THE BUSINESS OF MARKETING WHAT’S NEXT?

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THE PANDEMIC, THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE MILLENNIALS HAVE FOREVER CHANGED THE FACE OF REAL ESTATE MARKETING. THE TOP MARKETERS OF INDIAN REAL ESTATE IN THIS ISSUE BRIEF US ON HOW THEY ARE IMPLEMENTING ACTIONABLE PLANS FOR THE PATH FORWARD TO OPTIMIZE MARKETING PERFORMANCE. By: Sapna Srivastava While challenging times like these require marketers to be nimble, it also calls for ingenuity and teamwork. The Realty+ Top 50 Marketing Minds Conclave & Awards highlighted the changing times and how marketers are thinking on their feet to achieve success. It’s no news to the marketers that marketing is going through a disruptive sea of change, shifting the role of a marketer from mere building brands and driving consumer communications to being a leader of growth acceleration. REIMAGINING MARKETING This shift in consumer behaviors and attitudes, requires marketers to gain new skills, capabilities, operating models, and a modern toolkit to sustain and thrive in this dynamic future. The marketers from across the country tell us how they are responding to this shifting landscape and maximizing value in a manner that fits their brand’s needs. Marketers are focusing on keeping a service mindset and embracing new technologies. Some important changes in customer behavior and marketers response to the shifts are – Digital Migration - Customers across the world are turning to digital. For marketers this means rethinking how to connect with consumers. Clearly, the emphasis is on digital channels. The need of the hour is to manage immense data and use it to better personalize offers and messages as well as redesign potential buyer’s journey from project search to transaction. Service Platforms - The home bound customers are spoilt for choice in terms of E-service from banking to online shopping. The same is expected of real estate too. Realty firms are therefore building partner ecosystem to offer services from loans to interior services to payments on a single platform. . Media Mix - Marketers are reinventing their media mix across a larger set of channels, such as videoconferencing platforms, virtual reality and OTT platforms. They are engaging with smart devices to deliver a message to a customer’s phone, tablet, and TV screens when they are using those devices. Localizing Experience - Local neighborhoods and community social-media pages and forums are ranking high on marketer’s priority list. Localized marketing tailored to the neighborhood expands their connections with consumers. Managing this hyperlocal activity requires marketers to rewire their operating model to provide a more granular presence at scale. Building Brand - Home buyers are seeking projects by established brands and are willing to pay more for projects by realty firms that have a brand image. Clearly trust and confidence building now is the top consideration in building brand image for a marketer. This becoming a key point of differentiation and even a source of competitive advantage. Social Awareness - Current crisis has accelerated socially conscious values among customers. How a brand is responding during the crisis is also impacting buying decision. Marketers are therefore communicate a strong sense of their brands’ purpose through the social cause initiatives, the partners they choose to work with and the way they treat their employees. INNOVATE & ADAPT ARE NOW THE GOLDEN WORDS FOR MARKETERS. BRAND INNOVATIONS AND ADDRESSING CUSTOMER’S PAIN-POINTS AND FULFILLING THEIR UNADDRESSED NEEDS IS THE PRIME OBJECTIVE OF REALTY FIRMS NOW. WHILE, IT IS HARD TO CHANGE HABITS, BUT WITH CUSTOMERS CHANGING THEIR ‘ROUTINES’ AND BEHAVIORS, THE ONUS IS ON BRANDS AS TO HOW THEY CAN FIND A PLACE IN THESE NEW ROUTINES. MARKETERS NEW PLAYBOOK While no one knows what the exact contours of the next normal will look like, we do know that things will not go back to the way they were. Marketers will need to systematically monitor trends and indicators, commit to bold changes in marketing strategy and investments, and build agility into the organization for the world that emerges. According to McKinsey, the new real estate marketing playbook should be driven by answers to the questions that matter most: • How should the brand’s vision and strategy be adapted to emerging trends and customer demands? • How well do you know your customers at a meaningful segment level? • What analytics capabilities do you have to not only identify opportunities but to act on them quickly? • What kind of working relationships will the CMO need to forge with the CEO, CIO, CFO, and the rest of the C-suite so that reimagined marketing drives real growth for the business? • How can personalization drive the next order of customer experience in an increasingly borderless environment (home, stores, local, global, services)? • Which channels and messages are most effective in reaching and influencing consumers across their decision journey? • How can prices, products, and services be customized to changing needs? • How will your organizational and operating model need to change to be quick and flexible enough to meet consumers where they are going to be?