EVOLVING SALES & MARKETING TRENDS

Reflecting on the past few years, there has been a bull run not only in stock markets but, real estate as well. This has affected the sales velocity of new project launches, price escalations and also moderated the inventory overhang. Shashank Jain, Director, EY- Parthenon stated that these are interesting times as measure of success for any new project launch has drastically changed over the last 2-4 years. “Earlier new project launch success was judged by the number of quarters it took to sell. Then it reduced to months, weeks and now, it’s how many days it takes to sell a project.”

Ashish Jerath, President-Sales & Marketing, Smartworld Developers, said, “In the past year, we have observed significant growth across various parameters, including price and volume. The real estate market has evolved into multiple micro-markets, each with its own unique dynamics and demand. However, the market is becoming increasingly selective due to a rise in options available to buyers. Some projects are struggling to move forward, and that is not because of slowdown, but heightened competition.”

Suneet Singh, Vice President–Sales & Marketing, TARC Limited, agreed that the dynamics often vary significantly between different micro-markets. She added, “In the luxury projects, although investors play a role initially, the end consumers, comprising approximately 60 to 70% are ultimately pivotal to the project’s success. Moreover, for luxury residential, the NRI segment accounts for approximately 20 to 25% of buyers, from UAE, London, certain US regions, and Canada.”

In the commercial real estate, the transformation has been unfolding over the past four to five years, bolstered by governmental initiatives attracting offshore companies to India.

According to Mohit Mishra, Head of Marketing, DLF Office Business, “The pandemic accelerated digitization and forced companies to re-evaluate their office needs, leading to significant growth in digital infrastructure and flexible workspaces. As a result, commercial office spaces have evolved into integrated environments and developers are prioritizing building high-quality, green-compliant office spaces.”

TARGETING FIRST HOMEBUYERS

Emphasizing value for money is the key, when it comes to attracting first time homebuyers. Ashish Kaul, Chief Marketing Officer, Hero Realty articulated, “A superior product that is specific to the needs of first-time homebuyer and delivers affordable luxury sells the most for this customer segment. The developers will have to prioritize delivering quality products over chasing financial targets, actively discouraging investor-driven sales and avoiding any cash transactions, if they want to cater to first-time home buyers from various backgrounds.”

Karan Kumar, Real Estate Sales & Marketing Expert gave example of Delhi-NCR market when it comes to property buying by first time buyers, “Gurugram and Noida for instance have diverse micro-markets, making them non-homogenous entities. Gurugram faces challenges with consumption slowdowns and inventory overhangs in certain areas, whereas Noida has effectively addressed its infrastructure issues despite historical trust deficits among developers. The development of the Noida airport and increased commercial activity indicates potential growth in Noida’s residential market, while Gurugram risks lagging if it fails to proactively improve its infrastructure.”

Sharing his views on how things have evolved, Mayank Vora, Co-Founder, Realatte, said, “Although NCR has not extensively catered to direct consumers, it has shifted focus to digital brand building, reflecting a positive market trend. Digital assets are increasingly prioritized by channel partners, aligning with the move towards digital platforms. The rise in online search volumes for homes also indicates a gradual increase in direct consumer en- gagement, with current branding proportions expected to shift to performance-oriented strategies over time.”

ADDRESSING TRUST-DEFICIT

Suneet Singh said, “We prioritize customer relationship management through consistent engagement with existing clients, ensuring they experience our product well in advance. Early engagement often enhances trust and satisfaction.” Ashish Jerath added, “We emphasize both on digital interactions and face-to-face meetings with our customers, organizing large events and maintaining a dedicated customer service lounge to foster trust and engagement. While digital avenues are essential, personal interactions remain crucial in our industry for building lasting relationships.”

Shashank Jain was of the view that in West India real estate market developers generate 20 to 30% of their sales by servicing existing customers while, North India real estate market is primarily channel partner oriented.” Ashish Kaul concurred, “Our business heavily relies on channel partners, often neglecting consumer needs and insights. Consequently, the core values of trust and commitment towards the end-user are compromised, leading to a detrimental trust deficit.”

Karan Kumar said, “The channel partner is a vital part of the company’s extended sales team but, it’s crucial to have clear rules, guidelines, and business strategies to ensure effective client sourcing and customer experience.”

 Mohit Mishra added, “When dealing with physical products, long-term customer relationships are crucial. Understanding and digitizing the entire customer lifecycle, from initial interest to post-signing, helps improve processes and better serve the clients.” Mayank Vora suggested that marketing automation can enhance the ability to engage proactively and effectively with personalized communication with customers, such as personalized videos and dedicated support teams, that significantly elevates customer engagement and satisfaction.”

ADDRESSING TRUST-DEFICIT

Suneet Singh said, “We prioritize customer relationship management through consistent engagement with existing clients, ensuring they experience our product well in advance. Early engagement often enhances trust and satisfaction.” Ashish Jerath added, “We emphasize both on digital interactions and face-to-face meetings with our customers, organizing large events and maintaining a dedicated customer service lounge to foster trust and engagement. While digital avenues are essential, personal interactions remain crucial in our industry for building lasting relationships.” Shashank Jain was of the view that in West India real estate market developers generate 20 to 30% of their sales by servicing existing customers while, North India real estate market is primarily channel partner oriented.” Ashish Kaul concurred, “Our business heavily relies on channel partners, often neglecting consumer needs and insights. Consequently, the core values of trust and commitment towards the end-user are compromised, leading to a detrimental trust deficit.” Karan Kumar said, “The channel partner is a vital part of the company’s extended sales team but, it’s crucial to have clear rules, guidelines, and business strategies to ensure effective client sourcing and cus- tomer experience.” Mohit Mishra added, “When dealing with physical products, long-term customer relationships are crucial. Understanding and digitizing the entire customer lifecycle, from initial interest to post-signing, helps improve processes and better serve the clients.” Mayank Vora suggested that marketing automation can enhance the ability to engage proactively and effectively with personalized communication with customers, such as personalized videos and dedicated support teams, that significantly elevates customer engagement and satisfaction.”

CLIENT FIRST APPROACH THRU PROP-TECH

Fuelled by technological advancements and evolving consumer expectations, the Indian real estate sector is undergoing a profound transformation to enhance services for all stakeholders. Giving an overview of how tech is simplifying real estate for buyers Dr. Vishesh Rawat, Vice President & Head–Sales, Marketing & CRM. M2K Group, stated, “Over the past five to six years, significant improvements have taken place in property technology, making processes quicker and more efficient. The recent implementation of drone technology has made land purchasing and legal processes more straightforward. Digital promotions have largely replaced newspaper advertisements for lead generation, optimizing the pre-sales process. And the digitization of records has enhanced tracking and measuring customer interactions, simplifying the overall customer journey.”

Supriya Chatterjee, Executive Director & Head North- Tenant Representation, Cushman & Wakefield said, “The- global prop-tech industry, was valued at approximately $25 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 16%, reaching about $94 billion by 2030. This highlights the significant role technology will play in real estate, whether in purchasing homes, leasing properties, or investing in office spaces. But I consistently advocate that technology should serve as an enabler. We must not become so engrossed in technology that we neglect our core business operations.”

Rahul Bansal, Co-founder & CEO, Propacity agreed that the aim of technology should empower businesses and he gave an example. “I collaborate with clients in over 18 tier two and tier three cities across India helping them to integrate advanced technology to address the challenges of customer experience. The focus is to partner with small scale developers who wish to expand their influence and impact.”

Talking about digitization to improve process and documentation efficiencies Aditya Prakash, CEO, Asso- tech Group, said, “It is essential to have a clear understanding of digitalization. Many consider digitization as transitioning bookkeeping from paper to digital platforms, but in reality, many customer facing tasks such as multiple forms filling are redundant now and should be streamlined through digitalization by integrating various software systems. For instance, collaborating with partners to unify databases can prevent redundancy in the client onboarding process.”

Vivek Agarwal, Co-Founder & CTO, Square Yards, added, “When examining digitization and digitalization, we should focus on the value chain, beginning with customer conducting digital search. Going forward, customer interactions can be enhanced with digital tools for scheduling site visits, providing feedback, and offering personalized recommendations, based on browsing history, and sales interaction analysis. Once customers shortlist properties, AR and VR technologies can reduce repeat site visits. In addition, there remains a substantial opportunity for tech companies to enhance post-sales experiences.”

DATA TO ACTION

Supriya Chatterjee shared that ensuring data accuracy is crucial and the method by which the data is analysed holds significant importance. As per Rahul Bansal the advancement of AI is astonishing. “The immense potential of AI-driven data analysis can predict market demands and presents exciting opportunities for the industry.” Aditya Prakash said, “I believe significant disruption primarily occurs at a fundamental level. Many companies tend to focus on complex technologies, yet true transformation happens at the basics.” Dr. Vishesh Rawat added, “It is evident that technology is here to stay, and it is imperative to utilize it effectively across various domains along with focusing on human interaction, that will continue to hold significant importance.” Sharing the outlook for the future, Vivek Agarwal said, “India is among the largest in prop-tech but holds less than a 2% of world’s market share. This indicates significant growth opportunities. I anticipate not just multiple unicorns but, also decacorns emerging in the real estate and prop-tech sectors, with some potentially reaching valuations of $100 billion within India.”

West India markets have shifted nearly 90% of their budgets to digital-first approach, implementing personalized communication and AI in marketing automation. In contrast, regions like NCR allocate about 50-60% towards digital, focusing more on branding.