“Build It and They Will Come” – but this isn’t the Field of Dreams…
Commercial Real Estate Development is so intensive and multi-faceted that developers can get so wrapped up in the execution of their projects that one vital step gets put on the back burner: MARKETING! Marketing strategy for commercial developments should not be a reactive activity or just something to focus on as construction is nearing completion.
Many developers will announce a project with a big splash and news article, and then their audience won’t hear anything about it again until it is almost completed or even worse, completed! This causes a major loss of valuable time that could be used to create awareness, build brand recognition, and hype up the new development. Who doesn’t want to fill occupancy as early as possible?!
Here are the best practices for marketing commercial development projects that will drive traffic to your real estate development before it’s even off the ground and help attract and maintain your target audiences: investors, future tenants, community stakeholders, and new customers.
Commercial Developers: Let’s get started!
1. Build Brand Awareness Through a Strong Marketing Campaign
We have driven by and seen a new commercial development going up with no clue as to what it will be. We start to ask – is it my favorite coffee shop, restaurant, an apartment complex, new boutique, or gym…or will it be just another bank, clinic, or gas station. Frustrating, right? The community wants to know what’s going on in their neighborhood. Don’t miss out on valuable opportunities to build brand recognition and good will.
How to build excitement around your commercial development project:
• Put up a temporary sign telling the community what’s coming, include your website so
they can research and see who you are and what you will be offering
• Create a website (allow people to get in touch with you for questions or more information)
• Create a newsletter with updates and community news (signup on your website)
• Create a blog with valuable resources important to your industry
• Advertise and post on social media
• Send out a press release to various news outlets
• Send mailers or prepare introductory packages for neighboring business and organizations
2. Create Value for Your Audience
Creating content that tells your audience why and how this development will benefit them is another key to its success. You may have to win over municipal stakeholders, make the neighbors happy, or get approvals for your type of development. The more you can get people on your side, the better goodwill you’ll build in your community. Having ill will during your construction is harmful to your brand, but even more concerning after the project is done: use this time to mitigate this and create positive brand messaging!
3. Stay Consistent
Consistency is key and generates trust in your brand. Create posts, blog articles, press releases, and website updates on all platforms that you can access (see Strategy above) by portraying the same project objectives and infusing brand consistency through color scheme, tone of voice, and visual styles.
4. Review Your Strategy and Make Adjustments
Your marketing strategy will evolve as time progresses. By using analytics and even anecdotes from community feedback, you can analyze what’s working and not working to make adjustments when necessary. Remember your goal here is to create outreach and maintain awareness that builds excitement; this should last not only through the construction phase, but well into the operational stage of the new business(es) that will call the development home.
30|90 Marketing has an extensive background in commercial development marketing, construction marketing, and architecture and design marketing, and we want to share our expertise with you! Contact us to start creating a strategy for your commercial development project, from programming to tenancy. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you build a development that will be successful and thrive for years to come!
