Having super-specialised in marketing for the real estate industry, I will say one thing without a doubt: impact measurement is no novelty for a sector obsessed with sales numbers. Success has always been equated with one goal: a 100 per cent sold-out property.
In today’s off-plan heavy real estate market in Dubai, the marketing agency is also expected to commit to sales volume and velocity. Residences are a high-involvement, high-worth purchase. This is especially tricky for off-plan and new developers who, unlike other industries, don’t have ready products to touch, feel and sell. This is where 360-marketing agencies that are hyper-focussed in off-plan real estate come in to create the product, build the brand and sell the dream to the buyers.
But this is only the beginning of the marcomms journey. How we achieve it through data driven techniques and strategies not only takes a multi-channel approach, but also involves several stakeholders beyond the developer alone. From architects to engineering consultants to sales and CRM teams, we have to partner and work with the entire value chain to make the desired results.
“Without building the trust around the developer there would never be the second project to sell.”
Throughout this journey of building the brand, its credibility and syncing it with the product, requires an immense amount of monitoring, tracking, and impact measurement techniques. The conventional measures of engagement and reach can no longer dominate the real estate dashboards, and we have embraced a more nuanced approach where data techniques and strategies are employed. The idea is to track the entire lifecycle of a real estate project as well as the health of the developer brand.
It has taken us years of conditioning and moulding of perceptions, to consciously work with our clients to build their brand beyond their immediate projects and add to the developer brand perception. This is the long-term effect every developer in the market needs. It is as vital as project sales, because without building the trust around the developer there would never be the second project to sell.
In order to stay relevant in Dubai’s fast-paced and overcrowded real estate landscape, it is imperative that both the quantitative and qualitative factors are measured. With measurement techniques and strategies getting more complex, there has been an outburst of all-things-tech.
“Multi-touch attribution models recognise that a buyer’s decision is influenced by multiple interactions with a brand, from initial awareness to final purchase. By analysing the touchpoints that lead to conversions, marketers can identify which channels and strategies are most effective.”
Measurement and technical evolution do go hand in hand. One has to embrace tech both internally to drive scale and efficiency as well as taking it external to serve clients better. We have to devise and use techniques that add to the developer brand perception, measure their returns on investment and build sales for their future projects. This is where new forms of measurement become critical and martech becomes the hero.
We cannot just measure short-term engagement but need to build an integrated approach that tracks the data from pre-launch marketing campaigns all the way through to post-sale customer retention.
Measure to strategise
The first steps are always to assess the larger goal of the developer and study the market sentiments, buyer personas, and competitive analysis.
This involves gathering insights on potential buyers’ preferences, behaviours, pain points and pet peeves, as well as assessing how similar projects and competitors are performing.
We have to use advanced tools like predictive analytics and AI to forecast demand and optimize sales strategies. This helps developers plan better and get the best return on their marketing investment.
Measure the techniques
Once the strategy is in place and the marketing campaign is built, a full-lifecycle data integration is needed. Advanced attribution models can provide a clearer picture of how various marketing channels contribute to the sales process.
For example, multi-touch attribution models recognise that a buyer’s decision is influenced by multiple interactions with a brand, from initial awareness to final purchase. By analysing the touchpoints that lead to conversions, marketers can identify which channels and strategies are most effective.
This approach ensures that marketing investments are aligned with the actual impact on sales. As the project progresses, tracking the journey through the sales funnel becomes critical and without analysing and refining the strategies you cannot optimise the sales and reach the golden target.
By segmenting audiences and creating hyper-targeted campaigns, we generate higher-quality leads, faster sales conversions, and ultimately, a more efficient path to achieving 100 per cent sales.
Measure the impact
There can hardly be a result that satisfies your client better than 100 per cent sales. But even after 100 per cent sales are achieved, the marcomms journey goes on.
This is the right juncture to measure ROI to gauge the success and effectiveness of your campaign. Post-sales, the focus shifts entirely to customer satisfaction and retention and measurement become qualitative tracking data on customer feedback, referral rates, and post-sale support.
This allows developers to understand the long-term value of their marketing efforts, ensuring valuable referrals and repeat business. A deep dive into metrics such as brand equity, customer satisfaction, and post-sale engagement are critical to provide developers with insights into long-term brand loyalty and opportunities for future projects.
There has to be the balance that has to be struck between building the campaign and delivering results, while tracking the entire journey. Proactively monitoring the metrics customised to your client’s objectives and keeping your infrastructure clean is mandatory for the reputation of the brands you manage and grow.
“Ultimately, whether you choose the latest data tools or build on tried-and-tested techniques the focus on measurement remains optimal.”
The last word of advice would be that you don’t indulge in blind monitoring and tracking, but ensure an analysis of the data you derive. Data becomes king, only when it is studied to create business insights and utilised to provide better business consulting.
The journey never ends there. There will always be leads and interests you have generated that become your starting point for the next project.
By Imran Khan, CEO and Founder, PIXL Group
