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Marketing is a crucial part of having a successful rental business. Being strategic about your approach and your methods can reduce your vacancy rates faster, allowing you to earn rental income as soon as possible.
However, getting leads and inquiries doesn’t always mean your marketing campaign is successful. There is such a thing as “attracting the wrong tenant.” They aren’t necessarily bad renters; they just won’t be good fits for your rental property. Here are the signs that you might need to change your marketing strategy.
Key Highlights:
- High inquiry volume does not always mean effective marketing, especially when applications and qualified leads remain low.
- Frequent rent complaints often indicate that your listing is reaching the wrong income bracket rather than being overpriced.
- Poor engagement, high bounce rates, and basic questions suggest your listing is not clearly communicating who the rental is for.
- High tenant turnover can be a result of mismatched expectations caused by unclear or misleading marketing.
- Defining your ideal tenant, pricing accurately, and being transparent in listings helps attract renters who are a better long-term fit.
Wrong Target Market
High Inquiry but Low Application Rates
Many might be asking questions about your rental property, but few end up applying because your property doesn’t meet their needs, or they don’t meet your qualifications. Remember that leads don’t mean anything if you don’t get tenants anyway.
Price Complaints
If prospective tenants say the rent is too high, they are not your target market. Just to be sure, do your research and compare your rental rates with those of similar properties in the area. If you priced your rental correctly and your applicants are still complaining, you need to adjust your marketing to reach the right audience.
Unsuitable Lease Terms
Comprehensive lease terms often have specific rules concerning your preferred renters. If you aim to accept pet owners, you need to set pet policies to ensure tenant safety and property protection. If an applicant is requesting that you allow larger breeds, for instance, you may not be providing enough information about the limitations of your rental property in the listing.
High Bounce Rates
If your rental listings are created correctly and strategically, you will catch your target market's attention. If they fail to see what they’re looking for at first glance, viewers of your listing will leave quickly. You can research the keywords your target audience is searching for and incorporate them into your listing.
Low Engagement
Even if you’re on the right platform, you can experience low engagement if your listing has targeting issues. You can look into how rental listing platforms work, so you can identify where you’re lacking. Are you using the right format? Does your listing include key features of your rental property?
High Turnover
If your tenants are moving out quickly, it might mean they realized too late that the property doesn't provide what they need. While it does allow you to earn rental income in the meantime, you should focus on long-term retention and find tenants who want to stay in your property for more than a year.
Low-Quality Applicants
Failed Screening
Even if you’re attracting your target market, they won’t always be qualified to rent your property. Repeated rejections due to credit, income, or rental history suggest you’re attracting unqualified renters. This could mean that you’re posting on the wrong listing or social media platform, or not posting in enough channels. You can post on several listing websites to determine which attracts the right tenants.
Asking Answered Questions
Basic questions about rent, lease terms, or amenities suggest prospects aren’t seriously aligned with your offering. You can directly ask them whether there are changes they want to make in the lease terms, and if they are acceptable, you can oblige. However, this is not recommended, especially if you have existing tenants, as this could potentially lead to disputes and tenant dissatisfaction.
How You Can Attract the Right Tenants
Identify Your Ideal Tenant
Before you can tailor your marketing to a specific audience, you need to identify who they are. Knowing this factor alone already opens you to possible strategies, which make for a more effective campaign. For example, social media platforms can help you reach a younger audience.
Price the Rental Accurately
Set rent based on local market data and property value to attract qualified tenants while filtering out unqualified prospects. The price for luxury rentals will not attract student renters, while small apartments with cheaper rental rates will not attract renters with families. Researching the average rent for similar properties will help you set competitive prices.
Use High-Quality Photos and Descriptions
Tenants are more likely to consider your listing if the images reflect the quality of your rental property. With detailed descriptions, your tenants will immediately know what they’re getting, and will stick around to learn more about the listing and inquire. Low-quality images and vague descriptions are perceived as red flags by potential renters.
Be Clear and Honest in Listings
State rent, fees, lease terms, pet policies, and requirements upfront to discourage poor-fit applicants. You will waste time and money entertaining applicants who aren’t the right fit for your property, but you can avoid this entirely by being upfront in your listing. Additionally, mentioning features that can be selling points to prospective tenants increases your chances of renting the property faster.
Respond Quickly and Professionally
In a fast-paced industry with many competitors, slow responses can mean losing potential renters. If they are in a rush to find a place to rent, they will likely entertain the first landlord or property manager who responds to their inquiries or application. Regularly check your message to ensure you’re not missing anything.
Rental Marketing FAQs
Why am I getting a lot of inquiries but very few applications?
- This usually means your marketing is reaching people who are curious but not qualified or not suited to your property’s price, size, or lease terms.
Are frequent complaints about rent a sign of poor targeting?
- Yes. If your rent is aligned with local market rates, repeated price objections suggest you’re attracting renters outside your intended income range.
What does high tenant turnover say about my marketing?
- High turnover often means tenants realized after moving in that the property didn’t match their needs or expectations set by your listing.
How can I attract the right tenants instead?
- Identify your ideal renter, price accurately, be clear about requirements, use high-quality photos, and market on platforms your target audience uses.
Leave the Marketing to Us
Ineffective marketing is not just a waste of time and money. It also means prolonging your vacancies, which just drains your cash reserves. If you want to opt for something that’s been tried and tested, ES Property Management can fulfill your marketing needs.
We want your rental property’s value to be maximized, and having a professional property manager might just be the way to do that.
Call us, and let’s talk about ways we can help you!
