The New Survival Mantra for Real Estate

Holding around a decade of experience, Yukti currently heads brand management with experience in developing successful integrated marketing communications, product management, digital media and others.

COVID-19 has changed the way real estate industry functions. What according to you will be the way forward for them?
COVID-19 has undeniably affected industries across the globe and evidently affecting the whole real estate sector because the lockdown has definitely decreased the site visits to a great extent and there is a strong fear of being exposed by getting out in public spaces amongst the people at this time. I have personally made sure that the team at Gulshan to be at the beck and call for our workers and customers. As a developer, I would say the only way to overcome the impact of lockdown is to focus with all eyes and hands towards leading by example. The sooner we build, the sooner we sell, and the sooner we overcome the economic challenges we all are facing today.

Real estate industry is witnessing a slowdown in sales. How should the companies tweak their marketing strategy to ensure spike in their sales?
In this pandemic scenario, we can analyse that business is getting affected. But to some extent, digitisation definitely has eased and minimized the impact. So to overcome these challenges, we started with digital marketing and virtual tours, to better reach our target audience. And now, tailoring them according to the customer’s changing needs. Changing consumer tastes and profiles is not only transforming how business is done but is also pushing organizations to tweak their business models. Every developer needs to prepare themselves from the research of insights to accept the changing dynamic and adapt their sales strategies. They also need to be more flexible about their plans as the timeline of this Pandemic and its repercussions still remain uncertain and focus for a better connection with the consumer.

A responsible developer in these sensitive times cannot turn blind eye to traditional business models,his focus should oscillate between planning of marketing and selling strategies and creating promising business models for future growth

How will the use of technology play an instrumental role in real estate industry? Which technologies should the companies adapt to keep a connect with their clients?
The real estate tech sector is slowly being redefined by rapidly changing market conditions and shifts in consumer behaviours. To remain competitive, real estate companies have to look out for better ways for increasing efficiency, differentiating, and positioning their products and services as they build customer loyalty. CRM and ORM are the two most prominent tools helping us maintain our relationship with already associated stakeholders. A responsible developer in these sensitive times cannot turn blind eye to traditional business models, his focus should oscillate between planning of marketing and selling strategies and creating promising business models for future growth. The need for integrating varied technologies like ERP for internal financial proceedings and Convox for clear communication with existing residents and investors are of prime importance. Virtual tours are bridging the gap between developers and homebuyers, apart from this well-synchronized construction software that is helping the developers’ community in achieving new construction management milestones, which seemed like a far-fetched plan before. A pattern that has come out is that the people are spending a substantial amount of time on digital channels; they are interested in knowing what brands and businesses around them are doing. Homebuyers are assessing the developer’s advancement with his technical prowess and majorly what are some changes that are happening in the overall design of a home/office. Immersive technologies such as digital interactions, social media engagement and virtual tours are not only helping them in standing out from their competitor but also delivering a credible touch. These technologies are helping us stay active in the market; right now this is the best time to leverage this opportunity.

Additionally, in times like this when work from home is the new normal, it’s essential for the industry to lay focus on automating the overall working of the organisation. Those who haven’t yet adapted to the ERP platforms and sale management software will now have to look into automating their processes as much as possible. The key is to have robust software that keep your construction in check, establish the ease of doing business for the internal employees, existing stakeholders as well as simplifying the selling process.