Commercial real estate is a lucrative field. Even so, it’s also a saturated one and if you don’t know how to market your properties effectively, you will most likely be left behind by your competitors.
If you’ve still been relying on photos and videos to boost your listings, time to take it up a notch by investing in marketing software solutions! This will allow you to create 3D virtual tours which will be a great marketing tool that will no doubt generate more interest in your listings!
The thing is, as soon as you decide that and look into it, you’ll quickly realize that there are more platforms to choose from than you imagine. So how do you know which one is the right one for your marketing efforts? How do you know it’s the best fit for your company’s needs?
Well, you can ask these questions and the answers you get will help you figure that out! Once you’ve gone through all of these, you should be able to make a more confident and informed decision on software that will provide a solution for the years to come.
Do I Get To Have Creative Control?
A great marketing tool will make your work easier and faster, but you should still have control over it. Otherwise, your marketing campaign will end up looking generic and basically the same as everyone else’s. You don’t want that, you need to be able to create custom URLs for each property. It’s also better if you can tailor your content, graphics, and layout for every listing as well as change up marketing emails whenever you need to. Being able to have creative control despite implementing software that automizes things for you will ensure that each campaign differs from the other and you stand out from others.
Would It Be A Long-Term Solution?
Even if you found one that works great on your company’s current state and needs, it’s still no good if you can’t take it 5 or 10 years onwards. Are you going to find a different one every time your business grows and changes because the current one can no longer keep up?
You need to think long term with this kind of thing and think about whether the software you have in mind can quickly scale and will it need any extra tools, resources, or cash to do it? Switching software too quickly and too often is not cost-efficient and not ideal for your business in the long run.
How Long Does It Take To Set Up?
When you invest in marketing software for commercial real estate, you want one you can integrate and leverage as soon as possible. This industry is not one that you profit from every day like other businesses, so an investment like software becomes more of a loss the longer it is left unused because it takes too long to set up and needs other resources to do so.
How Much Support Will The Service Provider Give?
If you want the full benefits of the CRE software, you need to be able to use it to its fullest. However, that can be a bit difficult since it’s new and you’re still getting started on it. This is where customer support comes in handy. They’d be the ones to walk you through areas you’re not sure about.
To be sure you’re actually going to get that support that you need, always ask how and when can you contact them. And how much will they be helping you? Support across all devices and operating systems your team uses should be provided. Otherwise, consider looking for another option because you may just end up not benefiting from it because of limited support.
Is It User-Friendly?
Many CRE marketing platforms claim to be intuitive and easy-to-use, but end up not being one. That’s not what you want. You want one that provides a demo before you even buy. If they give you a guided demonstration or free trial that you can use to test run it and see if it meets your needs and feels like something you can learn quickly and use intuitively, then they’re probably a good choice for you.
How Much Will It Cost?
You have a budget to work with and you need to know if there aren’t any hidden fees that will show up once you’re already using the software. It will be impractical to end up paying more than what you can afford and what you’re actually getting. Getting a price quote from the service provider will also help you compare with other ones. You may find something cheaper that offers better service and has better features.
The competitiveness of the commercial real estate market will just keep becoming more intense. In order to get ahead in such a competitive industry, realtors need to integrate new technology, improve interactive content, and enhance customer service, and effectively implement those in their marketing strategy. Matterport 3D virtual tours have proven their appeal to customers as real estate listings with virtual tours included garnered almost 50% more clicks than those that only use still photos. That increase in user engagement will be guaranteed to make a positive influence on their decision-making. These questions will help you find out if it’s the best fit for your company’s needs or not.
