Increased ROI for Tenants: Making the Most of Locations in a Down Market
What every prospective tenant wants to know, but is afraid to ask… “What makes YOUR retail space better than the one down the street? You’re apt to give the old stand by reply, “Why my good man, Location, Location, Location.”
Yeah….pfft! Stop right there. That answer may have gotten you by in good times, but SMB tenants are more sophisticated than ever. That just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Stand Out From the Crowd
And boy, is there ever a crowd of vacancies. To make your spaces stand out from the crowd, you’ve got to show how your location is going to help BRING IN BUSINESS for the tenant. Even if you have a back-end plan to help increase value to your locations, most real estate leasing posters don’t convey it. Drive around and take a look at the increasing number of vacant store fronts and street level office spaces and you’ll see what I mean. Store after store, you’ll see the persistent “Space Available, Call 888-555-5555″. B-O-R-I-N-G…. Is it lack of creativity on the part of commercial leasing firms? Doubtful. Real estate practitioners (both residential and commercial) are some of the most creative minds I know when it comes to intuiting market trends and separating out the ‘what works’ from the ‘what doesn’t work’. More often than not, its fear of the unknown. “Will changing our marketing style attract more tenants…or will it (shudder)..MAKE THINGS WORSE??” Well, things can hardly get worse right now, but they can get better. IF…you can show a prospective tenant how you’re space is better than the Jones’.
Tell Them Your Story: Don’t simply put another repetitive BORING sign out front. You have an opportunity to set your space/leasing program apart. Take it. There is an old proven axiom: “A picture says 1000 words.” The image above is just one example of the many types of signage that work. ROI Media has coupled the ability to provide leads to small business owners with the geographic location making a powerful combination that Commercial Real Estate management companies and REITs can use to attract and retain good lessees. This accomplishes a few things.
- keeps your buildings full of profitable lessees.
- turns adversarial lessees into grateful ‘clients’.
Michael Sexton of Trump University repeats another old axiom for success: “Identify your competitors’ weaknesses and target them directly” He discussed how to spend your marketing dollars wisely back in the summer of 2007, but his point is even more important in the current economic climate. Don’t make the same mistake ALL of your competitors are. Set yourself and your locations apart from the competitors by taking service to the next level. ROI Media will partner with you to help ensure that your tenants get their share of SMBs who are using the Internet to search for retail and office space.
We have 2 programs currently running depending on the tenants needs and we pretty much tweak every program somewhat to get the highest and best utility for the lessee. Each lead is trackable by phone call or click to your client’s website. Give us a call for a demonstration of how we get these leads for your client or any other questions you may have. (708-361-1600) More on this topic to come…
