Marketing work inside towers and strata buildings means speaking to three different buyers at once: the resident who chooses fast from a phone, the landlord or owner who approves the job, and the strata council or property manager who controls common areas and building access. Each of them checks different things before they hire. This guide shows how a trade working around Burquitlam and Lougheed can present itself to all three, publish proof without breaching anyone's privacy, describe a service area that crosses a city line, and time its marketing to the rhythm of move-ins.
Why tower work is a different sale
Tower work is a different sale because the obstacles are different. In a detached house, the main question is whether the homeowner trusts you. In a tower, there are extra questions: can you get in, can you park, will you follow the building's rules, and will you leave the hallway as you found it?
Residents rarely say these worries out loud, but they shape the choice. A resident who has fought for a move-in elevator booking does not want a trade who turns up without one. A property manager who has had to answer complaints about dust in a corridor remembers the company responsible.
The area around Burquitlam station shows the effect clearly. The SkyTrain station opened in December 2016, according to Wikipedia's Burquitlam article, and the neighbourhood's population grew 12.6% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses. Across North Road, Lougheed Town Centre station links two SkyTrain lines beside the mall now called the City of Lougheed, as Wikipedia's station article notes. More residents in multi-storey buildings near transit means more customers whose first question is about access, not price.
What residents check before they call
Residents usually make the decision in minutes, on a phone, from inside the suite. They look for four signals.
- Recent proof of similar work. Photos of a suite that looks like theirs, finished cleanly. A detached-house kitchen photo does not answer the question.
- Recent reviews that mention buildings. A review saying "they booked the elevator and protected the hallway" is worth more here than one praising friendliness.
- Clear availability. Whether you can come this week, and whether you work evenings or weekends when a tenant is home.
- An easy way to reach you. Call or text from the listing, with a fast reply when you miss a call.
Our job proof publishing and reviews and repeat-work follow-up services are built around the first two signals.
Wording that answers the unspoken worries
On your service pages and profile, say plainly what you do as routine. For example:
- "We work in concrete high-rises and wood-frame low-rises around Burquitlam and Lougheed."
- "We book elevators and loading times with your building and follow its move and work rules."
- "We protect floors and hallways and remove our debris the same day."
Only say what you actually do. If you do not book elevators yourself, say you will work with whatever booking the resident makes.
What property managers and strata councils check
Managers and councils hire on paperwork and track record, not on a single photo. Their questions are about risk.
- Insurance and licences. They usually ask for proof of liability insurance and the relevant licence for your trade. Keep current copies ready to send.
- Workers' compensation coverage. Many managers ask for proof that it is in good standing. Know how to get that proof quickly.
- References from similar buildings. A list of building types, not names, if you lack permission to name them.
- Clear quotes. Line items, timing, and what happens to common areas during the work.
- Responsiveness. Managers juggle many buildings and remember who answered.
For this audience, the most useful marketing asset is often a plain one-page profile you can send by email: what you do, the building types you work in, your insurance and licence details, how you handle access and cleanup, and how to reach you. Keep it current and keep it factual.
We help trades write and maintain that page, but the paperwork itself, such as insurance and licensing, is yours and your advisers' to arrange. Nothing here is legal or strata advice.
Photos you can and cannot publish
The simplest rule: if a photo could help someone identify the resident, the unit or the building's security, do not publish it.
Safe to publish, with permission
- close-ups of finished work: a new vanity, a repainted wall, an installed light
- before-and-after shots framed tightly on the work
- your crew's protection set-up in a hallway, with no unit numbers visible
- materials, tools and the finished clean-up
Do not publish
- faces of residents, children or neighbours
- unit numbers, mailboxes, intercom panels or door codes
- personal items: family photos, documents, screens, medication
- views from windows that pinpoint a suite
- security features: cameras, fobs, access panels, parkade gates
Ask permission at the end of the job with a short line your crew can say from memory: "Mind if we take a couple of photos of the finished work for our website? Nothing personal, no unit numbers." A clear yes, noted in your job record, is enough for most residents. When a resident says no, respect it.
Describing a service area that crosses a city line
Customers in this area do not think in city boundaries; Google and city licensing do. So describe your area the way customers do, and make sure your listings are accurate about where you really work.
In practice:
- Name the places customers use, such as Burquitlam, Lougheed, Austin Heights, Cariboo, Maillardville, and nearby parts of Burnaby, Port Moody and New Westminster.
- On your Google Business Profile, list the service areas you genuinely cover. Do not list a city you cannot work in.
- On your website, one page for the area as a whole often works better than separate thin pages for every name.
- Check with each city about the business licence you need to work there. That is a city question, not a marketing one.
Our areas page describes how we treat each district, including the Burnaby side.
Timing your marketing to move-ins and turnovers
Towers create predictable waves of demand. New buildings bring large groups of residents at once, and every building has a steady trickle of tenancy changes. Each wave produces jobs: cleaning, painting, small repairs, lighting, window coverings, storage, lock changes, appliance hook-ups.
To catch those waves:
- Watch the buildings near you. Note when new towers are finishing and when residents start moving in.
- Prepare pages and posts in advance. "Moving into a new suite near Burquitlam?" pages are worth writing a month before the wave, not after it.
- Raise ad ceilings for the wave, then lower them. Short, targeted pushes beat a flat year-round spend.
- Remind past customers at the right time. A tenant who used you at move-in may need you again at move-out.
Ad timing and ceilings are part of our Google profile and search ads upkeep.
A worked example: a two-person cleaning company
Picture a two-person cleaning company doing move-in and move-out cleans in suites around Lougheed. Average job: $380. Margin after wages and supplies: 35%, or about $133 a job.
Before changing anything, the owner gets most work by word of mouth and has 11 reviews, the newest from last spring. Here is the plan we would suggest:
- Publish six tightly framed before-and-after sets a month from real jobs.
- Ask every customer for a review the day after the clean.
- Write one page aimed at move-ins near Burquitlam station and Lougheed Town Centre.
- Run search ads only in the weeks around the end and start of each month, when tenancies change, with a $600 ceiling.
If those ads bring 15 calls and a third become jobs, that is five jobs and about $665 in margin against $600 in spend. That is barely break-even on ads alone, which is the point of the example: the ads only make sense alongside reviews and proof, which raise how many callers book, and repeat work, which makes each customer worth more than one job. Run the same sum with your own numbers before committing.
Common mistakes in tower marketing
- Using house photos to sell suite work. Residents notice.
- Ignoring managers. A single common-area contract can equal dozens of suite jobs.
- Listing every city in the region. Calls you cannot take still cost you time.
- Publishing private details. One careless photo can lose a building.
- Marketing only when slow. The waves arrive when you are busiest. A done-for-you routine, like our marketing desk, keeps going through them.
We are a marketing service, not a contractor. We help trades market this work; we never perform it. To talk about your own building mix, see the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Who actually hires trades in a strata building?
It depends on the work. Inside a suite, the owner or tenant usually hires, sometimes with the landlord's approval. For common areas, the strata council or its property manager hires. Your marketing should speak to both.
Can I post photos from inside someone's suite?
Ask first, and remove anything that identifies the resident or the unit, such as faces, mail, unit numbers, family photos or views that pinpoint the suite. If in doubt, leave it out.
Should I mention building rules in my marketing?
Mention that you work with move-in bookings, elevator reservations and building rules routinely, without quoting any particular building's bylaws. Rules vary, and the building or manager is the authority.
Is tower work worth marketing separately from house work?
Usually yes, if it is a meaningful share of your jobs. The buyer, the worries and the search words differ enough that one page rarely serves both well.