Adela Muresan 
It’s a tough market out there for commercial property professionals: NYC rents for commercial properties have flattened out during the first half of 2016, after a long period of sustained growth. In spite of a 10% availability rate in Manhattan office space, according to Colliers, prices remain high enough that a mainstream of businesses are considering relocating to business districts within Brooklyn and Queens. At the same time, the retail and multi-family markets are also slowing down in terms of both volume and prices (see REBNY, Bisnow and The Real Deal for details).
In this lagging market, it’s a tough job trying to make your listings stand out and attract new business. A strong online presence that attracts a vast audience is now crucial to success, but even in the online medium, not all marketing strategies are created equal.
So we took a look at what online resources are available at the moment and compiled a list of 5 tools and services that will give you the sleek and professional look you need to impress CEOs, luxury retailers and very picky renters, and get that golden phone call.
Start by Building a Knockout Website
Most people shop around before they call, and that’s a good thing – you don’t want 50 different people calling you every day about a listing just to get more details and then never get back to you. So to get rid of unnecessary queries, make sure you build a comprehensive and easy to navigate website to do some of the work for you.
A great way to get a website tailored to the needs of real estate businesses is to outsource to specialized companies like SharpLaunch. With their commercial real estate website builder they not only take care of specialized features like platform integration, secured file sharing and marketing analysis, they usually include an SEO strategy in their design. That way, you don’t have to worry about prospects fighting their way through the competition to get to you.
You need to contact the company to request a demo, but they have an impressive track record, having worked with big names like Cushman & Wakefield and CBRE.
Help Clients Experience Your Property’s Potential with 3D Modelling
Technology is constantly setting up new standards for business and the latest to be introduced to the real estate market is 3D modelling. What this does, apart from sounding really cool, is render a faithful depiction of what a space looks like and allows viewers to take a tour through it as if they were standing on the premises.
One such tech company is Explorify 3D, who provides models of spaces, either empty or fully furnished and operational, helping clients plan how they will use their new quarters. It’s extra effort, to be sure, but it shows clients you are committed to long-term and high-quality leasing deals.
Find Syndication Services that Work for Commercial Property
While a property or portfolio website will inform prospects of the value of your property, getting them there is another thing altogether. Given the strong competition to rank higher on search engines, most brokers and marketers resort to syndication, either through a large listings website or through a separate service that specializes in this service alone.
However, syndication is much more common for residential property, so commercial property professionals need to make sure that the syndication partners advertised by these companies also list commercial property in their area.
Research Local Facilities and Stay on Top of the Market
You may know your own property inside out, but every realtor knows that in this business, it’s all about location. So part of marketing your listing is actually marketing the area surrounding it – which is vital for the success of any retail or office-based business.
You can use PropertyShark’s map tool to do your research without leaving your own office, where you can easily navigate through layers to get information about public transport, parking spaces, local retail, Business Improvement Districts, rezoning areas, commercial leasing activity in the area and new building permits. You can also take a look at our market reports – see which way the neighborhood is going and how it compares to other areas.
Design Amazing Marketing Materials for Both Online and Offline Use
Once more, we go back to visuals, and there’s good reason for that: don’t think that only home buyers are taken in by glossy images of what their dream home looks like, or might look like with a little TLC. Offices and stores are also increasing their expenditures in interior design and space optimization as the standards of living and working rise ever higher, especially in urban metropolises like NYC.
So whether you still use printed materials or have fully switched to online marketing, flyer and brochure design is still one of the most attractive means to market a listing, whether you send them by email or upload them to your website. Invest some time in beautifying these elements with free layouts and design tools from websites like Canva.com that you can customize to make your own real estate marketing materials.
