Marketing: CRE Marketing in the Time of the Pandemic

Last summer, the Hines team received word that an unidentified customer was undertaking a multi-city search to find at least 200,000 square feet of office space. One of the places that attracted the prospective tenant was the West Midtown submarket in Atlanta, where the Hines Atlantic Yards project sits.

That customer turned out to be Microsoft. Hines and its partner Invesco Real Estate scrambled to woo the technology giant and ultimately secured the prize: Microsoft will occupy 523,000 square feet, the entirety of the two-building Atlantic Yards office development, in the summer of 2021.

That two-year process was an arduous journey, made far more complicated when the pandemic suddenly struck in February. Among many other tasks, the marketing process had to be rejiggered to accommodate health and safety needs.

“There is no question that the environment for traditional marketing has been completely rocked,” says Hines’ senior managing director John Heagy. “While we were working with Microsoft [before the pandemic], we were able to show space, have meetings with them directly and meet them at the site on a regular basis.”

While brokers are now able to meet with clients again, if both parties are willing, the process is still cumbersome. Everyone is wearing masks, staying socially distant and arriving in different cars.

You’ll hear that the process is cumbersome from brokers that you talk with on the ownership side, Heagy says, “but we have worked pretty hard to make it as easy as possible for brokers to do tours with us.”

Like many firms, Hines has adopted virtual leasing to supplement more limited in-person interactions. “We’ve gotten really good at doing virtual tours,” Heagy says. “Whether we’re taking up a camera and introducing ourselves over the camera and then walking around the building and doing the tours via Zoom or other means, we’ve gotten very good at doing that end of the presentation.”

Hines’ experience with Microsoft not only illustrates how fundamental the marketing process is to the CRE transaction, but also how it rapidly evolved to deal with the pandemic—in some cases with surprisingly positive results.

For example, Covid allowed Heagy and his partner Tori Kerr the opportunity to tune out outside distractions and focus on closing the deal. Instead of traveling to work on other deals, they were at home and focused on Microsoft.

“We worked nonstop from our homes for 60 days, responding to questions and documenting the things that were important, knowing that this was Microsoft,” Heagy says.

There have been other positive changes to the marketing experience as a result of the pandemic. Indeed, many in the industry will say that this Black Swan event has accelerated trends that were already occurring in the marketing space—or should have been.

THE VALUE OF SOFT SKILLS

For instance, Jacquelyn Awve, marketing consultant at Jackie Awve Marketing, says the pandemic has pushed commercial real estate to be more open-minded about non-traditional communication channels to ensure value propositions are getting across.

“It’s important to realize that while some of these social channels have the appearance of being economical, the time it takes to hit the right note for each platform should not be underestimated,” she says. “Industry veterans are starting to put more value on soft skills—which hasn’t always the case because it’s hard to put the value of that on a line-item on a spreadsheet.”

Honing and expanding communication skills has also become key, says Benjamin van Loon, communications director at the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate.

That includes the messaging, the strategy, the empathy, and the interdisciplinary insight needed to meet the dynamic needs of the present while forecasting the possibilities and pitfalls of multiple potential futures.

“Overlapping crises in the form of contagious diseases, civil unrest, joblessness, racial inequity, and other existential issues have made it impossible (and foolish) to divorce business decision-making from social awareness,” he says. “Real estate affects everyone’s core existential needs, and so it is to the benefit of communicators and marketers within the industry to decode, demystify, and de-jargonize the world of real estate.”

STANDING OUT IN THE CROWD

At the same time you have to make sure your message is able to stand apart amid a cacophony of other voices. With the COVID crisis, commercial real estate professionals have less and less time to read emails, publications, social media and other marketing vehicles, says David Ebeling, owner of Ebeling Communications. “In order to grab their attention, you need to provide insight that will help them advise their clients,” he explains. “Knowledge is power now more than ever.”

According to Ebeling, “showcasing your knowledge in an article, marketing piece or social media can turn a cold lead into a warm lead or a warm lead into a hot lead.”

It can be hard, though, to showcase your lead when the emergence of COVID-19 that basically replaced what marketers once counted on for in-person meetings to connect with clients and prospects.

According to Janet Cook, VP of marketing at NB Private Capital, the business and networking meetings, conferences and client events have basically gone out the window. “In this regard, it’s been important to pivot and embrace alternatives and that’s been the emergence of Zoom and Webex video conferences for the industry,” Cook says. “Based on the uncertainty of what we don’t know about when the pandemic will be ending, I think these webinars currently make sense.”

As a company, NB Private Capital tries to personalize communication with weekly updates about the firm’s properties with interesting narrative and photos. “The investors really love this and our followers on our social media accounts.”

Sometimes, standing out can be just about being encouraging. “I’ve been sending out quotes [on the social media platforms] called ‘Motivation Monday’ because sometimes we just need encouragement with each other. Even a human interest or ‘feel good’ story may be the perfect opportunity to start a conversation with someone,” she says. “My LinkedIn account has certainly been a valuable tool for also sharing job posts that individuals will then consider as a good referral source.”

ARE YOUR AMENITIES COVIDFRIENDLY?

For CBRE, the coronavirus outbreak has also not only transformed marketing from a client and company perspective, but for how you are marketing an actual commercial property too. During pre-coronavirus times, the most in-demand office amenities included gyms, cafes, lounges and meeting spaces and now, most buyers are concerned about indoor air quality, touchless technologies, outdoor amenities and building apps, according to a recent CBRE report.

“Before COVID-19, most property marketing emphasized in-demand amenities like communal gathering spaces. Today tenants want property features that support a healthy and safe building environment and a property owner that cares about their tenant’s wellbeing,” the report stated.

While virtual tours have been around for a while, shutdowns and social distancing have made virtual tours a necessity and agents need to find ways to make their listings stand out in a competitive market.

CBRE recommends a multi-pronged approach to virtual marketing that incorporates sales management platforms; “dynamic marketing” using brochures, websites and e-blasts; and advertising on social media.

“Now, greater comfort with the technology, combined with travel restrictions and cost-savings initiatives, will lead to out-of-market investors and tenants virtually touring dozens of properties before making a short-list to tour in person,” the report states.

Before an in-person tour, agents need to communicate with owners to ensure that the building spaces have been deep cleaned and designate a guide to take potential buyers on a touchless tour along a clearly marked path. It’s also important to find out whether the owner requires a waiver before conducting tours.

“While virtual tours are replacing in-person tours in many instances, physically visiting a shortlist of properties is likely necessary to make a final selection,” says Emma Buckland, global president of property management at CBRE.

“Both parties are working together to support health and safety protocols for existing and prospective tenants during on-site tours.”

Indeed, it is a key part of the marketing process that has drawn from all aspects of the business to properly pull off.

“The partnership between our property management, leasing and sales professionals is more important now than ever before,” Buckland adds.