Your Property: Grounds for a Consistent Brand Image

Property Management is a marketing job. No matter how many other hats you wear, your success is ultimately a matter of how many tenants you recruit and retain. And whether you manage one office building or multiple retail locations, you are responsible for presenting and selling your company’s physical brand.

That’s a big responsibility, especially when “brand” refers to something as tangible as a location. Your physical brand is crucial to your success in sales. Why? Because people and companies rent based on their experience of a space—how it looks and feels. If you’re working for a national chain with multiple locations, it becomes even more crucial that your grounds convey the right brand. Imagine a McDonald’s with fountains in the back, instead of a playground? While it might be just the look for an office headquarters, the consistency that customers associate with the McDonald’s experience would be ruined.

As a property management professional, it’s vital to understand your brand, and to consistently leverage it for profitability. Here are a few helpful hints on building a successful physical brand from the nation’s leading grounds care experts at U.S. Lawns.

1. Create an experience. Whether we’re talking about facilities or toothpaste, “brand” is really just another word for experience. We mentioned the McDonald’s brand in conjunction with their famous playgrounds. Likewise, most chains have a signature “look and feel” at all their locations. If you’re the manager of a national chain unit, you’re responsible for making sure this brand gets conveyed. If you’re a regional business, your brand may be less defined. Talk to your owner and make sure you understand what a customer or potential tenant is supposed to experience when walking your grounds. Should it be corporate or local? Upscale or economy? Ornate or simple? Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step in making landscape decisions.

2. Be true to yourself. Brand is also consistency. Visitors to your property should have the same experience every time they arrive. Otherwise, you’re not projecting the core experience and values that define your company. If you manage multiple locations, you should obviously keep the same look and feel consistent through all properties. If you manage just one, it’s still important to focus on maintaining a consistent level of quality and appearance. (And making sure your location matches with any others in neighboring cities.) By reinforcing the same experience over and over, your property will become a selling asset that sets your company apart—whether for its beauty, its serenity, its cleanliness, or its professionalism.

3. Consult with experts. Anyone can mow your grass, or plant a few shrubs in a bed. But maintaining your brand requires an expert who understands your industry, is familiar with your type of property, and can create an experience that sells. Furthermore, you need a team who services multiple properties consistently, and who can stay within any regulations handed down by your corporate office. U.S. Lawns is the nation’s largest commercial grounds care company, specializing in branded properties such as retail, restaurants, banks and corporate headquarters. Our team can handle everything from basic landscaping to winter weather care to seasonal color—as well as reducing overhead with centralized accounting and operations. And even though we’re a national company with locations in 44 states, each office is an independently owned franchise. So you get to work with a true business partner, who understands your property’s needs.

By cultivating grounds that offer the visitor a consistent experience, or consistent brand image, you’ll ensure that your property is memorable, marketable, and a maximum investment for your company. Want help developing your physical brand for one or more locations that you manage? Contact us at 407-246-1630.