The People Behind the Project
Your developer brand is important.[1] It is about the people and the companies that stand behind the project. Sometimes buyers and lessees can’t distinguish branding between the project and the developer behind it. This is imperative to recognise if you take on a failed project, where the original developer has been badly tarnished. Buyers may even seek out the developer before they look for the project. For example, many group home builders build their company brand not only to reinforce a purchase but also as the first place a home buyer should search. Developer brand first, then product and then its location — both of which in-turn support the developer brand. Sanjay Bajaj from JLL discusses:
“A branded developer is aware of having a reputation to protect and live up to. This is evident in conscientious choice of location, superior amenities and quality of construction.”[2]
A well-branded developer lends reputation and credibility to the project. Branding should encompass these qualities:
- Trust. Make your brand a trusted brand — you do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it. If people trust the developer, they will more likely trust what you say about an individual project.
- Longevity.[3] How long you have been in business says a lot. It is easily (but mistakenly) extrapolated to infer how long you will remain in business. Many buyers and lessees will take comfort in knowing you will still be in business in many years’ time. A sales project where you are in and out (like a one-off condominium complex) is subtlety different to a development where the brand must survive (like an office building where leases will come up and need to be renewed). For the former, customers will (should) seek reassurance that you are going to be around to remedy any issues. Longevity demonstrated in your ‘developer brand’ can reinforce your project brand: you will be there to come back and fix the issue. For the latter, customers will want to know how their investment will be managed and operate over the long term. Branding of you still being there (or at least have the potential to still be there, as you could always sell it) instils confidence in the initial purchase or lease.
- Competence. Demonstrate to your buyers that your team has competently delivered before and they will deliver again. Showcasing your previous projects, testimonials, letters from funders and happy customers is the collateral that can help build brand credibility. This is most important for off the plan developments where you are selling, or leasing based on promises (vision, plans, specifications and renderings!).
- Relationships. Profiling your relationships with others who are credible, competent and trusted, will by association rub off on your own credibility and trustworthiness. The thinking goes, if those people and companies are involved with you, then you must be of a similar ilk. This is important if you are lacking for content in the other areas above. Perhaps you are a financier taking on your first project and doing it yourself. Then brand by placing more emphasis on the trust, longevity and competence of your contractor and consultants — rather than your inexperienced self.
[1] Unfortunately, arguably this is not always the case. In a quickly appreciating market, greed and herd mentality can overtake reason. People become oblivious and are quick to turn a convenient blind eye to anything that gets in the way of making a fast profit, regardless of how unscrupulous the developer behind the scenes is.
[2] Bajaj, S. (2012, February). Why branding matters on the property market. Retrieved from http://jllapsites.com/real-estate-compass/2012/02/why-branding-matters-property-market/
[3] Survivability is a more adept word for developers that can last the distance.
Andrew Crosby
+64 21 982 444
andrew@xpectproperty.com
https://www.amazon.com.au/Turnaround-Success-Resurrect-Failed-Developments/dp/1790590884