FUNCTIONALITY THAT COULD ATTRACT COMMERCIAL INSTRUCTIONS

 

We all know that economic predictions are not good. A resent survey in The Estates Gazette reports that a lack of business confidence and commercial funding will continue to have a negative impact on the commercial property sector in 2012.

In this type of environment, attracting good stock can be difficult especially with more chartered surveyors and commercial agents chasing fewer opportunities. So how do you differentiate your business from a hundred other commercial agents who are making the same claims about the quality of their service?

Perhaps the functionality of your website could go a long way to help.

All commercial agents know that marketing a property using all the digital tools available to them will play a huge part in finding prospective tenants and buyers. Yet this can also demonstrates to potential clients the way that you would market their properties. Therefore the chartered surveyors website featuring the latest functionality will present client property in the most effective way. This will set them apart from their competition.

It’s All In The Eye?

Remember, we are all visual creatures. Just because someone works in the commercial property sector doesn’t mean that they no longer respond to visual stimulus. An image can communicate faster than a page of copy, however well written and engaging the text may be.

Here is a breakdown of the type of functionality you could have as standard on your website.

• Big Photography

The greater bandwidth it is possible to have today can allow commercial agents to feature much larger images on their websites.

Commercial property websites really don’t make the most of photography.  I understand that 20,000 sqft of industrial space may not be the most exciting thing for you to deal with, but internal images could help a potential tenant to envisage their business there.

Potential commercial tenants may not always read the property description, but they will always look at a picture. And it’s the picture that they will recall.

• Floorplans

You are marketing space, so show it in the best way possible. Modern websites can support very large floorplans. They are easily uploaded via the websites CMS or Content Management System. You do have a CMS on your website…surely!!

• The Moving Image

Most specialist property websites can support video and property fly-thru’s. Often it is an option that you enable within the CMS for which ever property you have media. This could be useful for new prestigious developments for example.

• PDF Brochure

They are great for providing the client with a convenient way to download and print off property details. It’s a fully branded brochure for each of the properties that you market, but you don’t have the cost of printing. Apologies to the vast majority of you that know about PDF’s is, but I’m amazed how many commercial agents don’t have the facility on their website.

• Mapping

Your website could feature Google enhanced mapping. What am I saying could…it should feature Google mapping.

The client can view commercial property plotted on a map within your web page. This is a far better user experience and doesn’t navigate traffic off your website. The map can also feature satellite and hybrid views. You can even customise information to plot local amenities. Clients find this hugely impressive.

• Streetview

It has been about for ages really, yet not used as much as it could be for commercial property websites. Very effective for retail property.

And There’s SEO Benefit As Well?!

If you’ve read any of my articles about SEO, you will know that Google loves content that’s relevant and constantly changing. All of the functionality above contributes to that content and goes towards demonstrating your authority in a particular are or property type.

It all helps to push your company up the Google rankings for leading chartered surveyors and  and commercial agents.

In Conclusion

In 2012 there really is no excuse for your company not to have the very best online presence. You should be providing your clients with the best platform to digitally market their property. All this technology, and more, is available to you and is not expensive.

But remember, ensure that you use a website design agency that has a track record within the property sector.

 

Philip Burrows, Marketing Consultant