customers reach you and what you can do to reach them.
Inbound vs Outbound Property Management Marketing
Understanding Inbound Marketing Strategies
When we talk about inbound marketing, we’re talking about methods that allow property owners and investors to find you. They have a need, and they’re out there looking for a solution to that need.
Maybe you’re hearing from owners who know they want professional property management, so they go to Google and type in property management in your area. If they find your company and they visit your website or get in touch with you, they’ve arrived via inbound marketing channels.
There are also landlords and property owners with specific rental property issues that they’re dealing with, and they want a solution. So, they go to Google and they type in eviction process or pet policy or rental inspections and they look for answers to that question.
With inbound marketing, you get in front of people through your website, your content marketing, social media channels, and all the educational materials you put out to get found online.
Understanding Outbound Marketing Strategies
With outbound marketing, owners aren’t finding you; you’re putting yourself out in front of them. It’s the opposite of inbound marketing because you’re interrupting people to market to them. You can reach these owners through prospecting, using the MLS, sending out direct mail, or just walking down the street looking for rental property owners.
Outbound marketing isn’t used as often as it should be. A lot of business owners hesitate to do outbound marketing. These days, there is so much noise in the digital world and the real world; you don’t want to be the interrupter. You may find you’d prefer to be the educator so people can come to you when they need something.
Finding a Good Balance with Inbound and Outbound Marketing
A good balance is the way to go. Inbound leads will be warmer because they’re coming to you. Outbound leads are likely to be colder. But typically, the number of warm leads who are aware of their needs will be much fewer than the number of people not knowing they have such needs to begin with. The latter group needs help uncovering these needs before they spur into action.
Inbound marketing is great. But, if you’re not doing outbound marketing as well, you could be missing opportunities to get your name out and get people familiar with your brand. You could be missing out on potential customers who do need you but don’t know it.
At Fourandhalf, we recommend that you adopt a strategy that uses both inbound and outbound marketing. You want to continue doing your content marketing, but also have your BDM reach out to new people and get potential customers familiar with your company and what you do. Consider starting some social media ads so you have a good chance of popping up in their news feed.
Use a combination of both marketing practices so you have the most marketing opportunity.
If you have any questions about this or any topic surrounding property management marketing, please contact us at Fourandhalf. We’d be happy to have a discussion that’s a bit more in-depth.
