o Many newly-launched real estate projects in good locations are losing out on sales because of faulty marketing vision
Coming from an exaggerated perception of the demand for trendy new concepts (‘lifestyle quotient’, ‘green living’, ‘smart workplaces’) the advertising agencies of such developers have hyped these projects off the market. Confronted with the highbrow amenities and specifications featured on hoardings, banners and advertisements, potential buyers often assume that the project is clearly beyond their means. This ‘marketing disconnect’ seems to happen quite frequently in our larger cities, for either or both of two reasons:
1. These developers have not fathomed what marketing touch points will work with their target clientele.
2. The creative agencies retained for the marketing of these projects have not been able to fathom the developer’s vision, resulting in a fatal Chinese Whisper syndrome.
In both cases, sales and leases take an ‘inexplicable’ and terminal beating. o An erroneous assumption that long-standing market reputation alone will ensure sales
This fallacy, based on an obsolete truth of the Indian real estate sector’s boom periods, has caused a number of very respectable real estate banners of yesteryears to hang limp in the winds of change that are blowing today.
During the boom time of 2007-’08, a developer’s brand was often sufficient to ensure property sales and leases. The market back then was largely driven by speculators who had very little insight into the true nature of real estate. For these players, a developer’s brand was often the only yardstick, and apartments and offices in newly launched projects were snapped up on that basis alone.
Today, even end-users and occupiers know exactly what they want from the spaces they buy and lease. They will patronize a project because it gives them what they want within their budgets –