With tenants’ availability, you can never go wrong with commercial assets, as they can be highly profitable. Shopping centers and office spaces both depend on tenants to survive. But it is not surprising that many property managers and landlords struggle to find tenants for their office spaces. So that’s why there is a high demand for office space for lease on listing websites like Craiglist and Loopnet. Office space tenants and residential space tenants have distinct needs.
This article will highlight why office rentals seem to be in such a slump and what tenants seek in a business lease. It will also give you some of the effective strategies you can leverage to make your property stand out. Let’s explore!
Reasons Why Office Spaces Struggle to Get Clients
- The economy has caused businesses to be more frugal. With the economy’s uncertainties, most business owners have had to cut back on spending to save money. Instead of investing in an office space, most pump any extra coin into sales and marketing.
- Most people are embracing remote work. The Covid 19 pandemic affirmed to most businesses, schools, and other organizations that working from home is possible. Besides, employees and business owners can’t deny the vast benefits of working from home. For instance, they’ll not need to pay a dog sitter or pick up kids from school, as they can do that while still working.
- It’s not easy for business owners to get their staff to return to the office. Business owners have lost the negotiating power to persuade employees to return to the office during the hiring process. Today, employees have access to many jobs that don’t require them to go to the office. So they can always change jobs if they feel obligated to work on-site.
So how can you ensure your small commercial space for rent stands out in the market? Here are some valuable strategies you can leverage to help rent out your office space to more people.
1. Ensure the Location Is Irresistible
The location of your retail space for lease should be a priority to attract tenants. Most tenants struggle with the perfect location that’s suitable for their businesses. This is because they require a location that customers can access with a lot of ease. Because at the end of the day, they’re a business, and they’re looking to close more customers.
So ensure your retail space for lease is in a more desirable location. But to maximize the area, you should also consider having well-planned interior spaces. Therefore, working with commercial space for rent experts is essential to help you pick the best location for your investment property.
One of the critical factors you can leverage is to ensure there are available amenities that can help support your business. This will show potential tenants that renting your retail business is beneficial.
Ensure your small commercial space for rent attracts businesses that complement each other. For instance, you could place a shoe store adjacent to a collection of clothes retailers. Also, consider transportation facilities so that they can cater to tenants who have clients from different states. You could also place a popcorn stand next to a movie theatre.
Those, as mentioned earlier, are a few examples to give you an idea of attracting tenants. The potential tenant is more inclined to sign the lease once confident that they’ll be located in a prime area.
2. Offer Reception Service Assistance
You need to ensure you offer benefits that work-from-home individuals will find irresistible. The offers should be something they can’t get on their own, or they could be costly for their businesses. This is an effective way to lure tenants into leasing your property.
You can take advantage of the explosion of customer service assistance incentives. You can employ a full-time receptionist who can help to welcome your guests in the lobby and answer and transfer crucial calls on behalf of the tenants.
Most tenants would leverage such services, as it would help them cut costs. Besides, depending on your budget, consider outsourcing virtual receptionist services instead of hiring a full-time receptionist.
At the end of the day, you’re looking for a practical incentive to attract more tenants to your premises. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if they’re virtual or full-time. All they need to do is ease mundane business aspects for your tenants.
3. Provide Security on Your Retail Space for Lease
Security is vital when it comes to retail spaces. Therefore, you will need to invest in various security measures to attract high-value tenants.
For instance, you should invest in security cameras, biometric access, guards, etc. to boost the security of your premises. Doing this helps potential tenants feel more at ease and safe on your premises.
Moreover, tenants who work around the clock will appreciate the heightened security measures of your retail space. Besides, this will come in handy for tenants in your office space who work during odd hours. Also, it will be a good idea to hire more security personnel to give confidence to your tenants about their security.
Additionally, ensure the property management company you use is proactive regarding addressing security issues.
According to studies, shoplifting crimes are prevalent. It is one of the most visible aspects of crime, with an estimated 200 million occurrences per year. When broken down, that equates to a startling 550,000 incidents per day, or nearly 23,000 incidents per hour. Therefore, you or your property manager shouldn’t be lenient when dealing with security issues.
4. Include Shared Amenities on Your Property
You can decide not to rent some areas of your business property. It is easier for you to convert such spaces into communal areas to add more value to your property. For instance, you could use the spaces for cafeterias, conference rooms, etc.
If most of your tenants or potential tenants are parents, you can decide to convert the basement of your small commercial space into a daycare facility. And if you choose to offer on-site food, ensure the menu is diverse depending on your tenants.
Also, coffee is a necessity for most people. So it can be an excellent addition to having a coffee shop on your premises. Remember, the idea here is to ensure your retail space for lease stands out from your competitors. Therefore, even a Keurig machine and an excellent selection of coffee and creamers will add a lovely touch to your retail space. You can also provide hot water for tea or hot cocoa.
5. Install an On-site Gym in Your Small Commercial Space for Lease
Another intriguing incentive that you can leverage is offering a free on-site membership. This is a great way to motivate people to return to the office since most people are becoming more aware of the importance of staying active.
You can install a simple workplace gym. The best way is to shop for affordable ways to convert, say, a 300-square-foot office into a gym. Besides, you don’t need to buy new equipment. You can invest in just a few types of workout machinery that have been used but are still in excellent condition.
Go ahead if you can afford to convert a small area of your retail space into a gym. This is because most people want to be fit and can always use the gym after working hours before heading home. To them, it’s more about accomplishing their fitness goals without driving miles away in search of a gym. Make it so cheap that they won’t hesitate to accept the offer.
6. Offer Building Wi-Fi and Printing Services
Hotels understand how valuable printing and copying are to their clients. As a small business space for rent owners, you can decide to offer printing and copying services to your tenants.
This is a valuable incentive for businesses that don’t have a business printer at home or whose maintenance is expensive.
Moreover, you can also provide Wi-Fi to your tenants, as this is one item business owners can’t live without. So ensure you offer your commercial tenants high-speed internet that can cater to their daily needs. Doing this will help attract them to your retail space. Everyone is looking to save money and maximize profits, so shouldering Wi-Fi fees is a valuable incentive.
Besides, the best option is to ensure you sign up for a business broadband connection. This is a preferred option as it offers customer service and support 24/7. Therefore, it will not inconvenience your tenants to wait until morning if the connection goes down in the middle of the night.
Also, for security purposes, you can install a different Wi-Fi for guests. Your tenant’s Wi-Fi needs to be secure, as they’ll use it for work. Furthermore, having everyone access Wi-Fi may be detrimental to their business due to increased cyber-security concerns. Tenants would perceive you as thoughtful, and as a result, they would trust that your retail space has their best interests at heart.
Final Thoughts
No landlord wants to have a single unit empty. It becomes more frustrating if most of your units are not moving. So as a small commercial space owner, you want to ensure your property doesn’t sit empty for an extended period.
If you want to attract tenants to your retail space for lease, you need to ensure your property stands out. The above tips are ways to cut through the abundance of retail space available in the market. Your location, shared amenities, workspace gym, security, Wi-Fi, and printing services are some of the tips you can leverage. They may seem obvious, but these can be game changers for your property. So leverage the ones that you know will fetch tenants for your property.
We hope you found this blog post on Retail Space For Lease: Tips to Make Your Property Stand Out, useful. Be sure to check out our post on Top 8 Essentials for Your Complete Office Security for more great tips!
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