Email marketing can be a powerful tool for commercial real estate companies to reach new clients and nurture existing relationships. However, creating effective email campaigns takes strategy and know-how, as well as the use of email marketing tools.
This article provides 11 tips to help commercial real estate companies get the most out of their email marketing efforts.
Whether you’re looking to segment your lists, improve deliverability, generate more clicks, or boost conversions, these best practices will guide you in the right direction.
Benefits of Email Marketing for Commercial Real Estate Companies
Email marketing delivers unparalleled returns for commercial real estate companies. Studies show that for every $1 spent on email marketing, companies earn an average of $40 in return.
When done right, email campaigns generate more website traffic, nurture relationships, and facilitate deals much faster than other marketing channels.
Commercial real estate is a relationship-driven industry and email is the most direct way to regularly engage contacts. Well-timed, personalized emails build trust with prospective tenants, investors, and property sellers.
They position your company as an authoritative industry voice. Email also complements other marketing efforts by driving traffic to listings and promoting events.
With so much business taking place digitally, email marketing is now an essential component for commercial real estate success.
1. Collect Emails from Property Showings
Property showings offer a prime opportunity to collect email addresses for your marketing database. As the listing agent, make sure to have a tablet or sign-in sheet ready to capture contact info and start building your email list.
Ask prospects if they would like listings and market updates sent to their inbox while you have their attention.
Don’t let prospective tenants leave without getting their details. Explain that you send occasional property listings and neighborhood market newsletters. Make it clear their contact information is kept confidential and they can unsubscribe at any time.
Having email contacts after in-person meetings shows follow-through on your part. You can then reach out with personalized messages as a reminder that you are a dedicated resource. Nurture these new relationships by sending market alerts and recommendations based on the client’s specific property wishes stated during the walkthroughs or showings.
2. Segment Lists by Property Types
Do not treat all contacts the same when email marketing. Take the time to segment your lists according to property types. Those looking for industrial warehouses have different needs than office building tenants.
Create targeted outreach campaigns that speak directly to subscribers focused on retail spaces, multifamily housing, land parcels, medical office buildings, and more. Match the content in your emails to the interests of each group.
Well-segmented lists ensure your messages resonate more with readers. Separating contacts allows you to personalize subject lines as well. For example, an email with the subject “New Listings – Medical Office Spaces” will capture more attention from prospective tenants searching for specific commercial real estate properties.
3. Send Targeted Listing Recommendations
One of the most effective email marketing strategies is to send targeted listing recommendations. This provides value to contacts by showcasing properties that closely match their stated criteria.
Set up automatic alerts to notify prospective buyers and tenants about new relevant listings as soon as they hit the market.
Configuring these notifications demonstrates that your firm is knowledgeable about up-to-the-minute industry listings even before the competition knows.
In your email recommendations, include plenty of photos, details on amenities, neighborhood info, and any updates made to the property. The more information you provide, the better prospects can determine if it is worth a showing.
Additionally, prominently feature open house dates and times in your listing recommendation emails. This facilitates quick action by interested parties. Make it effortless to add these open house showings to their calendars with one-click scheduling links right within your message.
Follow up any listing recommendations with a phone call or personal email to the contact within 24 hours. Ask if they had a chance to review the suggested listings and if they have any other property needs you can help with. These listing recommendations become relationship-building touchpoints for future discussions.
The more effortless you make it to view and tour suitable properties, the higher the engagement from interested contacts. Well-targeted listing recommendations based on prospect needs show you are committed to connecting them to ideal spaces.
4. Promote New Property Listings
One of the best ways to utilize email is to promote your new exclusive property listings coming onto the market. Create a dedicated email template for announcing fresh inventory to your contact database.
Structure these ‘New Listing Spotlight’ emails to maximize interest and clicks. Lead with dynamic banners that alternate featuring images of the property. Under the banner, including the listing descriptions, square footage, neighborhood amenities, property details, and showing information all in easy-to-scan bullet points.
Embed calls-to-action throughout the message as well – inserts that prompt readers to click for virtual tours, slideshow viewings, or online brochures. Make ample use of email design elements like banners, visuals, and action buttons to facilitate prospects touring the space either self-guided digitally or through real-world open houses.
Promoting new listings builds anticipation and positions your agency as having exclusive insider access to the newest properties in desired areas coming available. Establishing your brand as an ‘in-the-know’ listing provider helps cement client relationships long-term when their property needs align with your offerings.
Follow up any new listing announcements with personal emails or calls to top prospects you think could be interested. Give VIP clients and major investors early access to listings before widely promoting. Offering exclusive early viewing of soon-to-be-public listings to your best contacts maintains loyalty.
5. Highlight Tenant Incentives and Specials
Tenant incentives and specials are key selling points for commercial spaces. Make them a centerpiece of targeted email outreach campaigns when relevant.
Create emails specifically promoting current deals, move-in discounts, and perks available at listings in your portfolio or more broadly in popular neighborhoods. If an office building owner is offering 2 months of free rent to sign in the next 30 days, lead with that deal in your email subject line and content.
Give each incentive or specially dedicated email blast for maximum exposure. Bold the expiration dates in the body copy to prompt urgent action from interested parties. Make it easy to click through to view deal details and schedule tours.
Offering personalized assistance to understand all the fine print builds goodwill while potentially driving more property walkthroughs. Use online meeting scheduling links as well for transparent and seamless incentive promotion.
Tracking engagement metrics on these specialized emails provides insight into what deals compel tenants to engage. This helps inform future incentive programs and email copy aimed at filling vacancies.
6. Spotlight Financing and Investment Options
Email is an optimal channel for showcasing favorable financing rates and creative investment structures for commercial deals. Target investors and buyers with new loan programs, interest rate updates, and atypical partnership models that reduce upfront capital requirements.
Curating these money-saving opportunities provides tremendous value to your audience. It positions your firm as deeply knowledgeable on the financial components that enable deals to transpire.
Lead each email promoting the deal-making possibilities. For example, “New REIT Investment Offering 6% Returns” or “SBA-Backed Loans Now Available for Retail Centers.” Speak directly to the investor mindset focused on ROI, cash flow, and risk mitigation.
Outline the particulars of the financing option or investment vehicle being promoted – loan terms, capital requirements, due diligence fees, etc. Include relevant deadlines for special rates as well to compel timely action.
Follow up with a phone call to share more details and field initial questions from interested parties. Your contacts will appreciate a consultative approach explaining how the capital options can be applied to their commercial real estate plans.
Establishing your CRE firm as an invaluable finance resource separates you from transaction-focused competitors. It fosters enduring advisor relationships spanning deals and decades.
7. Share Local Market Updates and Trends
Set yourself apart by emailing useful commercial real estate market research to your audience. Share the latest market statistics, zoning changes, infrastructure developments, and regional economic trends. Reporting the commercial real estate outlook specific to your area establishes your expertise.
Contacts rely more on firms with their finger on the pulse of hyperlocal data versus general national stories. Curate also neighborhood-specific content like new anchor stores signing leases and planned community amenities. This granular news caters directly to investor and tenant interests.
Provide market update emails on a consistent schedule, such as quarterly recaps. This gives contacts data to inform their property decisions. It also reminds them of your industry authority by showcasing your knowledge.
Within your updates, link to your latest anonymized market reports that require readers to submit their details to access. This lead generation tactic works by offering sought-after info in exchange for workable contacts. Readers will come to expect and value these data-rich analyses.
Follow up your in-depth market analysis emails with calls to contacts asking if they need any clarification or have questions on the trends. Fielding these inquiries strengthens your commercial real estate advising status over less responsive competitors.
8. Reward Referral Partners
Referrals are the lifeblood of commercial real estate deals. Nurture your referral partners with targeted perks and promotions sent by email. Set up automated workflows to deliver co-branded email offers as soon as new relevant listings are entered into your database.
Create co-branded email offers showcasing new listings coming available before the general market knows. Extend early booking privileges and VIP access to the most promising spaces. Position your referral partners as insiders with early intel to showcase clients.
Set up referral reward programs that issue points and credits for each confirmed referral. Track this through online dashboards accessible through emailed links. Email personalized monthly updates allowing partners to redeem points for gift cards, event tickets, credits at closing, and more.
Make it turnkey for partners to submit referrals through online intake forms. Automate fulfillment of rewards based on point thresholds. Publicly recognize top referrers annually.
The easier and more lucrative the referral process, the more channel partners you will retain in the long term, perpetuating lead generation. Email facilitates instant transmission of referral perks.
9. Automate Follow-Ups After Showings
Streamline your outreach with emails that automatically go out to prospects 24 hours after touring properties. These timely follow-up messages have higher open and response rates versus general newsletters.
Craft email templates that check in the day after walkthroughs to answer additional questions and ask for candid feedback.
Are there any deal-breaking issues or necessary custom buildouts? Use this intel to inform seller talks if relevant. Include links to schedule more in-depth re-tours for serious prospects still evaluating options. Capture availability with integrated calendar scheduling for instant booking confirmation.
Email automation reduces manual tasks so agents can focus on in-person consultation and deal closing instead of broadcast messages. Technology tracks prospect engagement and interest level too based on open rates, click frequency, and reply rates for future nurturing sequences.
Set follow-up contact cadences triggered by the prior responses. If questions remain or a re-tour is booked, keep the conversation advancing via helpful email updates. Lack of response may dictate switching communication channels as well to secure engagement.
Prompt and personalized email follow-up is expected by today’s on-demand prospects. Automating the process ensures no opportunities fall through the cracks while conveying white-glove service.
10. Retarget Previous Property Viewers
Many promising deals require multiple touches before tenants or investors commit. Develop dedicated email re-targeting campaigns aimed at past property viewers in your database.
Create emails with new, off-market listing recommendations containing enhanced features, amenities, or bargain pricing compared to their initial tours 6-12 months ago. Tout these improvements while subtly reminding contacts of previous spaces they showed interest in visiting.
Use lead scoring to gauge past interest levels based on tour frequency, email opens, website visits, and more. Then segment higher potential targets for tailored outreach messages crafted to tip them into action versus one-size-fits-all blasts.
Offer exclusive re-targeting perks like early walkthroughs of listings before the official market debuts. Frame these as back-by-popular-demand access opportunities. Schedule in-person meetings to update re-engaged contacts on hyper-local developments since initial searches.
Meeting again after 6-12 months resets and strengthens the relationship for improved lifetime value and closed transactions when needs align with offerings.
Prompt and personalized email re-targeting is expected by today’s on-demand prospects. Taking a consultative approach improves outcomes dramatically over spray-and-pray style messaging.
11. Track Email Performance Analytics
Treat your email marketing program like any other key business investment by monitoring performance diligently. Establish KPIs tracking hard metrics like open rates, clickthroughs, reply rates, unsubscribes, transactions driven, and website traffic referred directly from sends.
Leverage tools like Google Analytics to reveal website traffic spikes coming directly from email campaign pushes. Review this data monthly and quarterly for content optimizations triggered by solid data evidence, not hunches.
Continuously A/B test email content formatting, calls to action, subject lines, imagery, send times, list segmentation, and other variables until you determine a winning formula for lead generation via well-tracked emails.
Audit email analytics before major sends asking questions like Who has opened past messages? Who clicked which links? Who replied requesting info? Who remained inactive? Adjust outreach accordingly rather than blanket blasting.
Assign numerical scores to contact engagement then filter into tiered lists for tailored nurturing tracks per their demonstrated behaviors and interests.
Obsessive email optimization through rigorous performance tracking is the only way busy commercial real estate professionals will see tangible ROI from these email campaigns.
Email marketing delivers proven returns for commercial real estate companies when executed strategically. Follow these 11 best practices for collecting contacts, segmenting lists, targeting content, tracking metrics, and automating workflows.
With the right email nurturing approach matched to clear business objectives, your CRE firm can drive more property tours, strengthen client relationships, and close transactions more efficiently. Start putting these tips to work for standout industry results.