According to Agency Sales Magazine, 8 out of 10 papers in the average American household are not looked at. That includes papers, files, cards, folders, and letters. If you’re skeptical, think about that pile of mail sitting on the kitchen counter—do you really know what’s in there? In general terms, we refer to these piles of extraneous content as clutter. Clutter is not confined to the random stack of unread newspapers, but to any untidy mass.Commercial real estate marketing means dealing with a different type of clutter. The mass of content in this case takes the form of the cumulative marketing and advertising messages that are targeted at audiences each day. The magnitude of these communications is so great, that Marketing Week asserts that 60% of the marketing content directed at individuals amounts to nothing more than clutter. So, nearly half of all messages sent are perceived as useless noise. Those are tough odds for a real estate business that’s sending out an email newsletter in hopes of attracting prospects to a new investment opportunity or a property for sale. It is also a signal that you may want to engage some professional help to ensure that your message breaks through the clutter.

Outsourcing Is Not New

Marketing your CRE business is critical to its success. But, you and your marketing team have a lot to do in order to make that happen, including development of a marketing plan, branding, content creation and distribution, internal and external communications, website and social media management, and so on. It’s hard for even the best in-house teams to get that all done, especially if they’re missing a skill set or dividing their time among other projects related to the core business.

Outsourcing your marketing can help balance the burdens that come with running a great marketing program. Using a third party to help with this is far from new. Top real estate companies have outsourced marketing functions to scale their businesses for a long time. It often saves money and improves quality, but there is other advantages as well:

Expertise Perhaps the biggest reason for outsourcing your marketing is expertise. Hiring a commercial real estate marketing company means hiring a team comprised of experts in your industry. That team will know how to reach your target audiences, understand relevant trends and will already be fully aware industry jargon. No ramp-up is needed, your virtual marketing team can hit the ground running.

Build a strategy Marketing isn’t about one and done, it’s about creating a strategic marketing plan that evolves with your business. But creating a plan takes time and resources, so often it doesn’t happen. An outsourced team will work with you to create a plan that fits your organization and then ensure that it is being executed against.

Speed to market The old saying that time is money is particularly true today as interest rates seem to be rising by the day. The right marketing team will work hard to make sure campaigns and materials are delivered on-schedule per your marketing plan. Hitting a deadline can make or break a listing opportunity that could result in thousands of commission dollars a team dedicated to your marketing efforts will ensure that never happens.

Analytics We live in the age of big data, understanding this data will be critical to your plans. It’s crucial to not only understand that data is important but also knowing the right resources to use to extract this data and how to interpret it to improve future commercial real estate marketing campaigns is essential.

Financial flexibility  With a traditional employee, you must pay their salary whether they are working or not. With an outsourced marketing team, you are not required to cover sick leave, taxes, or benefits. You decide how many hours of service you need, and pay for nothing more. According to Entrepreneur, a virtual assistant can save you up to 78% in costs per year compared to a regular employee.

Commercial real estate businesses today need to keep up in a fast-paced world. The expansion of technology and the influx of competitors from all over the world are just some of the factors contributing to the competitive landscape. Outsourcing your marketing can help you stay ahead of these changes and break through the clutter.