The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide to Property Development Marketing

There is a common misconception that marketing is a waste of time and money and that it takes too long to provide a return on investment. However, an effective marketing strategy is more than this – it allows developers to locate their ideal buyers, promote their projects, build leads and facilitate conversions.

The following article will uncover the importance of property development marketing, fundamental marketing considerations, Important Points to Implement When Marketing Property Developments and how you can go above and beyond to make a difference.

Buying property is not a quick, easy decision for buyers to make. In marketing and consumer behaviour, this is known as ‘extensive decision making’ as this is a high involvement activity. This is why you must build positive, long term relationships with your potential buyers to give yourself the best opportunity for them to return in the future and recommend you to others.

A great way to achieve this from a marketing standpoint is by creating valuable and engaging content. This can be in the form of blog articles, email marketing newsletters and social media content. For instance, blog articles could focus on news and updates to keep website visitors up to date and engaged. These articles can also be uploaded as social media content to get the widest possible reach.

Property development marketing is no different to marketing in any other industry. As a developer, you need to pay attention to your target buyers’ needs to achieve adequate engagement. As we previously mentioned, buying property is an extensive decision for buyers to make, and it represents much more than material value. A home has a lot of emotional attachments involved; it’s a haven, a place of happiness, where children are raised, and success is built.

There are a lot of considerations that go into property buying. Whether buyers are looking to reside or invest, they consider the overall location, lifestyle and culture. Not to mention the influences of day to day living conveniences such as accessibility to transport, education, shopping and more.

The best way to obtain this information is by researching online and physically getting involved in competitor events, viewing marketing material and mystery shopping/inquiring.

Not only does this give you a better understanding of who the market is and what housing, specifications and pricing they are looking for, but also who you are competing against and how they communicate.

Perceived value (in the realm of property development) is defined as the buyer’s belief that the purchase of development has the ability to meet their desired expectations. Not to mention, this perception has the power to influence pricing and the overall demand of properties.

Therefore, if it isn’t obvious enough already, you must create high perceived value when selling off a plan. However, keep in mind you must be able to deliver on this value.

This is the ultimate goal: a win-win situation for all parties involved. This kind of delivery will stick in the buyer’s mind – remember, people love to talk, and positive word of mouth is by far the most powerful form of marketing.

Communication is key. You have to be clear in communicating your message, and to do so; you must have a thorough understanding of what makes your property sell, who your buyers are and how you plan to convey your offer.

Once you have your quality renders, you’ll want to use these to create professional marketing brochures. A brochure is a must-have when it comes to property development marketing.

This includes all of the valuable information about the development and the project. You also want to make sure that this is laid out effectively and attractively. Your brochures should be consistent with your branding and developments. A great way to ensure you achieve stunning, consistent brochures at a reasonable price is through automation.

Keep in mind, your brochures, just like renders are an opportunity to demonstrate to any potential buyers what you are capable of. This will also help to make you stand out amongst other projects and developers.

It would help if you considered having big, bold physical banners for all of your development projects on site. Designing this customer banner and placing it in a prominent location allows buyers to see the project grow from beginning to end. Ultimately, this gets buyers excited and gives them confidence in your projects.

With the restraints of budget and time, it isn’t always easy to entice buyers to make their way to view and experience a property. This is where digital marketing comes into play. You can instantly share renders, virtual reality representations, specifications, and so much more. Today, people can virtually walk through a property and get a sense of the environment that a property exists in.

Traditional media such as billboards and print ads still play a relevant role in property marketing as a lot of developments are purchased locally. However, they are quickly becoming supplementary to digital marketing.

There are so many different ways your can approach social media marketing as a property developer. Property marketing has been slow to progress and innovate, with many developers still trying to navigate these platforms. Therefore, you can really make this your own and use it to your preferred advantage.

Importantly, social media is less about selling your property and more about building a strong brand, connecting with potential buyers and creating a safe space for conversation.

There are many ways you can improve your search engine optimisation. A great way to achieve this is by maintaining a consistent blog schedule and posting. For instance, live blog posts updating potential buyers on the progress of your property developments. This is where you can include any imagery and construction updates to add value and give buyers confidence in your work.

At the end of the day, this is all about being transparent and always being one step ahead. It will only mean that you will be well prepared prior to the official launch of your sales campaign.

If you ever want to compete in an overseas market, a virtual tour that places buyers in a “real” space is definitely the next best thing. A combination of still images, video tours and 3D views allows potential buyers to become immersed in a development and envision their own lives in this space. This is crucial for establishing the emotional element involved in purchasing a property that ultimately brings home the sale.

One of the hardest parts of marketing property is selling off the planned property. It’s a big ask to get a buyer to hand over their life savings without having the opportunity to see it in the flesh for themselves. Essentially you are selling a contract with significant value.

Fortunately, this has been made more possible with the digitalisation of society and the many opportunities made available by computer-generated images, virtual reality and more. Of course, nothing beats a physical walkthrough of a home. However, in the climate we live in today, this is becoming more and more of a reality. Even post-pandemic, there will be a noticeable shift to online tours, distribution of information and sales.

In the future, people will have increased expectations that technology will provide a level of virtual reality that allows them to select and purchase property any time, anywhere.

Want to get your foot in the door of the future of property development? PiPr is at the forefront of property technology, allowing you to manage your stock, sales, and marketing in one cloud-based portal.