How to Make Your Property Management Company more Competitive
Are you constantly looking ahead at the leading property management companies in your state or city? Isn’t it just like being in the Daytona 500 car race with you following the leader?
And in that race, there’s only one winner and they take all the attention and winnings. No one talks about who came 4th or 5th. The race winner gets valuable personal brand equity, prize money and endorsement fees, bigger fanbase, and their sponsors get big exposure in the media.
Be in the Driver’s Seat
Without a strategic marketing plan to provide the best value in your market, the competition begins to be a grueling, exhausting race. Most managers don’t think about leading a market and they give little thought to competition. That’s not being in the driver’s seat is it?
The property management market is changing fast and that means just keeping pace is mentally and emotionally exhausting. Being first in the market fills you with energy, effortless stamina, clarity, optimism and confidence. You waste less effort jockeying for position and you see ahead more clearly. That number one position has big benefits.
You might tie all the bad decisions, timidity, missed opportunities, and losses to the strain of competing. It’s draining and muddies the mind, especially if you’re not successful.
It’s Better to Lead Than Follow
Leading Companies:
- earn more revenue
- have more motivated and confident staff
- are more aware of the marketplace and customer needs
- differentiate from the crowd
- accumulate brand awareness and audiences
- are more likely to convert leads
- can sustain the effort to become a profitable company
- look like a better firm to investors and landlords
It’s Getting Crowded in Property Management Services
Yes, competition is fierce in all industries, and the property management sector has drawn a lot of interest. And it’ll draw even more in the years ahead as billions are being poured into assets and the Proptech solutions that property management companies.
We covered the property management market in a previous post and we discussed franchised property management startups and how they may have an advantage using big name branding and new tech tools.
A Plan to Grab Marketshare
Property managers often have a plan for taking care of their owner’s properties, yet not many have much of a solid marketing plan to grow their business or stay competitive. Competing means doing things to differentiate your business, build awareness, and capture new property management leads.
Leading companies spend more so if you want to beat them, you’ll likely need to spend more than them and you’ll need to be smarter. If they’re spending 10% of total income on marketing and advertising, you need to spend 20% and spend it wisely.
Here’s 7 Quick tips on Making your Company more Competitive:
- know your local market. Study your current customer profiles and create detailed picture of them, location of properties, business challenges, tenant profiles, and what they don’t have but need (amenities, services, etc.).
- know your competition. Study each of your top 5 competitors and create detailed profiles of their business strengths, marketing activities, market presence, brand image, and their service array, quality and pricing schemes.
- understand your differentiation. Study and itemize your unique value proposition starting with the most important to less important features and benefits. Be able to explain to owners specifically how you stand out clearly from the competition. If you’re a startup looking for funding, investors want to know how your company is an outlier.
- understand your brand. Explain clearly how your brand communicates premium value for both owners and tenants. And if you company name is “Acme Properties,” ask yourself whether that is sending the right message? What is it about your brand messaging that gets your value proposition across to prospects laser clear? Is your brand what the market wants? Explain why in detail. Does your brand even try to communicate to tenants and renters? What do renters think of your company?
- promote to current tenants. Building your brand via social and internet search to current tenants, and using property management software to reach them directly is wise. You get to shape that brand image in their eyes and that will determine whether they will endorse and promote your units or property management services. It will also affect turnover rates and owner ROI.
- expand your services. Your competitors are investigating digital services as amenities, laundry solutions, 5G and wifi, door entry systems, community building services, and more as a way to make tenants happier. Research new products and services and compare your new value proposition to your competitor’s offerings.
- grow your marketing spend. Doing some outdoor ads is fine, but today it takes multiple media exposure to get your value proposition drilled into prospects minds. Website and Facebook advertising and organic SEO can build awareness and leads, but your brand image, UVP, and service features have to be excellent to land those leads. Don’t advertise to tell prospects you’re just like everyone else. Experiment, test, and learn which marketing avenues produce leads and then spend significantly more on those channels.
That’s 7 core elements of a growth marketing strategy to get you started on the path to property management market leadership. There’s some tough questions to answer, but you need to answer them because you’re going to commit yourself to a great marketing strategy.
Hire a Marketing Expert/Consultant
You may even want to consult briefly with a brand and marketing expert. If they know their stuff, they should be able to identify your issues quickly. The experienced ones will recognize the issues, and they’ll give you direction to give you any confidence you’re lacking.
With marketing, the problem often comes from a lack of research, preparation, strategy and spending. You’ll be spending those big marketing dollars more wisely. And let’s hope your marketing efforts build brand equity and a sustained audience online and offline.
Good luck building your brand and marketshare this year. We hope to be part of your successful journey. Please review the ManageCasa Property Management system and how it will make your company more competitive.
See also these related posts:
http://www.smarta.com/advice/business-planning/market-research/37-ways-to-beat-your-competitors/index.html
https://www.salesforce.com/hub/sales/why-do-firms-avoid-competition/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241517
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