If there’s one realization that the early days of the pandemic has cemented in all our minds, it’s the truth behind the famous line from the classic movie The Wizard of Oz: “There’s no place like home”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered consumer behaviour across all industries, especially real estate. Nationwide lockdowns have caused us all to collectively move indoors for more safety and to continue our work as usual from newly designated “home offices”.
Impact of the Second Wave
Although initially the realty sector was badly disrupted – experiencing widespread labour shortages, deferred and cancelled projects, empty office buildings, and more – there’s good news on the horizon. Despite undergoing a second wave of the virus again exactly one year after it began – the real estate sector in India is maintaining promising signs of resilience and recovery.
Aided by the lessons learned from the first wave and a global-level vaccination drive, it’s safe to say that the industry is slowly mobilizing back onto a growth track.
At the very most, experts have optimistically predicted that the recent spike in cases will only put a short-term dampener on the progress, with a high likelihood of a steady momentum being regained.
In fact, according to the Real Estate Sentiment Index Q1 2021, over 80% of respondents believe that the residential market will remain steady or even improve over the next 6 months, including launches, prices and sales.
Real Estate Strategies That Paid Off
Here’s a look at some of the marketing strategies that were adopted by real estate companies to tide them through the past year. We hope you’ll get inspired by some of these ideas and incorporate them into your business plans:
1) Adapting to consumer preferences
Global lockdowns have altered consumer behaviour patterns in a major way. With more people spending more time at home and safe and hygienic surroundings becoming of paramount importance, the list of required amenities in their homes only got longer.
Potential homebuyers are now actively seeking homes that come readily equipped with outdoor spaces, gardens or walking paths, high-quality internet infrastructure, home gyms and game rooms, swimming pools, designated work stations in bedrooms and proximity to good medical facilities, etc.
The very definition of a “home” has been reimagined.
So, to attract more buyers for your properties, consider focusing your marketing on tailor-made and ready-to-move-in projects within your portfolio that reflect these new-age customer needs.
2) Embracing digital technology
Some of the unique challenges thrown at the real estate sector have caused a major reconfiguration in the way technology and the digital medium are used to engage with consumers.
Forward-thinking real estate players have successfully digitized the house buying/ selling and renting process with the help of immersive online portals. By leveraging technology like Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR and VR) and Artificial Intelligence-enabled (AI) chatbots to offer potential customers virtual walkthroughs of the property, a new funnel of interested buyers has been created through these digital marketing tools.
This rising acceptance of the digital route has acted as the saving grace to the industry and has helped companies tide over liquidity challenges and ensuring new sales.
3) Shaking up the advertising mix with radio
To ease the growing worries of consumers looking to make real estate decisions during the pandemic, many developers have turned to creative, old-school methods to effectively reach out to them with solutions.
Real estate advertising across radio and digital channels has emerged as a strong contender during the pandemic. The success of this approach is unexpected because of radio’s lack of visuals and real estate’s reliance on visual depictions.
But, according to TAM data, real estate enjoyed a majority share of 10% in ad volumes during 2020.
The empathetic and personal touch provided by radio ad reads and jingles can help build your brand’s reputation, position you as a leading expert in the field and attract interested leads. What’s more, it’s cost-effective as well.
As an example, take Mission Azaadi: The hugely successful campaign powered by leading real estate firm Investor’s Clinic which breathed life back into the sector by leveraging the power of radio and digital to organize virtual roundtables. These live events brought together real estate pros and concerned property owners looking to buy or sell. To know more about how they did it, click here.
Moving Forward
India’s housing sector currently appears to be primed for a gradual recovery, showed by various rating agencies making upward predictions in their growth forecasts.
JLL India research revealed that the country’s new housing supply in 2021 should continue to be in the affordable to mid-range bracket, so developers could soon reap the benefits of strong pent-up consumer demand.
Partnering with HT Media makes reaching your target consumers easier than ever. By advertising your real estate company across our Print, Radio and Digital channels, you gain the chance to reach our loyal base of 56 million readers, 32 million listeners and 139 million digital users.
Ready to take your brand to the next level? Connect with us today to explore how HT Media can amplify your presence across our diverse portfolio of 25+ brands and properties. Let's turn your brand vision into reality!
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