Return calls…………..how many times have you heard people complaining about the lack of call-backs? We are in an era of communications, what with all of the communication devices and services that everybody has access to, one would think that there would be no excuse for not returning calls. Almost every day we hear a broker, landlord and/or tenant commenting on how this communication dilemma is causing deals that could be done in days being stretched into months. Worst case is when one of the parties ‘goes cold’ during this stretched out period and the deal dies. This is what the retail real estate business has become…….a case of ‘hurry up and wait’. Everybody seems to be waiting for ‘paper’.
Having been a ‘spectator’ in this business for several decades now, I can tell you that things were much different before all these devices became common and the principals of the companies were doing these deals themselves. At the risk of being branded ‘an old fart’, I can tell you that there was a time when agreements were made face-to-face, even on a table napkin. Deals were done without posturing and delays. They were done because both parties, and if there was a broker involved, all three wanted to do the deal. Walking away from the table without a deal was not an option. The tenant wanted to get opened as soon as possible, the landlord wanted a vacancy filled and a revenue stream started and the broker wanted to move onto the next deal.
While some would call it maturing, today’s retail real estate industry has established a very large consulting category. Brokerages are the most visible of ‘consulting’ categories but there are so many others that have yet to achieve the notoriety of the brokerage community. Today almost every discipline has its share of consultant representatives from development consulting to human resources consultants to social media consultants. They can be retained for a week, a month, a year or on-call. And again, due to the inherent industry peaks and valleys, all of these specialties have a large number of potential clients. Small and mid-size developers and retailers can bring a specialist onboard when and for as long as that particular skill is required.
Though this scenario might seem like a win-win situation, there can be dangers. One specialty that is becoming more common lately is public relations, media relations including social media.
From a personal stand point, in years past, a conversation with the owner of a company was a joy. The enthusiasm was catching and we’d often hang up the phone having made a new friend. He/she was proud of what they had done and was excited about what they had planned. And don’t think this only occurred when the market was booming. No, you’d find the same enthusiasm from owners who were fighting their way out of a difficult economy.
Today with social media and blogs and message board and who know what else, a lot of these enthusiastic principals are understandably finding it necessary to retain public relations and media relations specialist.
As one that has been in the business publication game for many years, dealing with a professional public relations representative can often be as good as or better than dealing with that proud owner. The PR specialist understands the media business, its requirements and above all, its deadlines. But more important, that retained professional returns telephone calls and response to email messages, or at least, they should. That is the sign of a pro.
Those that don’t offer this basic courtesy, are simply not doing the job that they were retained to do. So now I must ask, did you retain a professional organization? Is somebody keeping an eye on the attempts at communications on your website? Is your website being kept up to date? Are you getting what you’re paying for? After all, it’s your business that suffers……………..WP