Real estate branding: Essence, mediums and benefits

The real estate industry in India is growing at an accelerated rate. With increased urbanization and rising household income, the demand for residential properties has surged, making India ranks among top markets in the housing sector. According to media reports, Blackstone, a private market investor, had invested $50 bn in India. Further, the American company is looking to invest an additional of Rs 1.7 lakh crore by 2030, which only highlights the growth potential in the sector.

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With the scope for such large investments, the Indian real estate developers are also becoming competitive and exploring new ways to fortify their position in the industry. Therefore, it is not a surprise that branding has emerged as the most effective tool to stand out in crowds and draw attention. Branding helps real estate companies communicate their USPs and align well with market needs. Branding essentially narrates a story, which helps pitch a dream lifestyle to buyers rather than just a property or its features.

Let’s understand the significance of branding for real estate developers and how to build a strong brand.

Why is branding important for real estate developers?

Greater perceived value

Customer perceived value means how a customer looks at the benefits and value of a product. Branding helps develop a positive perception among customers, which results in a higher perceived value.

Drives sales

Branding has a direct impact on sales. Branding involves creating a personality for the brand that helps develop an emotional connection with the target audience. This increases sales.

Distinguishes from competitors

With the market flooded with many brands, convincing customers to invest in your brand is indeed an uphill task. Branding helps demonstrate why consumers should choose your brand over others.

Establishes trust

Branding ensures consistency in marketing activities. It becomes easier to trust a brand that delivers a consistent, positive customer experience across all touchpoints.

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How to build a real estate brand?

Here are a few guidelines to build a strong real estate brand.

Position your brand appropriately

If you sell luxury properties, your brand assets should communicate exclusivity and sophistication. Similarly, if you are selling affordable properties, your brand should communicate value for money. Brand positioning strategies will be influenced by how you want the target audience to perceive your brand. Brand positioning will set the tone for the experience your brand provides to customers.

Pay attention to brand messaging

Brand messaging is an important element of brand communication that conveys unique positioning and value that the brand represents and promise it holds for their stakeholders. Your brand messaging helps customers understand what makes your real estate firm different from others. It should be consistent across all platforms from websites to advertisements and social media.

Leverage social media

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool to narrate the brand story and engage potential buyers. A robust social media strategy, based on a video-first approach, will capture buyers’ attention. Social media aids in acquiring followers from specific micro markets with laser-focused targeting and boosts brand building, ultimately influencing sales.

Invest in influencer marketing

People look up to influencers for tips, advice, and information as they trust the content and their opinion in the digital world. Collaborating with the right influencers will move your target audience fast from the awareness to the consideration stage. Real estate brands can rope in influencers to create engaging content around the property USPs and drive conversions.

Visual identity

Elements such as fonts, colours, and logos contribute to the visual identity of the real estate brand. Every colour has a meaning and invokes different responses among the target audience. Choosing your colour scheme wisely as a strong visual identity is important for brand recognition.

Bonus tips to market your real estate brand effectively

Create a micro market plan

Developers are increasingly focusing on developing projects in micro markets. A micro market plan entails understanding what appeals to the target audience and tailors branding and marketing strategies accordingly. Know the lifestyle and aspirations of a potential homebuyer in the micro market and craft messages that appeal to homebuyers.

Prioritise project-driven marketing

Sales-driven marketing is more profit-oriented and solely focused on selling, whereas project-driven marketing is about resolving customer pain points. Real estate firms should develop project-driven marketing strategies that address gaps and pain points in the industry. A project-driven marketing approach creates genuine interest among the target audience to know more about the brand, which is important for customer satisfaction and retention.

Understand corporate and project branding

There are two types of branding – corporate and project branding. Corporate branding is more encompassing than project branding and considers all stakeholders of the firm. Project branding appeals to the customer, where the project’s USPs are the main highlight, for example, ABC real estate brand may have multiple projects catering to buyers of various demographics and interests. Project branding involves creating separate branding strategies for each project to appeal to various audiences. But corporate branding moves beyond project differentiation strategies and focuses on values and emotions reflected by the real estate firm.

Branding is an important factor driving success for real estate firms in this competitive, saturated market. Knowing your buyer, determining the qualities you want your target audience to associate with your brand, and creating a brand personality that evokes positive emotions among your target audience will lay the foundation for your real estate brand’s success.

(The author is co-founder, Realatte.)

Got any questions or point of view on our article? We would love to hear from you. Write to our Editor-in-Chief Jhumur Ghosh at jhumur.ghosh1@housing.com

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