For young entrepreneurs, the capital of Thailand is arguably one of the best cities on the planet to be right now. The relative ease of starting a business in Bangkok paired with the low cost of living, developing economy, and endless opportunities for an accommodating lifestyle are all causing the expat entrepreneur scene to practically explode.
Right on top of this trend is one long-term British expat, Jamie Nettleship, who has established his own real estate start-up which caters to this growing demographic. The business is AsiaRents and it is focused on providing city-newcomers and young professionals, with not only the best rental accommodations in Bangkok, but also with content delivery that keeps its audience captivated throughout their entire “expat experience” in Thailand.
“Everyone moving to Bangkok will ultimately need a place to live, so I established AsiaRents first and foremost to provide both foreigners and locals with high-quality rental apartments,” Nettleship said.
“But there’s so much more we can offer to this group. We want to help our clients really get to know and embrace their new home; their new city.”
AsiaRents does not simply walk around with its clients and point out what’s nearby every potential new home (actually they don’t walk at all; they drive clients in comfy, air-conditioned company-branded cars). They are doing something that is setting them apart from the competition. They’re focusing on client-retention by playing up to the technological interests of their young, professional demographic.
Using the same channels its clients know and love to deliver genuinely helpful, interesting and creative content about Bangkok is a big part of AsiaRent’s client retention and ‘social-sharing for new business’ strategy. This includes highly-active and engaging social media initiatives, unique videos, regular multimedia blog posts and newsletters, and more; all of which zeros in on the best community events and new hotspots in the city.
Going, going, gone viral
Having already gone viral, one of the first steps AsiaRents took to get its clients interested in following their content plan was a #whyilovebangkok hashtag contest. Followers submitted tweets, images and blog posts about their favourite thing about the City of Angels, and the winner received a gift certificate to a popular restaurant called Charley Brown’s Mexicana, located on the expat-friendly Sukhumvit Soi 11.
The contest tied into another piece of multimedia that AsiaRents started creating for their followers: a new “Expat Secrets” video campaign, in which a well-known expat in Bangkok reveals his or her own favourite things about the city. The first video in the series interviewed the owner of Charley Brown’s Mexicana, Dave Bell. In the video, Dave revealed the location of a little-known dress-up mall, full of handmade elaborate costumes at very low prices. He says he has never seen another [foreigner] in there.
“Bangkok can be a crazy and hectic city so newcomers can be intimidated, but we think that there’s so much to love about it,” Nettleship added.
“We want to help our clients to not just find the new homes they love, but to find their new life here as well. And that’s what gets them to remember us every time they need to rent a new place.” It’s true that the young and hip digital marketing strategy is a strong tactic, but the standard chilled hand towels, water bottles and iPad that their clients can browse listings on while they ride around in style during a condo-showing can’t hurt either.
Combining classically excellent service with their dedicated use of the trendiest media tactics, AsiaRents will undoubtedly transition from start-up to an established success in no time.
Why not check out AsiaRents the next time you need a new place in Bangkok?
This story adapted from the latest issue of Thailand Property magazine was edited by Andrew Batt, Group Editor of Dot Property Group. Send your news, views, press releases and comments to him at [email protected].
Three stories you may have missed from last week:
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THB 5 billion boost for Phuket
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