Using LoopNet to Find the Right Commercial Real Estate Office Warehouse Lease Space or Tenants for Your Business

A question I am asked a lot is, “How do we generate office, retail, flex, and warehouse space commercial real estate leads?” The answer is not always as simple as you might think. Creating written marketing goals is a vital part of our long-term marketing strategies at JW Management for our multi-tenant properties. Both our Westgate Plaza Arlington and 1625 Mockingbird Dallas utilize LoopNet Ads for lead generation and backlinks. We also utilize organic SEO and Social Media Marketing strategies that include growth-focused backlinks to drive prospects to our website. 

Using online tools such as LoopNet to research and locate your next office, retail, or warehouse lease space allows you to find the perfect location. This blog is a 2-part article that will help prospective tenants locate their next office, flex, or warehouse leased space, as well as commercial real estate business owners understand LoopNet and utilize online office-warehouse space tools to grow their businesses. LoopNet’s parent company is Costar. Did you know that Costar owns LoopNet.com, Cityfeet.com, Showcase.com, and Ten-X.com?   

Prospective tenants need the ideal space to grow their business in. They just need to find a new office space in the right location. The landlord with the correct property attributes needs to find the prospective tenant.  It is not easy helping them find each other. That is where this educational blog comes in to help the 2 sides find each other through free online tools that are immediately available for the prospective tenant. We will also discuss how to use LoopNet as a commercial real estate Landlord or property owner. 

LoopNet and the Commercial Real Estate Industry. The Connection Between the Internet and the Commercial Real Estate Leasing Industry

You may be wondering, ‘I already use Google and social media to find a commercial space. Isn’t that enough?’ The quick answer is NO. Sadly, browsing through Google and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn alone is not enough to find the perfect location for your new office space that will suit your company’s requirements. This is where LoopNet comes into play. 

Let’s talk about LoopNet and the Commercial Real Estate Industry. Are you familiar with LoopNet? If you are, are you using LoopNet to search for commercial real estate spaces or are you using it to gain prospects for your commercial real estate properties? If not, why not? LoopNet is the number 1 platform when it comes to commercial real estate leasing and renting of office, flex, warehouse, and industrial space throughout the world. A lot of commercial real estate property managers and owners have their properties listed on LoopNet. The platform allows commercial property owners and managers to communicate with leads faster, and each commercial property listing has most of the details needed by a prospect, like you, in order to decide if you want to lease the space. If you type in a Google Search the words “Commercial Space for Lease,” you will see LoopNet is in the TOP 3 search results. If you know how to drive SEO type in the words “Arlington Entertainment District Office Space,” you will see that JW Management utilizes LoopNet as a Backlink to drive business to their website as well as other backlink websites such as YouTube. 

5 Top Tips on How to Use LoopNet to Find an Outstanding Office Space to Lease for Your Business’ Needs

A lot of things need to be considered when choosing the right location for your business, whether it is your first time setting up an office, you are looking for a new location, or you have outgrown your current space. Despite the increasing availability of work from home options for most companies, there will almost always be a requirement for an office, flex, warehouse, or industrial space to accommodate your employees, store product inventory or provide a physical location for your customers and prospects to visit your office or warehouse. 

1. Shift your mindset to understand the perfect location for an office is not all about the price. 

The monthly price you pay is a small factor in determining the location of your next office or warehouse space. The real question you should be asking yourself is “How much money will our business be able to generate by locating our operations in the correct location? 

2. Determine the best location for your business office and employees first (Business Accessibility) 

If your business involves service or logistics, it is important to consider local transport links like main roads and motorways. Leasing prices are often higher in more commercialized areas, so there are cost benefits to seeking a more centrally located location that will not sacrifice your company’s daily operations because the business was in a poor location. Identically, if your business relies on high foot traffic, you must ensure that your business is accessible by vehicles and has enough parking spaces. Do not forget to take into consideration the employees who will commute daily to go to work. A good office location is essential in hiring the right people into your business, particularly if they have been offered other jobs and need to weigh up the pros and cons of each. 

3. The new location needs to be focused on business security and employee safety 

The security and safety of both your business and employees are top priorities. It’s not a surprise that location can increase your chances of being affected by crime and that can directly impact your insurance premiums as well as adding security measures that will be necessary to keep your business safe. Before you decide about your company’s new office space location, it is important to have all the information needed such as the crime rates in the area you are considering leasing. Researching online will also help and taking the time to ask around the neighborhood will save you money from spending on additional security measures and increasing your insurance premiums. Knowing the risks of possible criminal activities and taking actions can help you take proper precautions in choosing the right office space for your business. 

4. Employee Skill base in the new office or warehouse location

What kind of employees do you need? Do you need skilled workers or office professionals? Depending on what your company needs, find out the employee skill base in the area where you are planning to lease your new office or flex space. If you need skilled workers, it is best to go to an area where there is plenty of talent. Using recruitment agencies is also an option if you want to gauge the market and they will only charge you if you decide to interview and hire someone. Another great option is posting a free job online via LinkedIn or online recruitment websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, etc.

5. Potential for growth 

Thinking ahead will always be an advantage for business owners like you. If you have considered the first 4 tips that I mentioned above, then this is the last tip but the most important one. Eventually, your business will grow. Will the office, flex, or warehouse space that you will lease can accommodate your business growth or a spike in demand? If your business suddenly grows and your current commercial space can’t accommodate it, moving to another office space can be costly and time-consuming. Deciding whether the commercial space you are looking to lease will be flexible for growth can affect your business. Is the space a multi-tenant space that will allow for expansion? Also, it is important to consider the energy efficiency of the commercial real estate space for your business needs. 

 A perfect location is different for every type of business. The tips mentioned above are helpful in getting the best chance of finding the right location for your business, employees, and clients as well. It will also help your business gear up for future successes.

5 Top Tips on How to Use LoopNet to Lease Your Office, Flex, or Warehouse Spaces to Prospective Tenants 

A commercial real estate property owner who’s always looking to grow their tenant base understands it can be challenging. Lead generation these days can be confusing. Gone are the days of prospecting by knocking on doors. Technology allows us to drive qualified leads through the internet. The good news is that there are many online real estate tools that you can leverage to promote your office, flex, or warehouse spaces. The number 1 choice for commercial property owners is LoopNet, but if you don’t know how to use LoopNet in conjunction with SEO, you’re just throwing away your money. Ultimately, you will only be getting about 20% of the leads that could be generated. 

Below I will share some recommended practices that even JW Management use to make the best use of LoopNet:  

1. Create a business plan that includes LoopNet as a marketing tool. The goal is to take advantage of LoopNet as much as possible by creating property listings that your prospective tenants can easily find.  

2. Take good photos of your property. Posting quality photos highlighting your properties’ best features on your LoopNet listing is a top priority. Using colors that pop to design your property photos can also help your listing stand out to those who are looking for office space.  

3. Write a detailed description that will catch your prospects’ attention. The description should contain information about what it feels like to work and stay in your office space. Be sure and describe nearby landmarks such as the Arlington Entertainment District, Texas Live!, Globe Life Field, and Choctaw Stadium, for example. It’s important to list other activities that your potential tenants can enjoy in the area, restaurants, hotels, biking, and walking trails.   

4. List bullet points. Some prospects don’t want to take the time to read long descriptions. Highlighting your property’s features using bullet points can help them determine if your property fits their needs and is worth reading the full description to see if the property is a fit. You can include information about energy efficiency, heating, lighting, air conditioning, and the build out classification of your office space, such as Trophy Building, Class A, Class B, and Class C buildings. 

5. The price of the office space should be visible to the prospect at first glance. Let’s face it; not all prospective tenants look at how good the office space location is at first. Some tenants prefer to view the prices of each commercial space before clicking the listing and viewing additional details about the space. Understand that your price is negotiable depending on the build out of the space. It is essential to list the size of the office, flex, or warehouse space in total square footage so they will know whether the leased space will be the correct size or not. 

Commercial Real Estate Owners are always looking for ways to lease out their properties fully. It is important to leverage the internet to fully lease out the office, flex, and warehouse spaces to prospective tenants. Creating a marketing plan that includes LoopNet and SEO is a great way when it comes to growing your commercial office space. If you do not have a listing on LoopNet for your office space, the top 5 tips mentioned above can help you get started.