Table of Contents
Identifying Ideal Clients for BuildUp Bookings.
Purpose:
This SOP is designed to help our team identify and qualify potential clients who would benefit from BuildUp Bookings’ marketing services. The process involves researching specific indicators that align with our agency’s target client profile.
The TL:DR;
To cut to the chase: the ideal BuildUp Bookings client is a single-marketing professional property manager, in North America, with a known and familiar PMS platform, doing at least $1m in total annual revenue (ideally $2m – $5m) and wants to invest into digital marketing to grow their business with search, social and email marketing.
1. Research Process Overview #
- The goal is to identify vacation rental management companies that meet the criteria listed below, ensuring that they are a good fit for our services and are likely to benefit from what we offer.
- Gather information using tools such as Google search, LinkedIn, Google My Business, and their company website.
- While no single thing missing below would disqualify a client as a prosective client, enough of these items missing likely would. As a rule of thumb, if a client is missing 3+ of the below items, they’re likely NOT a good fit.
2. Client Qualification Checklist #
The following attributes will help determine if a prospect is an ideal client:
a. Business Location and Presence #
- Office Address: Ensure the company has a physical office address listed on their website or Google My Business.
- Google My Business Profile: Check if they have a Google My Business (GMB) profile.
- 25+ Reviews: Prioritize companies with at least 25 reviews on GMB, as this indicates a strong presence and a potentially serious operation.
b. PMS (Property Management Software) Usage #
- Confirm whether they use a PMS that we are familiar with and have worked with before. Examples include:
- Track
- Streamline
- OwnerRez
- Guesty
- LiveRez
- LMPM
- Why this matters: Companies using these PMS tools are more likely to be in our target market.
c. Team Information #
- Team Page: Look for a visible team page on the website that lists key personnel, especially marketing or revenue roles.
- Marketing/Revenue Owner: Ensure the company has a dedicated person responsible for marketing or revenue growth.
- Business Development Role: Look for a dedicated homeowner business development person. This signals that the company is focused on growth, a strong indicator of fit.
d. Google Search Rankings #
- Check the company’s rankings for vacation rental-related searches.
- Why this matters: Companies already ranking OK to good on Google will be more receptive to additional growth and scaling strategies.
e. Estimating Gross Booking Revenue (GBR) #
- Target Revenue: We are looking for companies doing approximately $1 million in gross booking revenue.
- How to estimate:
- Find the average nightly rate of the company’s properties.
- Multiply this by an estimated 225 nights per year to calculate annual revenue per property.
- Multiply the result by the total number of properties to estimate gross booking revenue. Example:
- 25 properties x $175/night x 225 nights/year ≈ $1 million in GBR.
- Why this matters: Companies in this revenue range are typically in a position to invest in marketing and growth.
- Inventory Growth: while not comprehensive, Airdna Market Data shows the top 5 property managers or hosts in a given region on their overview pages. For example:
While this tool is not perfect (it only shows the top 5) it does help indicate growth and can often show the number of units and average rating too (4.75 star or higher indicates a well run VRM, 4.85 or higher is excellent, 4.95 or higher is elite/top 1%).
f. LinkedIn Activity #
- Look for team members, especially decision-makers, active on LinkedIn.
- Why this matters: Active LinkedIn profiles suggest better opportunities for direct outreach and paid targeting (LinkedIn ads).
g. Hiring Activity #
- Check for Job Listings: Verify if the company is hiring or has a careers page.
- Why this matters: Companies in growth mode tend to invest in new hires, making them more likely to invest in marketing services.
h. Running Meta (Facebook / Instagram) Ads #
- Check if they’re running Meta Ads in the Ads Library: review the tool to check for any active ads. Any ads run recently or updated recently can be a good sign.
- Why this matters: Companies in growth mode tend to run Meta Ads and change those ads somewhat often (every 30-45~ days or so or even more often on high spend accounts).
3. Additional Factors to Consider #
While the above criteria cover most of the important areas, consider these additional factors during your research:
- Website Quality: Assess the website’s quality and functionality. Companies with outdated or poorly designed websites may need website development services.
- Social Media Activity: Check for active social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram). Companies with a strong social presence may be good candidates for paid social campaigns (Meta Ads).
- Email Marketing Presence: Sign up for their email list, if possible, to evaluate their email marketing efforts. Companies that actively use email are good targets for improving or automating campaigns.
- Customer Reviews: Beyond Google My Business, check other review platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo) to assess guest satisfaction. Companies with decent reviews but room for improvement may benefit from reputation management services.
- Industry Presence: Determine if they are involved in any industry events (e.g., attending conferences like VRMA or sponsoring webinars). This signals their seriousness about staying competitive.
4. Prospecting Tools #
- Google Search: For verifying business presence, Google My Business reviews, and general research.
- LinkedIn: For finding decision-makers and assessing team structure.
- Google Maps: To check the office location and determine business legitimacy.
- Website Analysis Tools: Use tools like BuiltWith or SimilarWeb to check the company’s technology stack, traffic, and website analytics.
5. Next Steps After Identification #
- If the company matches the ideal client profile, log the details in our CRM (Pipedrive) for outreach.
- Ensure you note key personnel, such as the homeowner business development manager, and tailor your outreach accordingly.
