Businesses use different forms of marketing strategies to attract clients or customers to purchase their goods or services. One of the most common ways to do that is by offering price deals such as discounts, rebates, or incentives – offers that make your customer spend less money, or gain more than their money’s worth.
However, not all deals are good for your business. You have to be strategic in what you will offer and when and how you will offer it.
For a rental property landlord, a popular option to offer is a first-month rental discount. Although that is still an enticing deal for potential tenants, it might appear too desperate and it might seem that you are devaluing your property if improperly advertised.
Offering deals is a good idea, but only if you do it right. These insights can help you execute marketing deals to effectively attract tenants without hurting your business.
Your Choice of Words Matters
Believe it or not, some words that are popularly used for special offers such as ‘free’, ‘bargain’, ‘cheap’, and ‘discount’ have a negative connotation. Although not directly, but subconsciously, it relays a message of low quality or decreased value.
Instead, it’s better to use terms such as ‘complimentary’, ‘reduced’, ‘bonus’, or ‘better value’.
Compare these examples:
- “Get a $300 DISCOUNT on your first month’s rent!”
- “Receive a COMPLIMENTARY $300 coupon for your first month’s rent!”
The difference is subtle but crucial. The first example shows a decrease in value, while the second one is giving something of value.
Options for Incentives
If you think a discount on rent could decrease the value of your rental unit, incentives that would be of value to tenants would be a good alternative, and you have more room to be creative in the kind of incentive you will offer. Here are a few examples:
- Modify lease terms for a certain amount of time (e.g. waived pet rent for the second pet for the first 3 months)
- Coupons on neighboring businesses such as laundry shops and cafés.
- Refund of administrative fees like costs background checks once the rental application is approved.
- Free parking for a certain number of months.
Limited-time offers
Set a timeframe for the validity of your offer. Making an offer available year-round is another way of making your property appear of low value. If an offer is only for a limited time, it will encourage renters to grab their chance the soonest time they can, making it faster for you to close a deal.
Do Not Risk Your Business for a Deal
Avoid incentives that would be a possible threat to your business such as waived security deposit. This offer will make your tenant complacent in terms of preserving your property’s good condition because there will be no risk on his part. They also wouldn’t be too concerned if they’ll delay their rental payments, or not pay at all.
Add the offer to your listing
Put your offer up where it can be visible to a wider market. When you publish your listings on property management websites like Padleads, it can be syndicated to high-traffic rental websites where it can be seen by thousands of home hunters looking to rent.