Be a Brand Ambassador

BE A BRAND AMBASSADOR By Kimberly Coates, Director of Member Engagement, LandlordBC

Finally, you are the owner operator of your rental property. Business owner status achieved. Check! You know the ins and outs of your contracts, what it takes to maintain the property, and you have a pretty good amount of knowledge on keeping your prospective tenants. Mission complete, right? Not so fast, there may be more you need to consider.

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Did you know that the way you run your business impacts the way people perceive you? Not just your prospective tenants, but also future tenants and past tenants. Why does this matter? People’s perception impacts your future business viability.

How do you manage perception and attract future business? You take care of your brand. It matters.

Let’s break things down further. You now have a vacant unit that you want to rent, this is your product. Managing your rental unit in a professional way is your service that you are offering. Your tenant is your customer. Considering all of this, how much thought has been given to the promotion and branding side of your business? Likely, not very much as this is one part of operating a business that is often overlooked, even by the most seasoned professionals. Most landlords have an idea of the type of tenants they want. The flip side of that coin is to establish yourself as the type of landlord tenants want to rent from. The relationships between a landlord and tenant should be a mutually respectful and beneficial, so market your business in a way that starts your professional relationship with your tenant on the right foot.

The first step any business owner must take when it comes to branding and promotion is the development of a business strategy. A business strategy is a tool that is used to help you reach your business goals. Even as a small-scale landlord, it is important to set out goals for your rental business. Take the time to understand the industry you are entering and educate yourself on all applicable legislation and regulations. Be sure you understand the margins of this business so that you can set your business up for success. The biggest benefit of having a well laid out business strategy is that it gives you control over the direction your business is going and provides you with the opportunity to assess whether or not the decisions you are making are helping you reach your organization’s goals. Whether your business is small or large, a business strategy is the road map that will guide you to success.

Branding is often thought of in superficial terms. It is easily overlooked when one sits down to develop their business strategy. Often, this is because there is not enough importance placed on company identity, or as previously outlined, how people perceive you. Without a clear identity you have no way to communicate who you are at your core. Therefore, you are unable to communicate how your customers or future clients should view and feel about you. In the simplest terms, a “brand” is the identity of your business and “branding” is how you, as a marketer, decide to communicate that identity to your prospective customers and also how those customers feel when they interact with you. In our current world people make emotional purchase decisions, especially about where they want to live. You want them to feel good about you, your brand, and ultimately where they will live, hopefully long term.

We have all heard the stories where an inexperienced landlord with no vested interest in our industry, behaves in a way that

ends up catching the attention of the media. These stories are not only detrimental to that business, but to the overall industry. Having a business strategy that includes a focus on branding and how you want your customers [the tenants] to feel about your rental business helps to mitigate these risks. Building a foundation that instills confidence in your customers and reinforces a sense of respectful service and professionalism are important.

Building upon how you want your business to reflect your core values, keep the following three questions in mind:

1) What does your brand stand for? This can encompass your mission statement and can include internal and external elements such as nurturing a healthy employment culture by reminding employees of their value, providing ongoing training, and engaging in education initiatives like the complimentary I Rent it Right program offered by LandlordBC. External elements that are more specific to the rental housing industry can include things like committing to an open door communication policy with your tenants, only offering rental housing that is safe and secure, and sharing information regarding community initiatives such as Block Watch programs or neighbourhood events. At a fundamental level, what your brand stands for is what your business is offering to customers, how they view you, and how you make them feel.

2) What commitment is your business making to customers?

This is the promise you are making to your customers. Remember, any promises and expectations you set, your customers will hold you accountable to. Beyond this, you need to consider how you want customers to feel when they think about you and your brand. Is it sense of pride, confidence, or comradery? Whatever you decide, be sure that your brand strategy encompasses these traits. Your mission statement, the cornerstone of your established business strategy, should reinforce this commitment.

3) What traits do you want to convey to your customers

through marketing? This can be the most challenging part because it is the process of creating the right message and taking what is generally an intangible idea and turning into something that your customers can process in a more concrete way. Typically, this focuses on the experience that a customer can expect to have when engaging with your business. This customer experience reinforces your brand strategy and works to instill an emotional attachment between customers and your company’s products and services.

By keeping the above three things in mind, you will increase the value and longevity of your business. You will be able to grow your business while connecting with your current and future customers. Allocating the time to properly map out your business strategy, and focus on branding goals, sets you up for long term success. All aspects of your business strategy need to be working in sync to create a healthy brand because a healthy brand increases the trust and confidence that your customers will have in your products and services.

CBRE LIMITED NATIONAL APARTMENT GROUP | BRITISH COLUMBIA A leader in Metro Vancouver and Victoria Apartment sales between 2015 - 2019, with a total sales value in excess of $1.02 Billion!*

*SOURCE: REALNET AND CBRE (JANUARY 1, 2015 – DECEMBER 31, 2019 COMBINED). INCLUDES TRANSACTIONS WITH CO-OPERATING BROKERS.

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