Business Specialties Technology
Feb 12, 2009
By: Marty Olson, Business Development Director for BorderBound Communications
By now it’s standard practice to conduct business on the web. In fact, it is a significant part of how commercial real estate brokers do business. They post property information, communicate with clients and other brokers via e-mail and conduct research, all using the Internet.
Still, much of their prospecting and new business generation is done through cold calling, networking and signage. And even commercial brokerage firms that use Internet resources to a greater degree have not nearly reached the level at which residential brokers and agents are using it.
Residential realtors have historically been aggressive in using the Internet to prospect for new business. Sometimes their approach has been to promote:
• Their personal brand (using web sites with names like www.DixieJones.com);
• Their office (remax.com, KW.com, etc.);
• A lifestyle (sunshinestatesvacationhomes.com).
Now many of these residential brokers are opening commercial divisions. As brand marketers, they are exceptionally well versed in Internet technologies and using their Web marketing prowess to generate prospects. Larger and more established commercial real estate brokers such as CB Richard Ellis Inc., Colliers International and others have the resources to meet this challenge, although smaller firms will have to rethink their strategies.
One of the best ways to capture new business and generate prospects from the Internet is to utilize location-specific strategies. Business owners generally look in specific locations to set up shop, whether for a retail store, an industrial space, a medical practice or an office. By targeting a location, a commercial broker can align themselves and their services to that locality and be highly visible when business owners conduct an online search for real estate.
From a visibility perspective on the Web, it makes more sense for commercial brokers to focus on the area, along with the property type, with their name or brand included in a secondary or supplementary fashion. The key is to try to think like a business owner looking for commercial space online. They don’t look for DixieJones.com, they’re not looking for TripleQPartners Commercial Realty--they’re looking up “Space for Lease MN.” By establishing a place that, when it meets their criteria, comes up on the first page of search engines, a commercial broker, regardless of their firm’s size, will have the opportunity to capture prospects that are motivated to transact a deal.
By: Marty Olson, Business Development Director for BorderBound Communications
By now it’s standard practice to conduct business on the web. In fact, it is a significant part of how commercial real estate brokers do business. They post property information, communicate with clients and other brokers via e-mail and conduct research, all using the Internet.Still, much of their prospecting and new business generation is done through cold calling, networking and signage. And even commercial brokerage firms that use Internet resources to a greater degree have not nearly reached the level at which residential brokers and agents are using it.
Residential realtors have historically been aggressive in using the Internet to prospect for new business. Sometimes their approach has been to promote:
• Their personal brand (using web sites with names like www.DixieJones.com);
• Their office (remax.com, KW.com, etc.);
• A lifestyle (sunshinestatesvacationhomes.com).
Now many of these residential brokers are opening commercial divisions. As brand marketers, they are exceptionally well versed in Internet technologies and using their Web marketing prowess to generate prospects. Larger and more established commercial real estate brokers such as CB Richard Ellis Inc., Colliers International and others have the resources to meet this challenge, although smaller firms will have to rethink their strategies.
One of the best ways to capture new business and generate prospects from the Internet is to utilize location-specific strategies. Business owners generally look in specific locations to set up shop, whether for a retail store, an industrial space, a medical practice or an office. By targeting a location, a commercial broker can align themselves and their services to that locality and be highly visible when business owners conduct an online search for real estate.
From a visibility perspective on the Web, it makes more sense for commercial brokers to focus on the area, along with the property type, with their name or brand included in a secondary or supplementary fashion. The key is to try to think like a business owner looking for commercial space online. They don’t look for DixieJones.com, they’re not looking for TripleQPartners Commercial Realty--they’re looking up “Space for Lease MN.” By establishing a place that, when it meets their criteria, comes up on the first page of search engines, a commercial broker, regardless of their firm’s size, will have the opportunity to capture prospects that are motivated to transact a deal.
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