The rapid pace of change that our world has encountered in the last 10 years alone has left no industry immune to adaptation.For example, Rogers Media recently announced the conversion of the majority of their publications into digital format; e-commerce is advancing where companies can predict consumer buying patterns to curate goods in advance of browsing; and the sharing economy has designed a “No-Sell” consumer mindset. Amidst this technological revolution many values and aspirations have remained the same.According to a recent study, spending time with family and friends, work/life balance and owning a home is a priority amongst all demographic segments, including the Millennials. This is good news for the real estate development industry, but only if the industry is willing to transform its traditional marketing approach of product-first, hard sell to the softer sell and the under-sell. In a world where consumers are shaping a brand faster than it can be created, it’s time for a change. Here’s where you can startRe-inventing the Sales CentreSales centres existed to act as hub where information could be relayed to prospects in a very controlled fashion. Developers will spend thousands and thousands of dollars (sometimes millions) on creating a Disneyland-like experience to draw prospects into a slick storyline (live, work, play?) and wow with glossy imagery and brochures aimed to export you into a different world. Enter today’s consumer: within seconds they can learn everything there is to know about your company, your project history, your suppliers, absorption rates, you name it. The modern day sales centre is the opposite. It’s an opportunity to build a relationship. It’s a tool that can offer real value versus sell a dream or a vision. Consumers already have a vision for their life and they are skeptical about aligning with a brand who is trying to put them in a box. We have seen great success with sales centres acting as community centres or community concierges. Or taking it a step further and acting as a retail experience that compliments an existing amenity offering or an improvement to the streetscape. In a world where word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing tool, rethink the linear sales centre experience as one that can fuel ambassadors, make news headlines regularly and be a place of meaningful experiences.Thought-Leadership ContentIn case you missed the memo, the traditional media landscape as we know it has shifted dramatically. Traditional journalism has converted into ‘branded content’ – this is not an ad or an advertorial but meaningful content (words, photography, video, etc.) that your brand publishes and encourages engagement in. It’s a cost-effective solution to gaining online profile and building relationships with prospects. The $3,000 used to place an ad in a newspaper could get you 50 qualified leads in less than a month’s time. Reallocating your marketing budget into content across social and digital platforms will also allow for easier measurement and flexibility in tactics throughout the life cycle of your project.Bulls-Eye Target StrategyThe most crucial and yet most often overlooked component to selling the most important product anyone will purchase in their life (a home) is customer profiling. The best practice in the development world is relying on a combination of quantitative data, economic and industry trends to determine product and buyer. This approach works well when you are in a sell and tell world. Today, successful marketers can identify a bulls-eye target buyer using behavioural and psychological research to determine everything from what colour the walls should be to what will motivate to spend a certain amount of dollars. At Anstice we call it Audience Planning – removing the biases that exist to make marketing decisions, as no one knows your product better than your end customer. Your bulls-eye will then dictate everything from how you speak to your customers to what channels they are engaged in and when (i.e. do they watch Netflix every evening or are they eating out at trendy restaurants?) The cost-saving benefits in first identifying and then trusting in your bulls-eye are profound.Interested in hearing more? Reach out toinfo@ansticecom.com
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