A 2023 Property Management Industry Report shows that 46% of property managers grew their property portfolios by over 25% in the last two years. Furthermore, 92% of property managers plan to add new properties to their portfolios in the next two years.
If you thought a cooling housing market would slow down the U.S. property management industry … think again. The industry was valued at $16.47 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $39.51 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.21% from 2022 to 2030.
- Study the Market and the Competition
- Set Ambitious (But Realistic) Goals
- Invest in the Right Tech Stack
- Develop an Online Marketing Strategy
- Build Your Professional Network
- Treat Your Existing Clients (and Their Tenants) Well
Consequently, there may be no better time to expand your property management business than now. Though it may require careful planning, hard work, and time, here are some tips to take your property management business to the next level:
1. Study the Market and the Competition
Start by studying the housing market. Identify growing neighborhoods that aren’t yet saturated with other property managers.
For example, many smaller cities experienced rapid growth during COVID-19 due to remote workers fleeing bigger cities. These pandemic boomtowns saw a sharp increase in rental demand, making them great candidates for expanding your property management business.
Of course, you should also study local and state regulations that govern things like proper zoning, occupancy limits, and security deposits since these may impact your interest in a particular market. Recently the federal and state governments and rental housing platforms have made adjustments to laws and platforms to crack down on rental housing “junk fees,” thereby helping increase transparency for the renter so that they can understand the total cost of renting.
Additionally, study your competitors. Find out what services they offer their clients, what software they use, and what their property portfolios look like. This can let you in on valuable insights on how to run your own business.
2. Set Ambitious (But Realistic) Goals
Once you better understand the property management market, it’s time to set business goals. These can include the number of units you want to manage by a specific date, a neighborhood you want to break into, or a new property type you want to add to your portfolio.
Remember that you don’t want your property management business to grow so fast that you don’t have the staff or resources to keep up. This is why it’s essential to set goals that meet the SMART criteria, i.e., specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.
To set these goals, get together with your property management team. Then make a 1-year, 5-year, or 10-year business plan to achieve them. The SMARTer the goals, the more likely you are to reach them.
3. Invest in the Right Tech Stack
As your property management business grows, you’ll need the correct set (or stack) of software tools to support it. Simply increasing your staff won’t always cut it.
An effective property management tech stack may include all of the following:
- Communication software for email, video conferencing, and instant messaging
- Customer management system (CRM) to manage relationships with clients
- Cloud storage for storing digital documents such as leases and applications
- Work order software to track maintenance requests and work order statuses
- Online rental payment software to automate rent collection
- Tenant application and screening software to pick the best tenant applicants
- Accounts payable software for managing invoices and bills from vendors
- Project management software to keep team members on the same page
- Lead generation software to grow your property portfolio
Pro tip: Use PropStream’s Linked Properties feature to find all the properties an investor owns. This can help you identify which owners are most worth pursuing as clients.
Together, these tools can automate routine business processes and make your property management team more efficient.
4. Develop an Online Marketing Strategy
Getting the word out about your property management business is crucial for growth. You can do this through word of mouth or online marketing channels.
Regarding digital marketing, start by ensuring your business can easily be found online. For example, you can create a Google My Business (GMB) profile to help your business appear in local searches for property managers. Similarly, you can create accounts for your business on review sites like Yelp and neighborhood sites like Nextdoor.
Another way to boost your business’s online presence is to be active on social media. Create business accounts on platforms like Meta (Facebook) and Twitter and use them to interact with your target audience. This is also an excellent opportunity to position yourself as an expert by sharing educational content through short posts or videos. For example, you could comment on rental market trends or offer helpful landlord tips.
Of course, you can always invest in traditional digital marketing channels such as paid social media ads, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, search engine marketing (SEM), and search engine optimization (SEO). If you do, create dedicated landing pages for the different services you provide and the different markets you serve. This helps ensure more of your ad traffic converts into clients.
5. Build Your Professional Network
Success in property management depends heavily on your professional network. Agents, brokers, investors, and other property managers can be valuable connections when growing your business. They can refer you to client leads, advise, and provide other helpful resources.
Meet other real estate professionals by attending industry events and joining online and local real estate groups like your local real estate investors association (REIA). Offer your help to those you meet so that they are more likely to return the favor. The earlier you start building your network, the better.
6. Treat Your Existing Clients (and Their Tenants) Well
One of the best ways to attract new clients as a property manager is to go above and beyond for your existing clients.
For example, tenant turnover can be very costly for landlords. If you can keep your client’s tenant turnover rate low, you’ll demonstrate your actual value, and they’ll be more likely to refer you to their network.
Another way to show your worth to existing and potential clients is to expand the services you offer. These may include:
- Tenant placement
- Rent and fee collection
- Property maintenance and repairs
- Cleaning
- Lease management
- Marketing and advertising
- Market analysis and rent setting
- Utility management
- Evictions processing
- Property inspections
- Accounting and tax preparation
- Legal compliance
- Outdoor landscaping services
Whatever you do, always provide quality service, not just quantity. Over time, your reputation as a skilled property manager will spread, and you may start seeing business come to you.
Finally, don’t be afraid to experiment with these growth tactics. See what works and what doesn’t to refine your business strategy.
Ready to find your next landlord client? Try PropStream today with our 7-day free trial and get 50 leads on us!
