PROPERTY BUYERS AS BRAND AMBASSADORS

 by Mr. RAVI SINHA, Track2Realty

Look at the celebrity and talk about property buyers; it seems the Indian real estate sector is rather caught between the need for keeping buyers in good humour yet, finds celebrities as the saviour of the brand as well as garner sales push.

Word-of-mouth publicity is something that real estate, across India, seems to have adopted as a mantra of moral high ground, while the marketing & sales drive is heavily dependent on celebrity endorsement.

Brand Ambassadors..

 

Mr. RAVI SINHA, Track2Realty

This raises a fundamental question that if the satisfied property (House / Flat / Land) buyers are the best vehicles for word-of-mouth publicity, then why can not they be used as the brand ambassadors of the project. Are there enough takers for such an idea or / is it another fancy thought

Some analysts believe that while a community connect with property buyers really gives a facelift to the realty company; the idea is ahead of its time when the trend is that of dissatisfied buyers. It is generally believed that the role of satisfied buyers as brand ambassadors, beyond mere word-of-mouth publicity, is something that may make headlines yet, not work from the sales point.

There are others who are of the view the customer as a brand ambassador, makes sense so long as the brand value of the customer is kept in mind and expectations are calibrated accordingly.

Manju Yagnik, Vice Chairperson, Nahar Group,said, ''The brand campaign of a project should be envisioned to be unique since most real estate advertisements are based on future promises, including amenities & facilities that will be introduced in the distant future. Buyers can be used with the objective to showcase the multitude of features that a project already offers, thereby, cutting through the clutter.

"It was from this simple thought that the concept of 'real life brand ambassador concept' germinated. The concept involves the project being endorsed by residents who have been already staying in the township as opposed to routine real estate advertisements which feature a celebrity who is most probably unaware about the real experience of the project but endorses it.

The idea behind the unique concept is to allow prospective buyers an insight into the experiences of living in this township from the perspective of its residents. We believe that residents who have been staying in this township for long, are perfect celebrities to endorse it as they can most suitably describe the benefits of staying in it"says Yagnik.

 

Real estate company's brand image..

The question is whether such a connection will strengthen bonds with all the stakeholders, and enhance the real estate company's brand image by showcasing reality and not merely an advertisement.

Mr. Rohit Gera, MD,Gera Developments, believes that brand ambassadors typically, should have some values or / positioning that aligns to the positioning & values of the firm they are endorsing.

Without this, they merely act as a way to attract someone to view the ad.

"Endorsement value comes when the endorser puts his / her credibility behind the product. For property buyers however, to be brand ambassadors, the buyers need to have a certain amount of brand value.

Absence of this, leaves the marketing campaign as a testimonial campaign - something that developers / promoters have used for decades. Satisfied buyers push the wordof-mouth publicity and indeed are ambassadors of the brand. However, the question is whether satisfied customers can be used actively in marketing real estate, not unless the individual does indeed possess some degree of recognition,"says Mr. Gera.

Navneet Bhadla, Director, Brys Group, finds a balance between the 2 extreme ends of opinion, when she says the concept will work best with the luxury and super-luxury projects, since many buyers in such flats are any ways celebrities.

According to her, it is time for innovation with the tried & tested formats, and satisfied buyers are anyways the best goodwill ambassadors for the project. She, however, has a word of caution because any advertisement campaign is a high investment experiment.

Middle Segment Housing..

"I feel celebrity buyers in the high-end projects, can be excellent brand ambassadors, since they have the celebrity appeal, added to the experience and connect that comes with the ownership of the flat.

As far as mid-segment housing is concerned, the developer / promoter has to do a cost - benefit analysis before investing heavily.

One size fits all solution of property buyers as brand ambassadors,can not be offered for all the projects. Personally, as a concept, a buyer as the brand ambassador, is any time preferable than a celebrity with no emotional or /  social connect with the mass housing"says Bhadla.

Some brand analysts maintain that innovations in real estate advertisements break the clutter and help in attracting customer attention.

However, it does not mean the traditional forms of advertisements are a failure. Since the customers stay in the project, use the amenities & have a complete experience of what is said and committed by the developer, this experience can be explored to create branding.

About the author..

The writer is Ravi Sinha is CEO atTrack2Realty 

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