Realtors need to choose effective communication to overcome COVID-19 impact

Realtors Need To Choose Effective Communication to Overcome Covid-19 Impact.

Difficult times call for out-of-the-box thinking but it is not possible all the time. The next step is to make people aware of what you are doing. For when people know your intentions they will come to you, no matter what the world is saying to them. This is the situation that real estate is facing. The sector has always been under scrutiny even though it has been working on the most important aspects of human lives — home, shop, and business.

Due to lockdown, the work came to a sudden halt and this might have led to a volley of questions in the minds of potential buyers. The sector was starting to flourish once again after a slew of measures taken by the government recently over a year or so. The impact was evident as the first quarter of 2020 saw tremendous sales across all segments of real estate.  Now, we have to admit that everyone is under tremendous stress with so much being written about the economic impacts that the lockdown is going to have. The reality might turn out to be totally different but as of now, people are apprehensive about almost everything in life. This where the role of communication comes into play.

Realtors have to regularly feed the market with latest updates using various tools of communication. The right messaging at this point in time gains importance, understanding the TA becomes mandatory, and the only solution remains is creating the right noise to reach out to all stakeholders including authorities. In all of this, the most important aspect is to choose the right communication tool. The current situation calls for choosing a cost effective medium that should have good reach and vast acceptability because of unbiased messaging. 

The role of advertisements cannot be  ruled out completely, but the present situation does not call for communication to come out as self- boasting or self- exaggeration. The selection of means has to be weighed on all parameters including the consumers need to have honest opinions especially at this time when everything is being looked at with suspicion. 

At this juncture, even the brand trump card will not help you sail until you win back every stakeholder by showcasing offerings, expansion, plans, etc. Yes, glorious past work can be utilized but it alone will not be sufficient enough. Communication plan has to be objective as well as subjective at the same time. It is a time in our lives, which probably generations in coming 100 years won’t see, where we have to pull in all the resources despite knowing we have limited resources that can be used.

Realtors have to be careful as the communication tool should not be taxing on the finances and neither should it be ineffective because of low cost. The mantra of communication should be relate, engage, inform, reach out, and have solutions for them.

By: Dushyant Sinha, communication and marketing expert in the real estate sector.