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Friday, December 3, 2021

Strategies for a Successful CRE Email Campaign


graph: Which digital marketing channel generates the most ROI for your organization?


TheAnalyst® PRO Marketing Feature Saves Time, Improves Message 


Until the rise of digital communications, businesses had to rely on print, broadcast, and direct mail messages to build awareness for products and services brought to the marketplace. That all changed some three decades ago with the growth and expansion of using email to deliver messages to a targeted prospect list.
In the highly competitive and fast-paced commercial real estate industry, email campaigns are a sound practice for brokers. 
The use of email messaging offers commercial real estate professionals a viable, flexible, and affordable platform for sharing news on properties. But like any marketing initiative, it’s essential for brokers to employ solid strategies, share appropriate and well-crafted messages, and target the right prospects when committing to an email campaign. 
In a previous post, we offered thoughts on the value of email marketing. Here, we’ll share some strategies to incorporate into email campaigns, and illustrate how marketing features within TheAnalyst® PRO can be employed to achieve email marketing success. 
First, let’s analyze some insight on the value and success of email campaigns in today’s challenging digital marketplace. As noted in this online report from a global technology firm, a study revealed 59% of respondents said email campaigns generated the highest return on investment, exceeding social media, display ads, videos, and text messages. Furthermore, those polled noted they had fewer plans to include more recently developed tools like artificial intelligence, chatbots, and influencer marketing into campaigns. 
Strategies and Tactics That Lead to Success for CRE Professionals
The overall goal behind using email as a primary component of a marketing program is to generate qualified leads that can prompt delivery of an offering memorandum or in-person presentation, and of course, eventually result in a closed sale or lease transaction. Here are three directives to follow when building the foundation for the campaign. 
1. Invest in Email Marketing Software 
Email services used for personal or even corporate messaging – think Yahoo or Google’s Gmail – work fine for general correspondence; but these services are not appropriate for CRE professionals because there are limits on the number of messages that can be sent in one transmission. Plus, they don’t provide solid analytics or allow for advance scheduling. Services like Mailchimp® or Constant Contact are recommended because they are designed for businesses. Also, business email software allows for the ability to customize the message – such as adding the recipient’s name in the body copy. 
2.  Keep It Simple, But Compelling
Many people check emails from their desktop. But use of handheld devices has soared in recent years, meaning more people now access email messages while away from their desk. According to this report from 2019, mobile email marketing is especially effective to those under 34 years of age. To ensure a message can be effectively viewed on all devices, draft a minimal amount of content, and incorporate simple visual elements. One compelling property image and a site map may help increase open rates and generate responses for more information. 
3.  Two Strategies to Bolster Open Rates
We all get a lot of emails these days. In fact, most of us probably can unequivocally proclaim that we get too many! These key strategies will increase the chance your recipients will open and eventually read the message:

        Keep subject lines short. Six to eight words, or less, should be sufficient and will help bolster the open rate. Here’s an example: “Premier Tech Corridor Office Tower for Sale.” Use active verbs and avoid fluff.

        Know when to hit “send.” Let’s eliminate weekend days as options, and focus on the five work week days. According to this website, there is no one “best” day to push out a marketing message, but statistics reveal Tuesdays are most advantageous.


Tuesday open rates. source: www.mailerlite.com


Benefits of TheAnalyst® PRO in Email Campaigns

Five marketing features are offered by TheAnalyst® PRO: Offering memorandums, flyers, brochures, websites, and flipbooks. One key benefit is the ability to prepare and distribute an email message in just three steps. Working from the Property Marketing Tools section, subscribers can create the email from an existing OM, flyer, or brochure. 

To distribute the message, there are three templates to select from, and the software allows for seamless integration with an existing Mailchimp account. Or a subscriber can download the html code and paste into an email marketing platform, such as Constant Contact  or Microsoft Outlook. Subscribers also have the time-saving option to select a default template for future email campaigns. 


Or just watch the quick demonstration video here!


As noted, email campaigns are cost-effective communications that can drive business success. The marketing features within TheAnalyst® PRO provide the platform CRE professionals can apply quickly and effectively. To request a free, live demonstration, please see our schedule here.