Difficult Time: Unsold Inventory held up projects, deferred construction, you name it and they face it! Country’s key developers irrespective of size or stature have been struggling with slow sales and tarnished image for long now. There’s no doubt that real estate market arguably has been the worst hit industry in the economic downturn in last decade or so. Country’s key property markets – Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and NCR have been dwindling under relentless rough patches for at least last two years.
New launches in the key markets have dropped significantly in 2015
The country’s biggest property market NCR saw a huge pile-up of inventory in January-March period which would take up to 78 months to clear in the current rate of sales. (Source: Mint). In Bengaluru, real estate market has plunged by 62% in terms of new product launch says a report by Indianrealestatemarket.com.
A critical Marketing call? In this murk and uncertainty how a few brands are holding ground makes for an interesting study. The volume of unsold inventory in almost all the markets are largely attributed to lop-sided demand supply equation but there’s a pressing need to dissect the marketing strategies the brands adopt especially for new launches and new developers in the market. Let’s look into the new-age trendy concepts the run of the mill advertising houses use right and left – ‘Lifestyle Homes’, ‘Luxurious Retreat, ‘Intelligent Workplace’. Very often the prospective buyers perceive the products to be ‘beyond reach’ and a ‘marketing disconnect’ happens when they see the exaggerated communication on media. Mostly, the creative agencies retained for marketing these products are unable to comprehend the developer’s vision and sales suffer.
What works and what not? There is a lot of negative sentiment amongst consumers. To change the perception is a hard task ahead and will not happen overnight. The lack of research-based approach and subject matter understanding are resulting into big money loss and jumping into the bandwagon of mindless blown up communication strategy will lead a brand nowhere. The right approach should kick-start long before the actual construction starts. It’s crucial to have a communication plan which factors in real-time demand drivers and a long term penetrative vision for the life-cycle of the brand.
A few key-pointers:
- Studying every facet of the project
- Putting it next to widespread marketing requirements
- Designing the right messaging and highly targeted promotion collaterals
- Devising budget in a focussed and ROI driven manner
Want more insight and wish to know how it’s done from a communication expert’s point of view? You can get in touch with me at info@brandnbusiness.co.in
