According to a 2013 report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, a whopping 43 million American households now live in residential rental properties. For entrepreneurs considering property management, this growing figure represents a staggering pool of business opportunities. While the growth potential of this industry has skyrocketed, both would-be property managers and established firms need to formulate a strategic growth plan to maximize profits and build momentum. The following steps are among the most crucial for anyone looking to start a property management company.

Build a Reputation

Are you eager to court homeowners en masse, but struggling to make an impact in your local market? Building a great reputation takes time, but there are certain keys you can use to accelerate the process. First and foremost, focus on providing exceptional service to the customers you already possess. Some business owners mistakenly direct their zeal at reaching new clients, in turn neglecting those who already entrust their homes to the property firm.

Organic feedback and reviews from your customers will help firmly establish your business’ credibility, but consider joining both national and local housing associations to further polish your image. Groups like the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) provide affiliate membership to real estate professionals. Joining these groups gives you access to a powerful network of other players in the industry, while also offering peace of mind to potential customers.

Master the Art of Marketing

The modern business owner must remain versatile and in tune with current market trends. If you haven’t already established a marketing plan, begin working on identifying the niche you’d like to target and craft a strategy for reaching those individuals. Consider using a combination of both offline and online marketing campaigns to better connect with homeowners, property investors, and tenants. When in doubt, turn to a professional team to polish your company’s vision and create an aesthetically pleasing brand image.

Embrace Technological Resources

Whereas property management websites once featured nothing more than a few simple lines of text about available properties, today’s real estate firms have access to cutting-edge tools that make it easy to find new clients, process tenant applications, and interact with existing customers. Property management portals like AppFolio and Propertyware are two notable examples. Don’t hesitate to integrate these tools into your business website—not only will this approach satisfy your customers, but it will help to streamline your workflow and maximize your staff’s efficiency.

When the various responsibilities of running a property management company are addressed appropriately, this unique industry can prove quite lucrative. On the flip side, neglecting the fundamentals of building a vibrant, modern brand could have devastating consequences for the longevity of your company.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Schedule a consultation today and let our marketing experts take the reigns. We’ll analyze your current property management site, provide you with practical feedback and advice, and help you build a strategy moving forward. From advertising campaigns to property portal integration, our talented team of developers, content creation experts, and marketing gurus can’t wait to help bring your vision to fruition.

Call us today to learn more.

Having too much money sounds like a wonderful problem for a small business to have, but this can actually be a bit of a bind. If companies fail to use up their budget by the end of the year, they might find themselves short-changed in the new year. But spend it on the wrong things, and you could find yourself in hot water in the next quarter.

So what should you do?

Marketing your business now will pay off in 2015. Choose from our ideas below to utilize the last of 2014’s marketing dollar for profit in the coming year.

1. Redesign your current site

Websites should be redesigned every 4 years, minimum. We always build with the newest technology, but that doesn’t mean that sites we did a few years ago are still selling well. Make sure you’re not bleeding leads with an old, outdated website.

2. Get a free month with annual support billing

If you’re going to be on our support plan next year, you might as well pay upfront and get the benefits. Not only does it utilize your end-of-year marketing dollar, but you also get the 12th month free.

3. Choose a higher plan with more design hours

Silver plans and higher benefit from included design and development hours every month. If you’re a savvy site owner, you can use this time to update your graphics, layout, software, and even your content (we do blog writing!) – this keeps your site fresh, and feeds those Google Rankings.

4. Get a reputation face-lift with GatherKudos

One bad review can immobilize a business. For just $29 a month, you can implement a strategy to stop bad feedback before it becomes a review, and help your business to get better reviews, constructive feedback, and ultimately, more sales.

5. Why wait? Use PPC to get instant business

OpenPotion now does Pay Per Click (PPC) Management! We have expert resources (his name is Cody) to get you more leads, more business, more profit. Be quick, we only work with one client per vertical and market – don’t let your competitor sign up first.

6. Get your social media accounts in line

We do business account setup to get your social media where it needs to be. Whether you have stale accounts, or need a whole new strategy, we can get you configured so it’s easier to stay social.

7. Increase your blogging efforts

If your blogging efforts amount to a few dreary articles a month, you’re wasting the benefit of one of the best tools on your website. OpenPotion has an in-house writing team that can create sales-effective content, delivered fresh to your inbox (or straight onto your blog) whenever you need it, so your site stays active and popular.

8. Prime your print media with better graphics

Just because it’s printed, doesn’t mean it’s timeless. Whether you’re a networking genius or a strategic socialite, you probably have some of your old business cards kicking around, causing you grief. Let our in-house design team revamp your graphics and get you back on the A-list.

9. Get your freebie consultation with Helen

Ok, this one doesn’t use any of your marketing budget, but it’s still totally worth it. Book a free time with Helen (Jason’s personal assistant and author of this fabulous newsletter) to go through your current site and identify areas for improvement. She’ll be here all week, folks.

Under Construction: Building a Property Management Company From the Ground Up

9 Smart Ways to Max out Your Year-End Budget