A great marketing strategy will attract and nurture leads, boost brand awareness, and help property developers stand out from the pack.
Property developers already know that people don’t buy property, they buy into a dream.
That dream might be of raising a family in a friendly, safe community; of luxury and quality that punctuates their success; of a peaceful and idyllic retirement lifestyle.
What successful property developers understand is the importance of investing in marketing campaigns that leverage the aspirations of their customers.
A great marketing strategy will attract and nurture leads, increase brand awareness, build trust and confidence and, importantly, make property developers stand out in a highly competitive market.
Here’s how property developers can create an effective marketing strategy:
Step 1. Define your purpose
The answer to this question forms the foundation of every step in creating a marketing strategy: what is it you want to achieve?
Maybe you want to attract new leads, promote a specific development, or establish yourself as leaders in a particular field.
It’s not always easy to pinpoint exactly what you want to achieve, and it may incorporate a number of goals.
Property developers oftentimes have more success with several individual marketing campaigns that focus on a specific outcome. However, in terms of brand recognition and reputation building, ongoing content marketing campaigns are a must.
Step 2. Identify your audience
Now you know what you want, it’s time to turn your attention to who you want it from.
Property developers already have a deep understanding of their markets, and often their products are designed with a certain segment of the community in mind.
The same principle applies to marketing. You wouldn’t build a row of townhouses without knowing the demographic they are for, and you don’t create a marketing campaign without knowing who you are targeting.
Consider the life stage of those you want to talk to and what they might be looking for. If you’re developing a block of four-bedroom houses with big backyards, selling points that resonate with potential purchasers may be proximity to great schools, or the family-friendly community amenities.
If you’re developing high-end city apartments, on the other hand, you might want to target down-sizing empty-nesters or young professionals.
In a nutshell, carefully considering who your target audience is will allow you to better reach them when it comes to planning your marketing campaign.
RELATED: How a property developer can benefit from a marketing strategy
Step 3. Research and plan campaigns
Even if you’ve never engaged a marketing agency, you’ve probably done some sort of marketing, be it on social media, local newspapers, flyers or even your office window display.
In property development, it’s important to harness the intelligence from past campaigns to determine the marketing mix of your new one: which platforms to use, what messaging to develop, and even the times at which they run.
Once you have done your research, you can begin preparing and creating your marketing plan.
Step 4. Confirm your budget
At this stage it’s important to nail down the spend. Once you know your budget, you’ll be able to assign the funds to particular areas of the marketing mix.
If you haven’t yet determined your costings, here are some tips on how to set an effective annual marketing budget.
Step 5. Implement activity
The marketing campaigns of the most successful property developers may look seamless but what you’re seeing is actually the result of intricate timings across multiple platforms.
Every element of the marketing mix, including social media posts, content articles, and paid search, work together to create the one powerful, synergised message.
Step 6. Report on results
With the marketing campaign being rolled out, it’s time to sit back and relax, right? Not yet.
You should start getting information about how all the different elements of your campaign are performing fairly quickly.
In the digital space, this can allow for some fine-tuning as the campaign moves forward, but importantly, the data you get from this campaign will help inform your future marketing endeavours.
The same applies to ongoing marketing campaigns, which ideally should be reviewed every four to six months.
Speak to the property marketing experts
The highly competitive nature of property development means it’s not just important for property developers to have a strategic marketing plan – it must be specifically designed for the industry.
Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne that has expertise in the area of property development marketing.
If you want help developing a successful marketing strategy, give us a call on (03) 9079 2555 or drop us a note via the contact form below.