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Developers were advertising in realestate magazines and in supple-ments in leading dailies for marketing their products,

thus far. One usually saw advertisementsof projects in newspapers, hoardings,theme events, real estate fairs or receivedthe invasive and unwelcome SMSs on realty projects.

Recently, sops started being dished outon special occasions like Diwali, which readlike assured gifts of white goods on the first100 bookings - a flat Rs 50,000 off on the first50 bookings and assured return for eightmonths, free 42-inch plasma TV for the first50 bookings, etc.

Some of the recent noteworthy market-ing efforts include the clean-up drive, "Let'sMake Amritsar Sparkling", organized byAlpha G: Corp last year. As everythingevolves, real estate marketing efforts, too,seem to be notching up in the value chain.

The cleanliness drive in Amritsar by Al-pha G: Corp was held in concert with thelocal authorities of Amritsar. The Munic-ipal Corporation of Amritsar providedgarbage lifting autos, ditch machines, road-sweeping machines, water-sprinkling ma-chines, fogging machines and tippers tohelp keep the city clean, green and free ofwater-borne diseases.

The whole route was full of volunteersstanding with placards at different spots,who distributed leaflets before and duringthe cleanliness drive to increase publicawareness.

The drive was a huge hit with the peopleof Amritsar, who came out in full force tosupport the movement. The volunteers gaveout leaflets and explained the value of thecleanliness drive to various shopkeepers,who totally supported it and went alongwith the importance of their role in keep-ing the city clean and sparkling.

The shopkeepers also hoped this drivewould help make the public realize thegrassroots problems encountered in clean-ing up a locality, and appreciate correctiveactions. The campaign covered over 300shops throughout the route.

The objective of this eco-drive was toclean the holy city. Shopkeepers were requested to clean their premises beforeclosing their shops, so that garbage couldbe lifted the very next day, in the morning.They were also requested to place a dustbin inside their shop or house and notto throw garbage in front of the shops or the homes.

Prodipta Sen, executive director of Al-pha G: Corp says: "We are committed to cre-ating positive awareness about sustainableand healthy living in Amritsar, with a goalof making it a model city in terms of hy-giene and civic amenities. We have beenfortunate to have the support of the may-or's office and the municipal corporation.The drive is also aimed at creating aware-ness about hygiene and environmental is-sues and promoting solutions essential toa sustainable, healthy and greener envi-ronment among citizens. Various depart-ments like sanitation and horticulture havereadily agreed to participate in the removalof garbage, debris and water receptaclesfor better sanitation and greening for all."

Sen says that proactive participation incatchment areas by developers helps peo-

ple connect and build empathy with the de-veloper's objectives. Ultimately, for any busi-ness or brand, especially in real estate, anemotional connect, by way of common caus-es and objectives, is essential, he says.

Developers have started believing thateven though all forms of marketing are ex-pensive, the intangible returns cannot beignored. This goes beyond plain commerce.Instilling a sense of pride in the commu-nity by facilitating a cleanliness drive hasits own positive returns for a marketer.

The tangible benefits for a developer arethat any entertainment or family outing,be it shopping or get-togethers, takes thepeople to the developer's outlets as the 'topof the mind recall' value has been estab-lished by these socially responsible drives;these translate into increased footfalls, par-ticipation and ultimately, an exponentialincreases in revenues.

Another innovative marketing conceptwas the concept of "experiential market-

ing" by the Ashiana Group. In order to givecustomers a first-hand experience of theirproject Utsav in Jaipur, they created a con-cept of trial apartments so that customerscould experience the lifestyle, facilities,services and ambience of the project be-fore going for the final purchase.

The project is a senior citizens' projectand the group invited customers whowished to opt for an active senior living intheir silver innings, to come and experi-ence the actual living condition of the re-sorts first hand before joining the commu-nity. The project's 2BHK fully-furnished tri-al apartments are equipped with all facili-ties and cost Rs 700 per night.

Ankur Gupta, the joint managing direc-tor of Ashiana Housing Ltd, says: "Be it au-tomobiles, electronics or jewellery - nowa-days, people believe in something tangible,those things of which they can have a per-sonalized feel before buying. Same is thecase with home buying, which is always an

important decision and, especially, withconcept homes like the Utsav project.

It's always difficult to choose your home,especially for senior citizens, who havespent their entire life in a particular loca-tion. It's always difficult to move from thatlocation to a newer one at that age withoutknowing the comfort, services and facili-ties of that location. Trial apartments en-able customers to have a first-hand feel ofour offerings."

The message seems to have gone downwell with some end users. Sharan Amadeand his wife, residents of Ashiana Utsav,Jaipur, say: "We knew about their (thegroup's) Bhiwadi project; but a one-nightstay at the Jaipur trial apartment helpedus make the final decision."

Tilak Raj Arora, a resident at AshianaUtsav, Bhiwadi, says: "My wife and I weresceptical about moving into a retirementresort, but after spending two days at thetrial home here, we made up our mind.

The facilities here are very good."Talking about actual conversions, that

is, the number of people who stay at trialapartments and those that actually buyinto the projects, Vishal Gupta says: "Cus-tomers can avail this facility at Utsav Bhi-wadi and Utsav Jaipur. At Utsav Bhiwa-di, the percentage of conversion is almost90%, which includes both customers whohave taken a unit on rent in Utsav, as wellas those who have purchased a unit afterstaying in the trial apartments. In UtsavJaipur, where we just started handing overthe project, the conversion ratio is 21%.This ratio will increase as people becomeaware of this concept."

Among the intangible benefits that trial apartments give customers is thechance to at least try the benefits that theymight otherwise be missing in their life,without ever realizing it. It offers them a first-hand feel of a life from a differentperspective.

NAMRATA KOHLI presents a slice of innovative New Age marketing in real estate industry

Do customers seal the deal inthose projects which are on theverge of completion or do theygo with those firms which have

a reputation for quality of construction?Well, both the issues are important for

customers. Sunil Jindal, the chief exec-utive officer of SVP developers, says: "Ican tell you from my experience that cus-tomers usually invest in those proper-ties where they find some kind of activ-ity. If they see that work is on, then theyinvest. Selling flats, floors or plots on bar-ren land is not an easy task. Selling adream is not that easy unless you backit up with performance on the ground."

However, there is a divergent view inthis regard also. Alimuddin Rafi Ahmed,the chairman and managing director ofILD developers, says that customers donot necessarily book their dream homeswhere they see some kind of construc-tion work. If that had been the case, thenall the realty firms would start work on their foundation and easily sell their products.

The world of realty does not work thatway, he says. "Fact of the matter is, no-body knows which project will create astorm in the market and which one will

fall flat," Ahmed says.Experts say that it is ahuge task to read the

minds of prospective customers. Someprefer to book their homes where con-struction work is on. That gives them asense of confidence. However, the imageof some realty firms too counts.

A large number of customers also takeinto consideration the size of a firm'sportfolio - the larger it is, and the longerit has been in the market, adds value toits latest offerings. People go and booktheir flats and floors there.

Ajay Singal, the director of Avalongroup, says that the relationship sharedbetween customers and an establishedbrand is very important as no buyer iswilling to compromise on the function-ality and quality of the real estate prod-uct. "I can say that the brand value of adeveloper affects the buying decision ofcustomers. The popularity of a brand re-sults in optimum sales and increasedconsumer awareness, which is inde-pendent of the construction status ofthat project."

Manoj Ahuja, an East Delhi-based busi-nessman, belongs to the category of cus-tomers who have booked their flats in aproject of a builder who has promisedconstruction-linked payment plan. He isof the opinion that considering the dis-mal track record of many so-called big-time realty firms, he thought he shouldnot give much importance to the name

and fame of any company.At the end of the day, one thing is ab-

solutely clear - nobody can say with cer-tainty which type of realty project canmake a dent in the market.

Customers certainly give thumbs up

to those realty firms which hand overperfect homes to their buyers with ex-cellent tiling work in the kitchens andthe bathrooms, with perfect sewage pipesand plumbing work. Quality of a projectis directly connected to the reputation

and image of the builder in the market.If a developer doesn't deliver quality proj-ects, it will hurt his goodwill. In order tokeep his reputation intact, a builder mustdeliver quality projects.

Sanjay Khanna of Kailash Nath Pro-jects Pvt Ltd says: "While detailed mon-itoring is done to ensure quality com-pliance, our approach is extremely fo-cused on the project in execution. Thevolume of our projects is kept at man-ageable proportions to enable higherlevels of supervision. But the clinch-ing factor is the level of commitmentthat successfully eliminates question-able quality." He, too, adds that cus-tomers prefer projects where they seeconstruction work is on.

Realty market watchers say that pub-licity through word of mouth makes ormars the reputation of a realty firm.

If a realty firm gets bad publicity, itis very tough for it to change that per-ception in the market. Notwithstand-ing all its tall promises, the firm

will find it extremely difficult to sellits products.

Jindal says: "We have a dedicated de-partment to ensure quality standards.Supervision is done at the micro leveland this detailing eliminates the pos-sibility of shoddy workmanship. Whenwe are not satisfied with the work-manship, the specific area is reworkedand is executed even if it means slip-ping up on a deadline."

It is also often said that when dis-appointed buyers try to hold the de-veloper accountable, they are only toldthat his (developer) liability ends afterone year of handing over the apartmentcomplex. When attention is drawn tothe promised quality, a finger is point-ed at the sub-contractors. As if thiswere not enough, the penalty clause forthe sub-contractor is again to the tuneof one year after completion, whichmeans that he is not accountable be-yond that period. Sadly, many a time acustomer pays a staggering price for

his dream house with multi-ple defects and with no placeto appeal.

If developers are insistingthat they are according toppriority to ensure the quali-ty of construction, why thenare developments increas-ingly coming up with sub-standard quality?

This is true with not justsmall builders, who are yetto make an impact, but withestablished and highly re-puted developers.

"While this is not my con-cern what others do, we havedevised a monitoring systemto ensure quality compliance.We hire one of the best con-tractors to execute our proj-ects. we have an efficient pur-chase team which procuresmaterials like cement, steel,bricks, paint, sanitary ware,light fixtures, tiles and mar-ble," Gaurav Mittal, the man-aging director of CHD De-velopers says.

"Apart from the quality-check lab at the site we havea series of checklists with aquality-control audit system.The head office works in coordination with site engi-neers to monitor workman-ship," Mittal says.

For customers, timely delivery and quality of construction of houses are very important. Realty firmshoping to hit it off in the market must heed to these two critical criteria, says GEETA

TIMELY DELIVERY AND QUALITY THE KEY

ageofmarketing 13pg.

A T i m e s o f I n d i a P r e s e n t a t i o n , D E L H I , J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 1 2 T I M E S P R O P E RT Y

For any business or brand, especially in real estate, an emotional connect, by way of common causes and objectives, is essential

QQUUIICCKKBITES

■ THIS GOESBEYOND PLAINCOMMERCE.INSTILLING ASENSE OF PRIDEIN THECOMMUNITY BYFACILITATING ACLEANLINESSDRIVE HAS ITSOWN POSITIVERETURNS FOR AMARKETER

■ THE TANGIBLEBENEFITS FOR ADEVELOPER ARETHAT ANYENTERTAINMENTOR FAMILYOUTING, BE ITSHOPPING ORGET-TOGETHERS,TAKES THEPEOPLE TO THEDEVELOPER’SOUTLETS AS THE‘TOP OF THEMIND RECALL’VALUE HAS BEENESTABLISHED BYTHESE SOCIALLYRESPONSIBLEDRIVES

■ DEVELOPERS AREBECOMING MORESOPHISTICATED IN THEIRMARKETING. FROMORGANIZING SOCIALLYRESPONSIBLE EVENTS TOEXPERIENTIAL MARKETING,THEY ARE GOING FORSUBTLE YET MOREEFFECTIVE METHODS

[FAST FACT]

QQUUIICCKKBITES

■■ ‘THE BRAND VALUE OF A DEVELOPER AFFECTS THE BUYINGDECISION OF CUSTOMERS. THE POPULARITY OF A BRAND RESULTSIN OPTIMUM SALES AND INCREASED CONSUMER AWARENESS,WHICH IS INDEPENDENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION STATUS OF THATPROJECT’

■■ PUBLICITY THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH MAKES OR MARS THEREPUTATION OF A REALTY FIRM. IF A REALTY FIRM GETS BADPUBLICITY, IT IS VERY TOUGH FOR IT TO CHANGE THATPERCEPTION IN THE MARKET

Deepak Sharma

NEW AGE MARKETING

Rajesh Mehta