Are you the owner of a property management company that’s looking to find new ways to stand out from the competition? In an industry as competitive as real estate, this is a goal that many businesses will have. One way your property management company can get noticed by new landlords and real estate investors is to show them exactly what your team is capable of through professional case studies.
The truth is, most real estate investors are understandably selective when it comes to who they trust to care for their properties. After all, being a property manager is a lot of responsibility, and most landlords won’t trust just anyone to handle their investments.
This is when you use a case study to help validate your expertise. Case studies can help property managers boost their credibility and convert more leads into long-term clients.
In this blog post, we will answer all of your top questions about case studies and how they can help your business grow. We’ll go over what exactly a case study is and why it can be an important aspect of promoting your property management company.
Then, we will talk about everything that goes into structuring a case study, from beginning to end. We’ll also discuss different finishing touches that can help your case studies stand out, like including a unique, personal spin and incorporating visual aspects.
Are you ready to learn more? Keep reading!
What Is a Case Study?
Before we talk about how it can help your property management company, let’s go over what exactly a case study is.
A case study is an extremely detailed version of a client testimonial that really showcases your property management company’s expertise. In a case study, you will want to tell the full story of what your client was struggling with before you and your company came into the picture, and how you were able to find solutions to those struggles.
This mainly involves creating a detailed examination of a specific property management scenario that your company has experienced with a client, showing real challenges, strategies that were implemented, and the achieved outcome.
Property managers often use case studies to share their unique insights and experiences, in addition to showing off their team’s problem-solving skills. In a case study, your goal is to show exactly how your services can make a future client’s life easier in the long run by proving how you have helped clients in the past.
The truth is, a case study is much more than just a casual client success story. A case study that is done well will include every relevant detail including as much research and data as possible. It is long and takes a lot of work, but we promise, it can definitely prove to be worth the effort.
How Can Property Managers Use Case Studies to Grow Their Business?
Well, by taking the time to delve into real-life experiences, property managers can use case studies to verify their expertise and offer proof that their services are just as high quality as they claim they are.
Prospective clients and new leads will see the success that you provided to other real estate investors and be able to accurately determine whether or not they want to work with you as well.
Here’s an example: Let’s say there is a prospective client who is having trouble finding a tenant for their vacant rental home. They have tried everything they can, but they just can’t seem to find high-quality, reliable applicants for their property.
So they decide to do some research looking for a property manager to help them move past this hurdle and finally generate some income from their investment.
In their research, they come across your property management company and they begin to look through your case studies to learn more about your services. They see that just a month ago, you were able to help another landlord fill their property in just two weeks by using your own unique mix of modern and traditional advertising methods.
They also see that you were able to find a high-quality tenant due to your thorough tenant screening process and background checks. They even find a video of your happy client talking about how much your services have helped them in the long run.
The outcome? The prospective client, who is desperate for help filling their vacancies, decides that they want to work with your company. They reach out and you gain a new client.
In short, case studies can be a great way for your property management company to prove to prospective clients how helpful your services can truly be. Most landlords won’t trust their investments with just anybody, so this is a great way to earn their trust from the start.
Structuring a Case Study
When it comes to creating a case study for your property management company, it is absolutely crucial that you do it correctly. If you don’t do it right, your case study won’t be nearly as effective as it could be.
Not sure how to make a solid case study? Well, you’re in luck, because we’ve made a step-by-step guide to help you.
Step 1: Provide some context
For your case study to make sense to the reader, you will need to give some context. Your background information will ultimately serve as the foundation of your case study.
Start your case study by describing who your client is, how they found your company, and why they decided to invest in real estate in the first place. This can help a prospective client better understand what the client was looking for when they hired your property management company to help them.
If a prospect can relate to the client, they may have an easier time seeing themselves working with your company too.
Step 2: Describe the problem
Here, you will want to explain in detail all the struggles that your client was facing before they enlisted your help. These issues can be anything related to rental properties, such as maintenance issues, vacancies, trouble collecting rent, or dealing with problem tenants. State this issue very clearly and give lots of detail.
Step 3: Show your solution
In this section, it’s time to show off your expertise in the situation. Explain in detail the steps that you took to fix your client’s problem.
First, discuss the different options that you presented to your client in order to truly fix all of their issues. Then, talk about how each solution that you provided catered to finding a unique solution to the problems that you detailed earlier in the case study.
As always, the key to making a case study successful is detail, so make sure to include the specifics of the situation.
Step 4: Show off your results
Now, for the most important section of your case study: your results!
The truth is, your results are everything. After all, they are the reason for this case study in the first place.
In this section, you’ll want to include as many specific details as you can about your services and how they were able to improve your client’s life, whatever the situation may be.
Maybe you were able to use your own unique marketing techniques to find a tenant in two weeks, or you were able to provide periodic property inspections to make sure everything was well maintained.
Whatever it was, make sure you wrap up your story with a happy ending that shows just how you were able to use your expertise to help your client overcome whatever hurdle they were facing. From your case study, prospective clients should be able to clearly understand what your services are and why they were so important.
Step 5: Add your finishing touches
Finally, you will want to include some personal touches to make your case study stand out and to fully paint the picture of the story you are telling.
Here, you can add a testimonial written by the client themselves and some photos of the property so that the reader can have a visual representation of the study. We even suggest including a video review of the case study for those who would rather watch a video than read a long case study.
Making Your Case Study Accessible
Now that you have taken the time to really create the best case study possible for your property management company, you’ll want to make sure that it is going in the right places. So, here are some ways that you can use your case study to convert more leads:
1. Website
The first way to make sure that your case study is seen by prospective clients is to feature it on your property management company’s website. There are many ways that you can do this.
First, you can feature your case study on the homepage of your company’s website. This is a great place for it if you want as many people to see it as possible. After all, the homepage of your website will be the first thing that visitors see.
If you don’t want to feature the entire case study on your homepage, try including a short summary of what the case study is about and placing a link to the full page with it. This will pique the interest of new visitors and encourage them to check it out without crowding your homepage too much.
In addition to having your case studies on your website’s home page, you should have a separate page of your website that is specifically dedicated to your case studies. Link this to your homepage to increase the volume of traffic going to your case study page.
2. Email Marketing
Email marketing is an excellent way to have your case study seen by the right people.
Gather an email list from your present and past clients, then send out an email that showcases your case study. You can set up weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly emails that each feature a different case study or choose to feature it in your company’s newsletter.
This depends on how many case studies you commit to making. People who are on your email list may be curious to find out more about how your services are helping others.
You can even go a step further by adding a link to your most recent case study to your email signature! This way, anyone you are in contact with over email will be able to see your work and learn more about you and your services.
3. Social Media
Just like any other modern business, we recommend that you commit to using the main social media platforms to promote you and your company. This includes platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn.
When a property management company is active on various social media platforms, they are often able to generate a larger audience and grow its clientele authentically and increase your organic reach.
Case studies are an excellent content idea for any platform you use. Start with an eye catching design that can grab your audience’s attention. Then include a short snippet of the case study and an intriguing caption that encourages the reader to take action and go learn more.
4. Sales Pitch
Lasty, try incorporating your case study into your property management sales pitch. Using a case study can allow your sales team to communicate just how your company can make their future clients’ lives easier. You will be able to convey your expertise quicker, and avoid some potential client concerns by using a real life example of how your services help property owners.
How to Ask a Client to Participate in a Case Study
Sometimes it can be hard to know the right way to ask clients to participate in a case study. First, we recommend making sure you get the timing right. Try asking them right after they let you know how happy they are with your services. Then, make sure you address any concerns they have about being featured on your website.
Let them ask as many questions as they need to in order to feel comfortable about participating. Finally, make it easy and accessible for them. Be organized and prepared, and try not to take up too much of their time.
Bottom Line
For a property management company, establishing trust with prospective clients is often your main ticket to success. Using case studies, you can do this early on in your relationship with your leads.
If done right, case studies are excellent ways to show off your expertise and explain to your new leads what makes your property management company stand out. If you have any further questions about how you can use case studies to grow your property management company, contact Blanket today.
