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In today's dynamic business environment, organizations must stay in sync with the latest industry developments, market dynamics and ever-changing customer behaviour. No wonder, in today’s time, technology, sales and marketing go hand in hand from efficient strategizing to optimizing operations for maximum growth. The real estate marketers are building a strong real estate brand through a website, social media marketing, content marketing, and search engine optimisation as also acquiring customers through advertising on social media such as Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. They are furthermore adopting lead nurturing techniques, influencer marketing and customer engagement via YouTube videos and social media posts.
DIGITAL MARKETING TRENDS
Visually pleasing and optimized website will continue to be an important aspect of real estate marketing.
Chatbots & AI-powered Assistants are gaining traction among marketers.
Video marketing and real estate virtual tours through AR/VR are here to stay in 2024.
Thought leadership of the company is helping create influencer marketing and create brand awareness.
Voice search optimization by real estate businesses is enhancing user experience and increase brand visibility,
Partnering with influencers matching the target market will enable marketers ensure the message reaches the right people.
THE SHIFT TO DIGITAL PLATFORMS
A phenomenon that has taken the Indian real estate industry by storm in the post-COVID era is the digital marketing and technology tools to reach the customers and initiate sales. Cherryn Dogra,Chief Marketing Office, Bharti Realty, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted consumer behaviour and real estate investments. Digital technologies have become essential tools, rapidly accelerating their adoption amid the changing consumer buying patterns. Apart from metros, digital marketing is taking roots in tier 2 and tier 3 cities as well.” Govind Rai, Founder, Insomniacs, stated, “Real estate developers are just scratching the surface of what technology can offer and when it comes to what digital marketing has to offer. Needless to say, digital marketing offers cost efficiency, lets you expand your overall reach and helps address the targeted audience in the cluttered market of numerous housing projects.” Talking about his own experience and the shifts in the real estate marketing, Rohan Shah, Co-Founder, Realatte Ventures LLP, said, “Digital marketing is now inclining from performance marketing to digital branding. While performance marketing remains popular, digital branding offers measurable benefits such as tracking viewer engagement and tailored communication for targeted customers. The importance of digital marketing will continue to grow in the future."
Discussing the differences, he has observed and the strategies that have proven successful for him in this field, Abhijit Bhattacharya, CMO & Senior VP, DLF Limited, said, “Despite my limited real estate experience, I have a robust marketing background. Traditional methodologies must be valued alongside digital strategies, as they offer unique influence within the evolving real estate sector."
Sharing her perspective on real estate trends and effective marketing techniques Asha Singh, Sr Vice President, 360 Realtors, articulated, “From a development perspective, addressing a limited budget requires an effective business development campaign. Understanding the target audience is crucial. Focusing on segmented marketing enables affordable strategies, such as geo-targeting, regional ads, and print ads, which are more manageable alternatives to costly options like page jacket ads, coding, radio, and digital advertising. In addition, after COVID-19, a substantial increase in individuals entering the brokerage field has been observed and most of them now focus on digital strategies, automation and AI and minimize traditional media due to its ROI.”
Dr. Vishesh Rawat, Vice President and head – Sales, Marketing and CRM, M2K Group was of the view that successful marketing strategies involve a mix of traditional, digital, and global channels. However, now predominately the focus is on digital and AI in marketing and sales. "The real estate market follows a cyclical pattern and had witnessed significant booms in 2002-2003 and 2011- 2014. Factors like the COVID-19 pandemic impact market and resulting fluctuations.”
SALES & MARKETING THROUGH STORYTELLING
Elaborating on how one can create a differentiator in real estate marketing through storytelling, Asha Singh said, “Storytelling is vital for differentiation of the project. It helps avoid a one-size-fits-all approach that can bore consumers. The current focus is on real estate as a product, with significant tilt towards consumers connecting with it emotionally. Recognizing the importance of brands and building a differentiation helps consumers make informed decisions. Prioritizing accurate data analysis and devel- development-focused strategies ensures success over aggregation."
Abhijit Bhattacharya expressed, “At its core, marketing focuses on selling a product to targeted audience as per their requirement. Successful campaigns incorporate building a story around the product with visuals, font choices, word selection, and camera angles to cater to the aspiration of the potential customers.”
Govind Rai added, “By utilizing technology, storytelling gains tangibility. Often, clients provide the marketer a brief and expect specific outcomes from their ads. However, campaign results such as low click-through rates reveal that the intended message has failed to resonate with customers, necessitating a change in approach for improved engagement.”
As per Abhijit Bhattacharya, to develop a successful business, it is imperative to initially establish awareness and create an appealing image for consumer engagement. Subsequently, one should focus on conversion using targeted segmentation through digital tools, to ensure an effective marketing strategy. “In my view, market trends will be determined by shifting consumer behaviour. There has also been a notable rise in property buying by NRIs and in smaller cities. Future decision-making may depend on technology such as 3D walkthroughs and immersive experiences, reducing reliance on local relatives' insights for potential buyers.”
Rohan Shah narrated, “It is unlikely that offline modes will cease to exist; rather, their prevalence may fluctuate over time. For instance, in collaboration with Google, we recently conducted an event highlighting video advertising practice. Our Premier partnership emphasizes the ABCD method (Attract, Brand, Connect, Direct) in video creation. By engaging influencers and addressing pertinent issues, we have achieved substantial growth in click-through rates. The utilization of influencer storytelling skills has demonstrated success. We anticipate this tendency to persist with the rise of YouTube InShorts and Instagram Reels in the coming years." Cherryn Dogra added, “From a real estate perspective, technology must become an integral part of our daily lives. Digitization plays a crucial role in maintaining security and privacy while enhancing brand visibility at various touch points. Implementing ethical processes and compliance measures ensures data integrity, ultimately benefiting the sector as a whole."
Dr. Vishesh Rawat added, “Digitalization of property documents and transactions will significantly increase transparency in the real estate sector. The use of advanced technology, such as augmented reality and machine learning, will replace traditional methods. The digital customer journey has evolved from simple search to search and discovery and now to selection. In the next five years, transactions will also be part of the digital journey.”
I VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE THE USAGE OF "STORYTELLING" IN MARKETING, AS IT UNDERMINES A MARKETER'S EFFORTS. A TRIUMPHANT CAMPAIGN SHOULD PRIORITIZE THREE TENETS: EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, AND CONVERSION- CHERRYN DOGRA
THE DIGITAL CUSTOMER JOURNEY HAS EVOLVED FROM SIMPLE SEARCH TO SEARCH AND DISCOVERY AND NOW TO SELECTION. IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, TRANSACTIONS WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE DIGITAL JOURNEY- VISHESH RAWAT
INFLUENCER MARKETING IS GETTING POPULAR AMONG REAL ESTATE BUSINESSES TO REACH THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE. BY PARTNERING WITH INFLUENCERS WHOSE FOLLOWERS MATCH THEIR TARGET MARKET, REALTORS CAN ENSURE THEIR MESSAGE REACHES THE RIGHT PEOPLE - GOVIND RAI
FOCUSING ON SEGMENTED MARKETING ENABLES AFFORDABLE STRATEGIES, SUCH AS GEOTARGETING, REGIONAL ADS, AND PRINT ADS, WHICH ARE MORE MANAGEABLE ALTERNATIVES TO COSTLY OPTIONS LIKE PAGE JACKET ADS, CODING, RADIO, AND DIGITAL ADVERTISING- ASHA SINGH
WHILE PERFORMANCE MARKETING REMAINS POPULAR, DIGITAL BRANDING OFFERS MEASURABLE BENEFITS SUCH AS TRACKING VIEWER ENGAGEMENT AND TAILORED COMMUNICATION FOR TARGETED CUSTOMERS. THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL MARKETING WILL CONTINUE TO GROW IN THE FUTURE- ROHAN SHAH
Storytelling is vital for differentiation
Market trends are determined by shifting consumer behaviour
The use of advanced technology will replace traditional methods
Digitization plays a crucial role in maintaining security and privacy while enhancing brand visibility
Future decision-making may depend on technology
