If there’s one thing that Coronavirus is telling us it is that People are important. Our family. Our friends. Our community. These are the things that make the world go round. As we have had it so crudely pointed out to us. You may have found a great location for your new property development, but who will want to buy there? Will your development fulfil the needs of a specific group of people? Because if you try to be all things to all people your development will fail.
FINDING A NICHE
Marketing people talk about the “Target Market”. But that doesn’t sound very personal does it. Nor does it sound particularly specific, does it? Wouldn’t you rather have a detailed description of your Perfect Buyer. The Ideal Customer. So you could tailor your property design, pricing etc to their specific needs. And do this before you submit for planning. Ideally even before you buy the land! To arrive at a detailed description you need to choose as narrow a niche as you dare go to. You need to be very specific. Here are some of the things you need to know about your Ideal Customer if you are to make your development successful.
THE PROBLEM YOUR DEVELOPMENT WILL SOLVE
Can you discover a common desire that is shared by your target market and a way to solve that desire? People make most of their purchase decisions to either avoid pain or experience gain. How can your development tap into these emotions? For example, say a family is looking for a new home that’s closer to the city in order to reduce the daily commute time into work. Is your property going to remove that pain for them? Or say you have a business owner that needs a location perfect for his next corporate training conference. Will your property cater to that need?
MARKET TRENDS TO FACTOR IN
Are there any things going on with your ideal target market that could be identified as trends that will impact your development?
- Is the market growing, shrinking, moving or evolving?
- Are broader demographic or cultural changes affecting market needs, or demand for your development?
For example, population growth in certain areas may crowd out the desire for new buyers to move in. Or if a location area becomes less popular due to environmental changes, your property may not even have any appeal.
MARKET DESCRIPTION
Summarise the common qualities your ideal customers share under the following categories.
Geographic
- Where do they live?
- Where are they from?
Demographic
- How old are they?
- What is their income and occupation?
Psychographic
- How do they live their lives?
- What papers do they read?
- What are their beliefs, goals, fears, desires?
- What clubs are they members of?
- What sports or cultural activities do they participate in or follow?
It may feel tedious and superficial to jot the answers to these questions down. But there is tremendous value in understanding your ‘People’ this way.
YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER’S SPECIFIC NEEDS
What does your Ideal Customer need? These considerations are just as important so that you can know how to fulfil those needs with your development. For primary residential, do they need to be near work or a good school? Or are they empty-nester retirees and are looking to downsize? For leisure residential, is your Avatar looking for a beachfront, sun-soaked holiday home, or a drive-to weekend bolt-hole?
“How do you get from targeting Anyone to targeting someone very specific?”
Ask yourself: How do you get from targeting Anyone to targeting someone very specific—your Ideal Customer?
People is the 3rd of The 7 Ps of Property Marketing. If you enjoyed this blog and want to read more like it the 4th Property Marketing P stands for Positioning. Here’s What Is Market Positioning And Why Is It So Important?
