Hyper Local Commercial Real Estate. They Are Not Hiding.

This is killing all of us!

This is killing all of us!

Your idea of a basic search scenario for a commercial real estate user goes like this. They think they may be expanding or contracting space. They have a general idea of a neighborhood that they want to locate in. They get online “briefly” searching for property. They happen upon your splashing corporate (worthless) website with your gorgeous pic and click on your bio. After reading the immense impressive and lengthy list of schools you attended and deals you have done they take a shot in the dark and click contact and send a brief “please help our sorry ass find some space.” message. Then the inspirational (to you ) consultative sales/relationship/deal making process starts. That’s how it works today right? Maybe there is a little more personal touch that you apply to be “on the edge.” Maybe there is just that hint of a collaborative (in your mind) effort between both parties.

If that is Not what you think today’s commercial real estate user is doing to find commercial real estate and the process in which they “transact.” BOOM! Welcome to the 21st century……maybe! If you do think so stop reading and click off. I said click off. The rest of this article will be total pie in the sky bullshit that you know can not will not and better not be happening.

Head down faces glowing.

How are the potential users finding commercial real estate? First off they are finding locations via mobile or is that too obvious? Finding locations from google search and maps. Finding locations by uses and users of a location like a coffee shop or an accounting office. When you travel for business how do you find the hotel you are staying at? How about someplace to eat and get a drink? Head down on the phone and watching the navigation arrow. I just visited Chicago for a little business and a concert. I had Google Navigation on all the time. Every location that I went to for any purpose at all was a commercial real estate location. You say well fine and good that means nothing to me. I am in it to do deals. Good for you. The owners and users you represent are in it for…..MONEY! I was just one of the millions of users of commercial real estate in Chicago spending $$$$$. Go ahead and disassociate yourself from the end user…….at your own peril.

Boots on the ground.

Mobile or better put the mobile environment has changed the way we evaluate products and services. The experience for commercial real estate has not changed. Why not? We still market the same way. We still present the data and location the same way. The quality of “content” that the consumer/user has to help them make commercial real estate decisions is basically non-existent.

We us them and they in commercial real estate need to open up to other content and data providers to help bring in rich full and time sensitive data. Oh but wait a minute you say commercial real estate is a much longer buying cycle is it not? This is not some sixteen year old girl deciding on an impulse shoe purchase. Oh but you just wait a minute this is hyper local commercial real estate. Think of the information already available to the user. Think of the data sets that you are not a part of. Why not?

Why not become part of a mapping application,traffic application,pedestrian application,weather application,place application,news application? Do you think that this “information overload” is a ridiculous waste of time and does not focus on the data and process necessary for commercial real estate? Time to think the exact opposite!

To quote a “famous” #CRE/MLS type person ” all traction is local.” ( Hi Sam )

So if all traction is local why BROADCAST to the rest of the world? Don’t and stay the hell out of my inbox thank you very much. You need to focus in your back yard. Look at the data sets above. Yes I know they may not be that clean. By that I mean that some of the data sets only have a certain shelf life-like the weather for example. Does that mean that it may not be relevant? Hell no. It makes it just that more relevant TODAY! Start thinking in real-time. Start thinking in data real-time. Stop thinking about a cycle of data that is stagnate sometimes for months even years.

Level playing field?

Sit back and think right now. Think about your market. Think about who if anyone is thinking about local wait I mean hyper local commercial real estate? Yes, that’s the correct answer everyone but commercial real estate. All you want is the ability to compete right? Or are you one of those assholes that thinks they already dominate and don’t want anybody near your market. Guess what. You have no choice and here is why.

No control.

All of the data sets that are necessary for hyper local commercial real estate are controlled by…………everyone but you. You us they in commercial real estate do not even have a stake in these data sets.

Simple solution.

Belong take a stake become a real-time relevant piece of the hyper local data sets. How? Simple do the opposite of what you are doing now.

Example: You now take a listing. You send in to the marketing person. They upload it to your brokers site. They upload it to a CIE/ Mls type site. They upload it to a “national” site. Basically all accessible by to for and from brokers. The client/user DOES NOT CARE. THEY ARE NOT SEARCHING IN THIS ENVIRONMENT.

Let me keep going. The user/client is in a mobile environment. You are NOT! The client/user searches in a real-time data rich decision-making environment where you are NOT!

They will make a commercial real estate decision based on data which you do not provide and do not control!

So you make the decision to become part of your hyper local data set. You help define the hyper local market. You become a relevant part of a hyper local commercial real estate market that already exists. You engage the client/user well before they even think they need a commercial real estate “solution” from you in an environment that they have already created.

What is the hyper local commercial real estate market. You think it is listings and buildings right? All you have to do is put your buildings in that environment and say “FOR SALE” “FOR LEASE” and the hyper local world will knock your door down. Wrong!

It’s so much more than that and that’s a good thing for commercial real estate.

Hyper Local Commercial Real Estate. They Are Not Hiding!