Marketing During Slowdown and My Mantra for Real Estate Sector

The world has completely changed overnight. From nowhere, a slowdown got introduced to the planet. Be it the economy, businesses, or lifestyle – everything is impacted adversely. And all this happened because of an unknown, invisible enemy.

However, we all are united today to fight against this unseen, unfamiliar, and mysterious enemy – but nobody knows how long would it take to overcome this scenario. We all are fighting a war against a common opponent that doesn’t discriminate between the poor and rich, doesn’t care which religion or caste you belong to, and is not bothered whether you come from a fully developed country or a developing one.

Today’s modern world is primarily crafted by businesses. The economy, industrialization, lifestyle, and in fact every aspect of today’s human life is organized through businesses. They manipulate human behaviour by treating everybody as a consumer.

But this is the first time in the history of the modern world, that consumers are behaving differently. With this lockdown scenario, consumers are maintaining a distance from all kinds of businesses.

So, what are we forecasting here? Will all the businesses be wrapping up? Will they go into loss-making? Is everyone going to lose his/her job? Well, I don’t think so.

However, it will take a lot of time for businesses to mend their consumers again. But the consumers of the 21st century are quite mature, so enterprises can swim against any tide.

One sector which is forecasted to have a major hit in Real Estate. The real estate sector plays a major role in driving the economy of a country. Moreover, it caters to the employment generation in a major way. Therefore, it is very important for this sector to stay active even during the slowdown period.

And it is possible through an effective and strategic marketing plan. Only proper planning and execution can turn the challenges into opportunities. In this scenario, here is my tip to the Real Estate sector and the associated players on how can they still grow through effective marketing.

If you are planning for a new project or facing challenges in selling the existing projects –kindly ensure the following:

• Identify market demand:
  • Do proper research about the demand for the product; or in other words, create a product according to the market demand. Mostly we have seen Real Estate companies coming up with projects without proper market studies. For example, the market has a demand for 3BHK flats, but the builders are launching more of 2BHKs.The same applies to the commercial real estate sector.

• Unlearn as much as you can:
  • Sounds difficult, but it is the need of the hour. Most entrepreneurs and companies are victims of their own experiences. Sometimes, the inappropriate attitude offers results that are not up to the mark. Your attitude, experience, and industry expertise may have clicked in the past, but the first thing to ensure during the slowdown is that you are open to new ideas. Try experimenting with new aspects but stick to the basics.

• Stay basic &stop the extravagance:
  • This principle applies to all businesses, irrespective of which sector you belong to. One of the key challenges the real estate sector faces is its extravagance. Understand the fact that the customers’ investments don’t belong to you. Therefore, it is important to ensure that every penny saved, will save you and the business.

If the above basics are handled with precision, then you can move ahead with the marketing and sales part of your project. Please keep in mind that most of the successful marketers have been successful business houses across India and the world.

• Analyze your marketing &sales process:
  • Be honest. Evaluate if your sales process is as strong as it could be. Look out for the absolute sales opportunities. Take a thorough look at your sales processes, how it is creating opportunities, Sales funnel creation and proper follow-ups, and practical targets. Most importantly, allocate appropriate resources to all of your key areas.

• Create messages that will touch on the challenges of your client/customer:
  • the first rule of communication at this time is to Speak the language of a customer, Be friendly and leave all the arrogance of the ‘we know it all attitude’ in a bin locked and sealed. Communicate with your potential customers effectively and strategically.  Your communication must prove that the customer is going to be the winner when they invest in your projects.

• Don’t be too creative in your communication, as it mostly looks fake and customers don’t trust such communication when the sentiments are low already. 
  • When buyers are feeling cautious, all your marketing messages tend to fall flat. Contrary to this, all the messages about improving operational efficiency and containing costs tend to resonate well. Encourage your sales and marketing teams to customize their communications for different audiences, while having overall uniformity in communication.
  • Your sale is not a ‘one-time’ activity. You need to make customers for a lifetime.  The right marketing is always communicating… communicate right… without expecting anything more from the customer. I know it’s difficult for an enterprise to understand this, But this strategy will make you a loyal and solid brand in the times to come.
  • If you communicate timely without expecting anything, eventually each of your customers will become your brand ambassador.  So, keep investing in your existing customers.  The return on this investment will be able to help you run your business forever.
• Value and take advantage of your current relationships:
  • Your sale is not a ‘one-time’ activity. You need to make customers for a lifetime.  The right marketing is always communicating… communicate right… without expecting anything more from the customer. I know it’s difficult for an enterprise to understand this, But this strategy will make you a loyal and solid brand in the times to come.  If you communicate timely without expecting anything, eventually each of your customers will become your brand ambassador.  So, keep investing in your existing customers.  The return on this investment will be able to help you run your business forever.

• Be a better Option to your competitors’ customers:
  • Competition is a reality and no one today enjoys a monopoly.  You should be ready for a healthy competition. Bring out your USPs. Offer something new. Don’t try to snatch away your competitors’ customers, but if the customer is looking out for better options – you should be always there at the right moment with ample options and opportunities for them.

• Serve better:
  • You have ample time…  why don’t you change the organizational character keeping each customer and its happiness at the centre of your every organizational action.  Make every employee of your enterprise believe that customer satisfaction is not just a phrase, it should be a religion for all! Remember all those companies who believed in and practised ‘customer first’ has always proved to be the winner.

While there is no specific solution challenges are vivid from sector to sector.  The challenges of each enterprise are different and dynamic.  Staying positive and effectively marketing your enterprise can do the trick for a company to grow even during the most difficult times.