What Creates a Market Leading Property Management Company?

If you asked the average person, tenant, landlord, or real estate investor what makes a good property manager, you’d definitely receive a variety of responses — from personal to professional.

That’s because everyone has a unique point of view.

If you were to ask landlords who they believed was the best property management company by name, would they mention your firm? Would they even recognize your company? Why not?

Why is it, that one property management company would be top of mind to them, most respected and liked, and they block out the others?

What did the company do to be remembered as the pre-eminent one in your region?

How would landlords even know why your company is better, unless someone told them (or they found your website or PR releases?).  Can this impression be influenced?

How to Become the Most Significant Property Manager?

It’s not easy to become a great property management company, but those who study the process, what landlords want, service details, business model, performance KPIs, requirements and then craft a good marketing strategy are the ones who will attract new owners.

After working through this, there is one key thing that will power your company to the top — significance. This matter of significance often comes down to compatibility, likeability, authority, comfort, friendship, and sympatico.  Should these be key objectives for your firm in 2023?

Profitability is still important, but is profitability more likely with certain companies with a certain reputation?

In this post, we look deeper into what makes a property management company appear to be the best choice — the most significant provider to current and future landlord clients.

Build the Message and Promote It

I’m sure you realize property management marketing and promotion are the activities that get your company separated from all the others, broken away from that pool of mediocrity, failure and broken promises.

If landlords aren’t impressed with standard, common property managers, then you can’t succeed unless you show via marketing that your company isn’t one of them.

Distancing your firm from the image of mediocrity is one key goal. Communicating mastery, relevance and superior services to the correct landlords/asset managers is the other. This post can help you determine the essential things to communicate to put your property management firm first.

The brand message — the persistent communication of sympatico and desired value may be your most important business task.

Note: Marketing and promotion gets the message out there so landlords can receive it. If it doesn’t reach them, then your company doesn’t exist. The right new landlord accounts if they find yours, could be a huge lift for your company. Smart property management marketing is the key.

One study by Four and a Half Marketing found that property management companies spent 1.3% on marketing while the average budgets for all companies is 3% to 4% of revenue.  The key isn’t so much the money however, it’s that property managers aren’t mastering marketing and doing the right things.

What is Brand Differentiation?

We’ve covered property management branding, and in a nutshell — it’s the statement of distinct value you consistently promote to clients and prospects.

A brand describes something unique — an image, reputation, and promise that resolves the customer’s significant pain points. It creates increasingly positive feelings about your company over the long time it takes to get a landlord to switch to your firm.

Presence x Time = Success

Brand Differentiation is the strategy of making a company, product, or service more appealing and meaningfully distinct from the competition. Some believe branding is everything to business success.

And property management branding is an art/science which may produce more profit and success than all you’re doing in your business currently.

It’s About Meaningful Differences

And it’s not just differences between companies we’re referring to — it is the meaningful differences in how your service value proposition stands out clearly as the most desirable one. What, Why, How. When those key attributes are established strongly and convincingly in landlord’s minds, the competition will fade away.

That’s the power of great branding — competitors simply fade from the customer’s mind, and only your company remains. You get to set the standards, educate the landlord, and help them become willing to make the most of your services. This is what makes market leaders so tough to beat.

There are alternate views of what brings success. Four and a Half Marketing in their podcast speak of management frameworks, KPIs, and building great teams. SaaS Technology is important too. Yet, when you attract and sign the best owners and investors, it sure takes away the pressure of making more out of unprofitable clients.

We talk too about building a better business model and powering up performance here on the property management blog. Still, branding and marketing produce better clients and better results. Great clients create successful companies.

Your Mix of Winning Professional Attributes

Landlords will look at the entirety of your business, to establish strengths and uncover glaring weaknesses. If you have strengths communicated up front, online, you move to their short list right away. Jump the queue to the front of line, and you might not have to compete. Competition is overrated.

It’s not easy to build a winning mix of powerful benefits, but let’s take a look at the most important general ones to focus on.

• location (proximity is relevance)
• technology mastery (have you mastered automation and SaaS digital services?)
• ability to scale up (are you able and willing to handle many more properties?)
• volume of staff to respond and handle anything (the work potential and capabilities of your staff)
• tenant orientation (what kind of tenant experience do you create?)
• all-inclusive services (the range and key services provided — your forte with no gaps)
• service/trade licensing (necessary licenses and training e.g., NARPM or IREM certification)
• expertise in specific type of rental property (high rise, mixed, single family)
• professional advice for landlords (ability to offer guidance for the inexperienced and financial advice too)
• advertising and marketing (do you believe in your company and are you assertive in your marketing? No one is impressed with wishy-washy brands)
• professional level accounting and tax management (managing budgets, controlling costs and taxes)
• rent collection (how do you achieve cash flow and high rent collection success?)
• eviction (can you manage everything related to removing non-paying tenants?)
• leasing and vacancy rates (how do you create low churn, re-lease, and reach great tenants?)
• reasonable fees (what property management fee models do you offer and are reasonable vs the value you can prove?)
• added value services or ability to implement those new services (innovation in generating additional revenue streams?)
• unit showing and onboarding (managing this labor-intensive process well)
• confidence/esteem of manager (is the chief property manager someone they can count on at all times?)

Landlords want specific services yet they want to feel good about who they hire. Never underestimate the attraction of being the company that fits their culture or who they believe deserves this account. Just delivering all the above services still doesn’t guarantee you’ll be the chosen firm. To be number one, you need more.

Being sympatico isn’t enough. All of your friends are sympatico, but usually only one is your best friend.

If the landlord is a golfer, skier, tennis player, investor, mountain biker, or traveler, then being those things too makes you more personally relevant to them. They might feel you’re more meaningful and relatable, that a better business relationship will grow, and that you’ll be more trustworthy than other property managers.

Strong Traits Needed in Managers and Staff

Landlords are also looking for personal qualities such as integrity, energy, organization and communication skills, and good financial management. They might also check out listening skills, enthusiasm, commitment, attention to details, respect for others, treatment of vendors and tenants, expertise in property management, transparency, and responsiveness.

That’s why your Linkedin profile and about us bios are important.

The managing property manager must have good leadership qualities. They direct the business and services and therefore make success happen. It’s their thinking and professional people skills that make the difference.

The above traits then must be presented in your company communications to give you credibility (and precondition them before you meet face to face). They only know what you tell them via marketing or direct communications, and they want a good fit.

More than Just Great Management

It’s wise to promote the immense productivity power that ManageCasa gives your company, and stating it explicitly is wise in your marketing campaigns.

You must interpret each feature and benefit as discussed above in terms of their vision of relevance, trustworthiness and performance.  This is why marketers talk of “going beyond features and benefits.” Every company offers similar features and benefits, and they aren’t convincing enough. Customers want something more — something personal.

And if they don’t have a clearly defined image of the best property management company, you’ll be creating it for them, in your marketing materials!

It’s amazing if you get first dibs on helping them build that image of the best.

Just like people choose a spouse, favorite sports team, house to buy, clothing, automobile, or travel destination, we all want what’s personally relevant to us. We choose the most significant one to us. This is wise since it increases the likelihood of commitment and success. It’s often commitment that outweighs everything which is why that should be communicated strongly in your marketing content.

When companies mention family values or loyal long-term customers, they’re really talking about commitment.

How to Discover What Landlords Want

You can find what landlords, property investors and asset managers want by doing research online. Check out those landlords and investors you know on Linkedin and their website. It’s a good starting point. They describe who they are and what they value in their content and profile.

Their Linkedin profile carries their description of themselves and their work history with insights into their focus and goals.

Also, check out other successful property managers and review what their bios are communicating about themselves. They’re doing something that’s working.

Sometimes Linkedin and company bio pages are skimpy in details. You’ll need to use Google/Facebook to learn more about them.

How to Convey the Right Company Fit for Them

Convey your revised image via your website about us pages, service pages, blogs, company Facebook page, Twitter page, and Linkedin pages. Ensure the content is always professional and has your personalized coverage of the many attributes we discussed above.

Post with a purpose, not to moods.

The company blog is a powerful way to deliver your updated image, but it must resonate with everything else they’re reading about you. Ensure it’s interesting, consistent and not sounding contrived. Avoid using hype and boastful language, and eliminate negative wording.

When you create content, keep your value proposition points in mind as you pick your topics and how you express.
Build in the process of your work, staff enjoyment and team work, good communications, good tenant experiences, and how you love how technology is making your company better.

Landlords will visit your Linkedin page and your website. Ensure your company about us page is stellar with well written staff bios that show them as attractive professionals. Who are they, what do they do, and how do they appear as a team? They should show a zest for their work.

Landlords and asset managers are risk averse. They will look for negatives, so scour your content and pare out negative content where possible. Ensure you have customer/landlord reviews and even vendor reviews. List your certifications, special skills, relevant education and professional attainments. Whittle out irrelevant material because it detracts from the laser focus you’re presenting. Clutter works against you and your company.

Include personal information too, which creates “sympatico” with landlords, especially if you’ve also been a landlord yourself and managed similar properties. Your off-work pursuits matter too.

Ensure your Linkedin profile covers your accomplishments.

Compatibility and Fit Profile

You won’t get this accomplished in one go. You’ll need to review who your target audience is and what their priorities are and continue editing all content over time.

The end goal is a natural sounding, and laser focused presentation of you as the perfect match for the most vital things they’re looking for.

What is the Ultimate Key to Being the Number One Candidate?

The key is to present you, your company, your staff, your technology and services, current clientele and former clientele so that you and your firm is more personally significant to them.

Lots of people say they are professional and objective about choices, but in fact, that objectivity is still from their own frame of reference. Who would choose a provider that is completely strange to them? Each landlord has emotional reference points from their own point of view, such as all their previous experiences as a landlord.

That experience tempers their choices. Relevance is important, but being the most personally significant provider is key. People make emotional decisions — it’s the seat of wisdom.

Landlords look at your company overall — a mental image, one that tells them how much you’ll like them. Your marketing needs to show and demonstrate with real life material, that you respect people like them, and you’ll work hard for them.

If your content speaks that respect and caring, then how could they not choose your company?

It often comes down to their hunch or emotional feeling rather than a mathematical rating for all service provider candidates. Winning those emotional battles is the hallmark of a great sales person.

And since your competitors are working hard to be strangers on the wrong path, you may achieve astounding success this way.

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