A real estate marketer can mean a lot of things, but at Bullpen, we use the term "marketer" to describe design professionals. Companies that hire marketers typically need help creating polished, client-facing materials. A good marketer can help your firm make an unforgettable first impression.
At a more granular level, common marketer responsibilities include:
- Broker Opinion of Value (BOV): A BOV is one of the first documents that a broker presents to a seller when they want a listing. In addition to having quality content, they need to present the content in a polished, beautiful way. While a brokerage analyst typically handles the numbers and content, a marketer puts the information into a compelling package.
- Teaser: A teaser is typically used by a broker to advertise an upcoming "for sale" or "for rent" listing. Investors and developers will also use teasers to get their investors excited about an upcoming opportunity. A teaser is typically a first-impression, and it must look great.
- Marketing Package: A marketing package is used by brokers to distribute a new offerings to their buyer pool. Unlike a short teaser, the marketing package is much longer and contains all of the relevant information about a property. Rather than "copy and paste" an ugly excel table into a powerpoint deck, a marketer can ensure all content aligns with your brand
- Lending Package: Like a broker marketing package, a lending package is distributed by a loan broker to their lender network. A beautiful (and accurate) lending package can tip the scale in the borrower's favor.
- Offering Memos: An offering memo (aka investment memo) is typically used by investment and development firms as a marketing tool for raising capital. The multi-page document typically contains all relevant information about the property (or fund), management team, and returns. Trust is a major factor in an investment decision. A beautiful offering memo helps.
- Branding: When you see a CBRE marketing package, you immediately know it is from CBRE. Colors, font, and layout all impact your brand recognition. A marketer can help you create an eye-catching brand for your business.
When do you need to hire a marketer?
A marketer is typically the second or third hire at a brokerage firm (behind the analyst). However, most small brokerage firms prefer freelance marketing support that scales with their business. Large brokerage firms will have a dedicated, full-time marketing/brand team.
Investment and development firms will typically use freelance marketers until they reach 50+ employees. Some big firms choose to outsource their marketing and brand work to freelancers and agencies in perpetuity. Investment firms typically produce fewer client-facing marketing materials than brokerage firms.
What differentiates a good real estate marketer from a great one?
There is no shortage of marketing "experts" online. However, most of them won't be able to create the polished product that you need. Below are a few qualities that you should look for in a real estate marketer:
- Commercial Real Estate Experience: This is a no brainer. The best marketer for your commercial real estate business will have experience at a similar firm. Knowledge about what is (and isn't) important is crucial when creating eye-catching marketing materials.
- Creative: Great marketers are creative in their approach to marketing strategy and are willing to try new ideas.
- Eye For Catchy Design: Attention spans are short. Marketers must be able to imagine and create eye-catching advertisements across all mediums that encourage investors to follow the call to action to learn more about the property.
- Brand Identity: Your marketing materials are a reflection of your brand identity. Great marketers understand how to create and implement brand elements in your work.
- Detail Oriented: Your marketer should be very comfortable working with property details. Unlike horshoes and hand grenades, "close" isn't good enough.
Where can you hire a commercial real estate marketer?
Your company needs a marketer with commercial real estate experience. After scouring sites like Upwork and Fiverr, I know first-hand how hard it can be to find great freelancers like this.
That’s where Bullpen comes in. We've created a network of the top freelancer marketers in the commercial real estate industry. You can use Bullpen to hire talented marketers for your most important, client-facing materials. We pre-screen the candidates, verify their experience, and handpick the best talent for your hiring needs … all within 72 hours.
