Home ›› 13 Jan 2023 ›› Opinion
The contribution of the housing sector to the country’s GDP is increasing gradually. This sector contributes around 12 per cent of the national GDP. In the meantime, the government is considering the housing industry as an important sector to ensure sustainable economic development and social progress in the country by attracting domestic and foreign investors to invest in it along with creating employment.
Besides, the government and the entrepreneurs in this industry are making relentless efforts to build a sustainable housing sector keeping in mind the future demand and supply scenario.
In recent years, elite gated communities, satellite towns, and condominium projects have been constructed in numerous regions of the country, including Dhaka, in addition to the conventional housing system, to improve the quality of life for the people of the country. Such concepts are formed out of a desire to break the chains of square-foot tales in civic life by putting all of the instruments of contemporary living within reach. Smart home technologies are currently being used in residential structures.
As the number of housing project grows, the market in this sector is getting increasingly competitive. Additionally, reaching the appropriate clients with the appropriate products is an issue of concern for this industry’s entrepreneurs. Moving away from traditional market planning, housing businesses are attempting to build strategic marketing or strategic marketing systems. It is tough to thrive in today’s competitive market if you do not have a thorough understanding of the market worth of the product or service and lack of adequate experience.
Many real estate companies outsource the majority of their marketing to professional advertising firms. Nevertheless, bear in mind that the developer’s and the advertising agency’s objectives aren’t usually the same. In light of this situation, we may define the strategic marketing of the housing business by creating a creative marketing team and concentrating on the following issues.
Market analysis
You have to know the quality of life of the people in that area, the extent of the market, consumer needs or demands, informed about competing companies and their activities, identify visible and invisible market opportunities, and know in detail about consumer needs or demands by researching the residential or commercial product you intend to develop. Aside from that, the demands of customers of different sorts of housing commodities differ. So, classify potential consumers based on the product. This will make it easier to approach the appropriate consumer with the appropriate goods.
Communication and packaging methods
Along with the building of residential and commercial projects, product standardization and communication management should be prioritized. If the consumer’s attention is not drawn at first sight, the buyer will not be drawn to the next step, which is purchasing the product. An appealing project fence can be built with specific features or product qualities that draw the buyer’s attention. In this example, the installation of green fences in the global environment adds a new dimension to the project site, and this creative concept adds to the diversity of the structure under construction.
An informative brochure that can include a product introduction, special characteristics or features such as Unit Selling Proposition (USP), design philosophy, and product surrounds. In this scenario, additional consideration should be given to the brochure’s paper, print quality, and content.
To develop a good connection with the consumer, you may make online video advertisements, brief direct mailers, social media content, and PowerPoint presentations on product benefits.
Strategic planning
In the contemporary era of strategic marketing, identifying actual consumers and developing appropriate strategic plans is a key difficulty for marketing professionals. Every year, 30 to 45 percent of residential and commercial items that hit the marketplace fail due to a lack of adherence to a proven technique. If strategic planning is developed by having knowledge of competing companies and their operations as well as customer buying habits, this challenge may be resolved. It is necessary to create a realistic marketing strategy plan that takes into account user-based segmentation, idea creation, idea screening, and concept development as well as demographics (age, gender, income), geographic (local, national, and worldwide), behavioral (patterns, benefits), and socio-economic factors.
SEO-friendly webpage
A well-designed, informational (SEO) friendly website should be built, because it would be beneficial to connect with your present target clients. Search engines always display search results depending on the region. For instance, if you search for “Luxury Flats in Dhaka” on Google and need to purchase residential or commercial goods but are unsure of where to find them nearby, Google will transport you directly to the page where the requested product is listed. There is no question that if you do not have an online presence, you will lose your potential customers. In addition, by developing an informational website, the debut of an ongoing or upcoming product may be readily promoted by retargeting the product’s digital store and customers.
Digitisation
In today’s technological age, it is not feasible to fulfill the organisation’s intended goals just through the strenuous effort of marketers. Quality leads should also be sent to the sales department. Digital marketing may play a significant part in this. Due to their busy schedules, many customers choose not to engage in telephone or door-to-door sales approaches. In this circumstance, a large number of high-quality leads may be generated utilizing various digital platforms that employ artificial intelligence, such as Facebook, online portals, and LinkedIn.
CRM software and call centre agent
A sophisticated call centre should be built, where a call centre employee can provide customers with the relevant information. In this situation, training should be provided to call centre managers and call centre representatives to develop their product expertise and data analysis skills. Lead generation through inbound and outbound calls must be included in customer relationship management. Modern CRM software should be used to handle customer information and communications. This will strengthen the likelihood of future sales to the same customer.
Team for research and development
Each housing firm may have a research and development team branch to assist with frequent marketing research and policy formulation. This team’s essential function will be to do pricing analysis, price justification, customer demands or demand research based on product type, analyzing competitor companies and their operations, and advising the housing company on what the country’s long-term strategic plan should be.
For the housing industry to contribute more to Bangladesh’s growth as it moves forward on the path to prosperity in the twenty-first century, marketing experts must play a significant role. Research on the national and international housing market is necessary, and both the organization and the nation should demonstrate how to raise the standard of living for its citizens.
The writer is a real estate professional. He can be contacted at [email protected]
