In real estate, we’re often given advice regarding finding our niche and using highly targeted keywords and marketing strategies. What this boils down to is the fact that localizing services is desirable for many agents. One of the best strategies is direct mail for commercial real estate. This is also known as direct response and it’s often best suited for local use. But when is this real estate marketing strategy best?
Pros of Direct Mail for Commercial Real Estate
Buyers and sellers alike seek local agents who specialize in local targeted markets, such as specific neighborhoods or zip codes. Direct mail allows these agents to reach out to prospects in these localized demographics. Some agents will slightly tweak their direct mail for commercial real estate as it’s targeting a specific type of buyer or seller in a specific neighborhood or zip code. It’s this targeted approach that makes this real estate marketing strategy work so well.
A lot of marketers think direct mail is nothing more than a marketing relic – but it still works for real estate. Why?
For one thing, everyone isn’t on social channels. And the older generations – those more likely to be involved in commercial real estate – trust the old-school style of marketing over digital marketing. In most cases, an upscale commercial sale isn’t going to happen over Facebook.
Cons of Direct Mail for Commercial Real Estate
You may or may not find commercial property owners with direct mail – it’s hit or miss. Some consumers sort their mail and actually look over each piece they receive – others view postcards and six-by-nines as junk mail and immediately file it in the trash bin. If your direct mail isn’t reaching your audience, it can become a rather costly strategy.
How You Can Use Direct Mail for Commercial Real Estate
Taking the pros and cons above into account, how can you develop a good direct mail marketing plan?
Take it for a test run
Before you fully commit to any strategy, test it out. This can help you discover your audience and their goals – and your own. Not to mention it’s much more cost effective to test out different direct mail pieces. Sending your pieces out in bulk can be more cost-effective.
Define the audience and the overall goals of the marketing plan
This goes for any marketing strategy, especially real estate. If you’re unsure of your target audience, you can’t reach them. So, decide what you want to accomplish with your direct mail for a commercial real estate campaign.
Are you looking to reconnect with previous clients, obtain new prospects and leads, or simply raise awareness that you’re in the area and ready to help?
The answers to these questions will shape the design of your direct mail. When you uncover your exact audience, you can create a mail piece based on certain demographics. Depending on your budget, you can even create several different pieces to reach as much of your audience as possible.
Use a CTA
You might think of a CTA (call to action) as that clickable link in your digital marketing materials – you’re not wrong. But direct mail for commercial real estate also needs a direct CTA. Explain clearly what you’d like the recipient to do – email you, call you, or take a look at your website or social channels.
What to Do After You Send Your Direct Mail for Commercial Real Estate
Direct mail isn’t “send it and forget it”. Decide how you’ll track the results of your direct mail for commercial real estate campaign. For instance, keep a log of those recipients who respond to your mail and always follow up.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above – yes, direct mail is still a viable marketing strategy in commercial real estate. But the main goal is to get prospects to take a look at your presence online – your site, listings, and social channels. Every mailer should have all of your contact information:
- Name
- Phone number
- Physical and mailing addresses
- Email address
- Website
- All social channel handles
You can even incorporate scannable codes that offer discounts or augmented reality (AR) tours of homes or commercial properties you’re selling. There’s really no end to how you can make direct mail for commercial real estate work for you.
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