Understanding Commercial Real Estate Marketing in 2022

For the world of commercial real estate (CRE) marketing, disruption has catalyzed some powerful shifts that forever change the way we work and particularly in how we win new business. In a recent episode of the Crexi podcast, I enjoyed a rich discussion with my colleague and the Hartman REIT CIO David Wheeler and host Ryan Schlesinger on the current state of the market, and how CRE leaders are adapting. We talked about:

1. What CRE marketing looked like in the past
2. The most noteworthy trends and dynamics for CRE marketing in 2022
3. A CRE marketing outlook for the future

You can listen to the episode here. Continue reading and I will summarize some of the more salient points of our discussion below.

Understanding CRE Marketing in 2022 by Anthony Trollope

What Did Marketing Commercial Real Estate in the 80’s and Early 90’s Look Like?

Current disruptions have caused experts in most fields to reflect on similar challenges in previous decades. David Wheeler guided us through the realities of what it was like to work in CRE in the ’80s and early ’90s, namely that “Virtually everything was paper, printed and over the phone. . . . Email hadn’t really taken off and virtually everything that you worked on or processed was printed paper.”

He acknowledges that marketing was cumbersome, fraught with the challenges of needing to make 1:1, live connections. CRE marketing was typified by cold calling, farming, and developing markets, usually by scouting in a car and viewing properties in person.

Despite the fact that we now have Google Earth at our fingertips, David made the point that there is still inherent value in real, live, in-person research. Nothing replaces the power of experiencing a property firsthand, and emerging technologies that support remote-first functionalities should be considered a support, not a replacement, for on-the-ground investigation.

Commercial Real Estate Marketing in the 21st Century

As someone working with a regional powerhouse in commercial real estate, I see firsthand the strategies that marketing professionals can use to yield results. We ourselves have adopted many new tactics within the last two years, and that has allowed us to stay ahead of the curve, retaining impressive results even in uncertain markets.

CRE Marketing Strategies in the 21st Century

Here are some examples:

• Using platforms like Crexi or CoStar/LoopNet to reach brokers and prospective tenants alike.
• Fully buying into virtual tours and remote options to support client experiences, then equipping our property managers to do the same for tenants.
• Maintaining well-organized Google listings for our properties to improve discoverability, generate reviews, and enhance local search rankings.
• Leveraging the power of organic search (SEO) by regularly publishing thought leadership content (our own website Hartman REIT Management) has had a meteoric rise in search engine results due to these concerted efforts).
• Leaning on social media to amplify lead generation efforts, raise brand awareness, and drive traffic.
• Paid media placements and public relations — PPC, branded content, and display ads are important components for building brand awareness that is often overlooked. It is one of the quickest ways to distribute content as widely as possible and to instantly get in front of your target audience.

Of course, every marketing department is capable of listing accomplishments. External accolades further validate the effectiveness of what we’ve done. For example, my team was selected as the top team for Influencers in CRE Marketing and Communications by GlobeSt. We won this award for the public relations and communication work in our “Return to the Office” campaign.

2021 was a year of a significant increase in marketing leads for our company. This work was affirmed by company leadership as a key contributing factor to the award for the Top Transaction Firm in Houston from the CoStar Group.

As I mention on the podcast, we’re watching a great digital transformation inside real estate. We are pushing ourselves to get ahead of the curve, and seeing the magnitude of what’s possible.

David affirms the value of this to everyone in company leadership by mentioning that, “marketing to tenants, marketing to investors, and creating opportunities for the rest of us to get out in front of the industry and bringing organization to that, and structure to that, has been tremendous.”

Watch: Understanding Office Investing in 2022

To view this episode and hear the full-length discussion, play the video below.

Understanding Office Investing in 2022 featuring David Wheeler, EVP, and CIO at Hartman Income REIT and Anthony Trollope, Director of Interactive Marketing at Hartman Income REIT.

2022 Commercial Real Estate Marketing Outlook

It is clear that the world has steadily evolved, and commercial real estate marketers in 2022 and beyond are uniquely positioning themselves to accelerate progress and support business growth. Here are 8 fast-emerging trends in CRE marketing:

1. Digital transformation — Bolt-on technologies won’t sufficiently enact transformation of any kind. A full digital strategy is essential to adequately prioritizing technology and the role it will play in future growth.
2. Interactive marketing content — Marketing in any industry is increasingly people-centric. What this means for CRE is that interactive marketing content, where the customer is the driver’s seat, has the potential to yield major returns. These are best delivered on websites or online platforms and may use artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), 3D, and other tech to create exciting interactions.
3. Proptech — The proptech sector is growing at an impressive rate, and how well everyone — from investment professionals to landlords — leverages these tools will be a prime determinant of success. Data analytics, construction management, and property management are just some of the solutions that innovative Proptech startups can provide to CRE operators.
4. Increased focus on suburban commercial space and flexible leasing — People are eager for options, and the more the better. This is an important trend in real estate marketing, and must be backed with authentically diverse offerings, including flexible leasing arrangements and an array of location options to support various lifestyles and workstyles.
5. Marketing technology — Marketing technology (Martech) is upgrading the speed with which marketers can work as well as the clarity of real time insights gleaned from collected data. Martech can be refined into a precision instrument for shaping and implementing large-scale strategies.
6. Use of remarketing to improve conversions — Another shift in digital marketing for CRE is the use of remarketing for improved conversions. The technology exists to track prospects, then deliver targeted ads. Doing this shrinks the back door and opens new opportunities to keep leads in your ecosystem.
7. Retail innovation — Retail is one of the largest verticals within commercial real estate, and one that is far from dead, even with the uptick in online sales. In fact, new technology is a measurable factor in the endurance of retail in a digital age, and will continue to impact the future of this sector.
8. Enhanced reporting — The marketing tech stack is growing, as are the investments being made in marketing endeavors. This requires precision reporting, which is more than possible with any digital marketing tool. It’s important to keep an eye on the data and make research-backed decisions.

Final Thoughts on the State of Commercial Real Estate Marketing

Digital transformation is occurring fast in CRE and investments are flowing through to the marketing departments that support this industry shift. Learning from the past and forging into the future, the commercial real estate influencers and marketers of tomorrow will prioritize digital-first strategies, customer interactions, thoughtful use of technology, and reimagining how data can be used to deliver results.

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