Branding can be the difference between seen and passed over. Commercial real estate branding is often underestimated, as many brokers believe a logo and a color scheme is all you need for a brand identity.

Let’s work to elevate your commercial real estate branding and establish a competitive and memorable identity.

Importance of a Branding Identity in Commercial Real Estate

Especially if you’re coming in brand-new off the street, or separating from your commercial real estate brokerage and starting a new firm, beginning your journey with a branding strategy can be the difference between memorable or forgettable.

#1 De-Commoditization

There are hundreds of brands of cell phones on the market right now, but Apple and Samsung control approximately 80% of the market in the United States. (source) They spent the time and money on branding their product.

While commercial real estate brokerages may never be “household names,” we can get pretty close with the people that matter most. Branding can be the unique identifier that separates you from the commodities.

#2 Professional Image

Do you shake your head at some of the absolute non-sense and eye-piercing garbage that comes out of the biggest brokerages and you have no idea how they’re still in business? Me too.

Simply focusing on your professional look will bring you deals because the bar is so low in commercial real estate marketing.

If you have a nice looking logo (don’t get in your own head, just pick something you think is “nice”) and brochures that don’t look like you threw them together in a Word Document, you’ll do better than most real estate professionals brokerages in the market.

#3 Access to Premium Properties

In commercial real estate, we all have the same commission rates across the board, so we compete against each other for premium properties. Like the cell phone example, the stronger brands tend to attract the more premium properties.

Getting your commercial real estate branding in order can be the difference between selling a 1,000 SF medical condo versus a 20,000 SF medical center.

#5 People Know, Like and Recognize You / Your Brokerage

The purpose of branding is getting people to know, like and recognize you. Branding fosters familiarity and trust. It’s trust that will establish a loyal client base that sticks around for years to come.

Key Elements to Enhance Your Commercial Real Estate Branding

#1 Choosing your Audience

Do not continue with anything beyond this point until you’ve chosen your audience. Once you’ve chosen an audience, every message, marketing piece, design, etc. will be centered around the question, “What would my audience like best?”

Target audience in commercial real estate:

Start with Service Type:

• Investor Representation
• Landlord Representation
• Tenant Representation

And / Or Choose an Industry Specialty

• Retail
• Industrial
• Office
• Medical Office
• Multifamily
• NNN
• Land / Development Opportunities
• Other

For instance, your audience might look like: Investor representation for multifamily investment properties in Dallas Texas.

PRO TIP: The more competitive your market, the more niche you should become to stand-out. For instance, if you’re in Los Angeles, I suggest a service type + industry specialty combination.

However, if you’re in a rural area, you might not have enough potential clientele to focus on a niche audience. Focus your branding efforts on your professional image and local expertise.

#2 Creating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Most of us in commercial real estate are not in the position to lower commission rates to compete on price. In fact, smaller brokerages are often competing against big brokerages at the same price level because commission rates don’t waiver between companies.

We have to create our own value! …But how??

1. Desired Outcome

What is the outcome your audience is looking for?

• Sell my building for top dollar.
• Buy a building that’s going to make $X profit each year.
• Fill my building with long-term tenants with good financial standing.
• Lease a location with a lot of foot traffic in high-demand shopping center with a lease rate they can afford.

Example #1, specialized:
[ Brokerage / Agent Name ] Specializing in selling Dallas multifamily properties for top dollar.

Example #2, no specialization:
[ Brokerage / Agent Name ] Specializing in Stonewall County, Texas commercial real estate.
Sell for top dollar. | Buy buildings, make money. | Lease the best spaces.

PROTIP: Goal here is to spell out CLEARLY what people are getting. Don’t get cute. Don’t use ten-dollar words.

2. Likelihood of Desired Outcome

Layout a simple strategy of how you get the desired outcome. If your process is 15-steps, break it down into 3-steps. 1) Consultation. 2) Research. 3) Result.

Example:

Step 1, Together, We Plan.
We will discuss your individual needs and income projections and the kinds of properties that would fit best your requirements.

Step 2, We Scour the Market. Utilizing both on and off market channels, we will find properties that will best fit your requirements.

Step 3. Act Now. Once a property is found, a thorough due diligence will be conducted to minimize risks and take it from contract to closing.

Drive your message home with testimonials to showcase how successful you’ve been at providing the desired outcome for other people in the same situation.

3. Time until Desired Outcome

There are a ton of factors involved in how fast we can close a property, but you can give YOUR turnaround time.

Example:
“We turn around your requests in 1-3 business days. We also keep-in-touch with the other parties agents on a weekly basis…whether they like it or not!”

*Anyone who’s been through a contract negotiation knows if the other parties’ agents drag their feet, you’re looking at delays. Addressing this issue right away will win you some points.

And / or showcase a strategy on how you shorten the process.

Example:
“We have a list of real estate investors that are interested in 1031 Exchanges to ensure your sale process goes quickly.”

“We have a #-step marketing process that ensures your vacancies are getting the most exposure possible, to quickly sign a quality tenant.”

“We have a # question process that ensures we’re looking in right area for leasing your business, so you don’t waste time.”

4. Effort involved

Effort is the difference between a $10 automated car wash and a $100 car detailing job. To establish “effort” you need to address two things.

How much effort the real estate AGENT puts in.

Here’s where you want to list out all the services that come with listing with you.

Example of AGENT EFFORT:
• Comparable property research.
• Broker Opinion of Value is presented.
• Price strategy consultation.
• Professional photography.
• Virtual tour.
• Listing on LoopNet, CoStar, CREXi, etc.
• Landing page on brokerage website.
• Professional listing brochure and offering memorandum.
• Email blast listing to 100,000+ investors, agents, and brokers.
• Press release of your listing to major media outlets.
• Negotiating contractions.
• Finalizing contractions.

How much effort the CLIENT puts in.

Get as close to ZERO as possible!

Example of CLIENT EFFORT:
• Decide on price strategy after consultation.
• See (URL) for contracts to sign and updates on your listing.
• Finalize contracts with other parties.

#3 Put your key elements together

You’ve chosen an audience.

AND you have a unique offer that provides your audience with a TON of value.

Now what?

Let’s build some commercial real estate marketing materials!

Strong Visual Identity Differentiates in Commercial Real Estate Branding

Have you looked at the top-tier commercial real estate brokerages and have been shocked at how low-quality some of their marketing materials are? Me too.

The bar for a commercial real estate’s marketing materials is LOW. You can use this to your advantage and actually create marketing materials that people want to look at.

Marketing Essentials

• Logo
• Business card
• Website
• Listing brochure template
• Offering memorandum template
• Broker Opinion of Value template
• Company Brochure
• Services Brochures
• Postcards / Mailers for services
• Sale / Lease Comparables template
• Market Report template
• Slide decks
• Need templates? Branding Hero.

Photography / Videography

Don’t be ashamed to use stock photos or videos. If your portfolio of past deals is full of industrial warehouses covered with spray painted graffiti, it’s 100% ok to use stock photos and videos.

You can go through your materials and update them with photography as premium listings come in.

Don’t get stuck with low-end properties because you have a chip on your shoulder about stock photos.

Design

It’s best to give your chosen designer a few examples of what you like. Pick out some competitor materials that you like, so your designer isn’t “flying blind” for your materials. They can use these examples and create materials in your branding.

PRO TIP: If you want to be unique in your design, pick out non-commercial real estate materials that your designer can work with. Back in the day, I worked on marketing high-end hot tubs. Did I look at Jacuzzi for inspiration? NO! I looked at Cadillac and Porsche brochures. When we came out with our materials, the competition starting copying us!

Color Scheme Tips

Did you picked out a bright color in your logo and now you’re worried your marketing materials will be garish? Instead of relying heavily on a bright color, use it as an accent and balance it with lots of whites, grays and blacks.

Did you pick out a bland color scheme? Rely heavily on photographs in your materials to brighten up a drab color scheme.

Materials & Basic Messaging

All that work we did in “creating value” can’t go onto EVERY material you produce.

Ensure your message goes onto your website, broker opinion of value (last page where you talk about you), slide decks, and company brochure.

Remember that your listing materials are used to SELL YOUR LISTINGS. They are not used to sell your business. You don’t need more than your logo, tag line and color scheme to sell your branding on listing materials.

Decide on 1 Sales Channel for Maximum Impact

Do you know what venture capitalists look for when picking winning business investments to fund? They are looking for this combination:

1 Target Market + 1 Product + 1 Sales Channel = Profit.

We worked on the target market and product (it’s “service”, in our case). Now let’s talk sales channels.

There are six sales channels to choose from. I highly recommend you choose one to master and add other channels on later. It’s better to focus all your attention on mastering one channel than spreading thin over many channels.

#1 Current Lists

I’m putting this as #1 because your current clients will convert at 5% while cold traffic converts at 1%, and for some reason commercial real estate values cold over current.

• Email newsletters
• Email or Text recent listed and sales announcements
• Mailers (postcards, letters, etc.)
• Host Events
• Webinars (live or pre-recorded)
• Offer freebies like eBooks, checklists, cheat sheets, videos, etc.
• Welcome email drips

#2 Cold Outbound (Cold Calls, Cold Emails, Cold Texts)

This is probably the only thing they taught you in real estate school, but it only converts at 1%, so consider creating a funnel for your cold outreach where you can pour new lists into the system and it runs hands-free. Cold Lead Hero shows you how.

I don’t like to spend a lot of time and money on 1% conversions, so investing in a funnel is key if you want to rely on cold outreach.

• Cold email drip campaign
• Cold call campaign (automate this with voicemail drops)
• Postcards
• Direct mailers advertising your listings
• Offer freebies like eBooks, checklists, cheat sheets, videos, etc.

#3 Content (Organic)

This is the only way to get organic search engine traffic. You can SEO your website until the cows come home, but unless you have unique content added regularly, optimization-only will be a moderate boost at best.

Now, before you knock creating content, saying it’s not worth your time, if you’re looking for long-term strategies, content (and current lists) compound over time. The more time you spend on content and your contact list, the better your results will be long-term.

Producing content is a lot of work, but you’ll be popping up in search results for YEARS. If you’re looking for a long-term strategy, this is it.

• Write blog articles
• Videos for YouTube
• Podcasting
• Webinars (live or pre-recorded)
• Case studies
• Infographics
• E-books
• White papers
• Guides
• Industry reports
• Social media posts

#4 Paid Ads (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)

What top marketing firms won’t tell you is this…

Paid ads will NOT work unless they are attached to funnel that turns leads into sales.

Example of a working sales funnel:

#1 Website landing page with Freebie offer (eBook, webinar, report, video, etc.)

#2 When a form is filled out for the freebie, the lead automatically gets an email drip campaign.

You have tested this freebie funnel with your current list and it has a predictable lead to sale ratio of 10%-ish.

Only AFTER you test a freebie funnel with a warm list, should you test it on a cold audience.

Cold lists do NOT convert like warm. The funnel is likely going to convert at a tenth of what your warm leads converted at.

Once you have a predictable funnel, you can increase your ad expenditure and sign more deals easily.

I’m not going to lie to you like a marketing firm will. This is a long road of testing, refining, and testing again. But it can be profitable once the funnel is refined.

#5 Referrals

There are numerous agents who thrive entirely on the equity of referrals, achieving success and maintaining abundant lifestyles. Here are some effective ways to build a robust referral network in the commercial real estate industry:

• Ask current list for referrals
• Email newsletters
• Holiday greetings, birthday cards, anniversaries of their purchase / lease dates
• Host client appreciation events
• Go to networking events and seminars
• Attend industry conferences
• Join local business groups and chambers of commerce
• Develop a formal referral program with rewards for clients
• Offer commission splits for colleague referrals
• Join a local country club (join a local master plan golf course, if a fancy golf club is out of reach for now)
• Engage with community events
• Social media posts

#6 Affiliates

When I say “affiliates” I mean using an official affiliation link with a business.

For example, DoorDash has a merchant referral program. If you helped a client get into a restaurant space, you could send them your affiliate link for DoorDash to sign up as a merchant. The signup would bring you $1,000.

If you can find appropriate affiliations for your target market, sign up for a few and start testing how much side-income you can get from affiliations.

Measuring the Success of Your Commercial Real Estate Branding Efforts

Tracking your commercial real estate branding efforts is easiest with a KPI Dashboard. But there’s no need to make that investment if you’re tracking a small amount of marketing and funnels.

Let’s talk about key performance indicators (KPIs) you can use to see which strategies are working and which need adjustment.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)

Brand Awareness.

Track the increase in social media followers, website traffic, and mentions in media outlets or real estate forums.

Lead Generation.

Measure the number of new leads generated from your marketing channels, including the contact forms filled out on your website, calls received, and inquiries through email.

Conversion Rates.

Monitor the percentage of leads that turn into clients, giving you insights into the effectiveness of your sales funnel.

Client Retention and Loyalty.

Track repeat business and client referrals, which indicate trust and satisfaction with your brand.

Engagement Metrics.

Monitor engagement on your content, such as blog post views, social media shares, comments, likes, and video watch rates.

Revenue Growth.

Ultimately, track the impact of branding on your bottom line. Increased revenue directly reflects the success of your branding strategies.

Tools for Monitoring Success

Google Analytics.

Google Analytics can tracking website traffic and user behavior.

CRM Software

To manage leads and sales pipeline. I like HubSpot.

Social Media Analytics.

Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter provide valuable insights into engagement.

Email Marketing Software.

Tools like Mailchimp or Constant Contact can help track open rates and click-through rates.

Survey Tools.

Use tools like SurveyMonkey to gather client feedback and measure satisfaction.

Continuous Improvement

Branding is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor. It requires continuous monitoring and refinement based on performance metrics.

Regular Audits.

I like to do quarterly audits to evaluate branding efforts, marketing reach, and overall business performance.

Feedback Loops.

Actively seek and incorporate feedback from clients and former to make informed adjustments. I like to automate a “I’m updating my testimonials, will you be interested in giving me one?” email to have a cycle of regular feedback and testimonials.

Adapt and Innovate.

Stay attuned to industry trends and consumer preferences, adapting your strategies to maintain relevance.

For instance, during the pandemic, live webinar conversion rates were off the chart! When people started going back into the office, live webinar conversions went down. By mid 2022 live webinars were no longer any better than pre-recorded, so we moved entirely to pre-recorded and didn’t waste any more time on live. This is why we track!

Conclusion

Commercial real estate branding is an ongoing journey that demands planning, consistent action, and continual improvement.

If you’re ready to start working on your branding, the first step is getting a website. A website acts as a hub for all of your marketing.

Anyone can build a website.

Anyone can put buttons on a website and call it “lead generating”.

I provide the Sales Funnel Masterclasses for FREE with a website, giving you strategies to drive traffic to your site, setup automations, and keep in touch with automated welcome sequences to turn traffic into sales.

A website without the ability to generate and nurture leads is jewelry. It’s nice, but not useful.

Without a sales funnel, you won’t get long lasting results, period.

If you’re nodding along, let’s get started! Schedule a call or zoom.

I’m out to take the “broke” out of commercial real estate brokerage.

I want to start with you.

You ready? Schedule a call or zoom.