Residential developers in the Middle East need to reimagine their customer relationships to succeed in a maturing, competitive market. Developers should stress data-driven, highly personalized customer experiences as part of longer-term relationships to differentiate themselves further and increase the value of their products and services. In many ways, they can learn from recent changes in the retail sector that used detailed knowledge of customers from data analytics to offer exceptional customer experience, and deployed multiple channels to build loyalty.
While customer experience is established as the main way that developers stand out from their competitors, they can go further to maintain the value of their products. In particular, that means catering to the appetite for technology of generation Z (those born after 1997 and who grew up with digital technology). Generation Z is now renting and buying homes. This demographic has digital expectations that many developers are not meeting. A great product, attractive price, strong sales and after sales service are not enough. These customers need differentiated products and services that are authentically personalized to their lifestyles, and that provide them with the right community.
To achieve this enhanced customer experience, developers need a mindset change, moving from transaction to relationship, and to continuous customized product and services development. They should abandon the old approach of completing a project and then quickly looking to the next development. Instead, they should foster long-term customer relationships, making the transaction’s value last longer, and increasing income sustainably through different channels. The result can be product prices that remain higher over the long term.
There are three ways that developers can differentiate within this new approach of highly personalized, lifestyle-focused customer relationships:
#1 Micro-segment the customer base
#2 Expand service offerings
#3 Innovative technologies
One way is by using data to micro-segment the customer base. The old segments, of age and income, are no longer sufficient. Developers must understand customers’ interests, such as sports, social, or professional. Some buyers want smaller units with larger communal spaces to socialize more. Others may need additional private space because they are working from home, along with good sports facilities for exercise.
A second way is through using data to expand service offerings. Value in real estate is about more than physical space. It is about learning from how hospitality providers sell their customers bespoke services and use loyalty programs to deepen the customer relationship. Related Midwest in Chicago, for example, has partnered with an app called “Hello Alfred” to give its residents access to such services and experiences as move-in coordination, in-home organization, and pet care. The data from these experiences and services allow developers continuously to learn about customers, listen to their needs, improve the relationship and services, and connect with those who are not comfortable with digitally-focused offerings.
A third way is through innovative technologies, such as the metaverse. These allow developers to offer experiences to potential and actual customers without them having to be present physically at the time. That is particularly useful for customers who travel frequently or have multiple residences. Such digital experiences yield data insights to design products and services, marketing, communication, and build the relationship. This digital engagement can create new products and more sales to current customers, further building the value of the customer relationship.
To explore these new paths to differentiation, developers need the right enablers. They require the appropriate data architecture and digital tools to get the most from the data. They must ensure regulatory compliance and anticipate potential regulations about collecting, storing, and using personal data. They need an internal collaborative culture in which business intelligence units supply insights to the customer experience teams.
Data-driven, long-term customer relationships provide considerable benefits and opportunities to developers. A smoother sales experience is better for customers, who can fit readily and without concern into a new community, while assisting the developer by starting the long-term customer relationship on a positive note. Using data to understand customers’ needs while placing them in the right setting can also improve their retention. People appreciate, and like to remain, in cohesive communities that reflect their wants. Such establish digital communities provide valuable data insights that allow developers to elaborate products and services and new areas for customer engagement.
The greatest benefit is enhanced value creation. Developers can gain more from projects earlier on because there is value in the emerging community long before the development is finished. By using data to grasp customer needs, developers build perceived and real value that leads to faster sales. Also, people joining the residential community can become ambassadors for their new home, attracting new buyers and renters.
Real estate, like other sectors, is about more than traditional products and services. It is a relationship. By using data to understand customers and build communities, developers can provide attractive, long-term relationships that build their own revenues for the future.
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