Innovating in Real Estate Marketing
Girish Shah heads the Sales and Marketing vertical at Godrej Properties (GPL) and has been instrumental in setting new benchmarks in innovative real estate marketing, along with his team. He has also successfully established a global sales and distribution network. Prior to this assignment, Girish held leadership roles at Reckitt-Benckiser, Johnson & Johnson, Reliance and the UB Group.
What are people looking for when buying a home? How do you reach out to people with different criteria?
While there are the traditional mediums of print, outdoor, radio and television, we are reaching out to customers through various innovative, on-ground brand activations and sponsoring shows that are in synergy with the company’s broad engagement objectives. We have introduced numerous customised consumer engagement programs to connect with customers from various backgrounds, cultures, demographics and regions. To enhance brand recall, we have defined a few platforms that we will associate with, such as golf, theatre, art and music, and use these mediums to reach out to audiences. The company will continue to foray into these spaces across cities and associate itself with key events based on these initiatives.
We have also centralised some core branding and CRM processes while giving more autonomy to all our regions. This helps in providing our customers a more seamless experience when they deal with us. To add to this, we also believe in the widespread use of technology to save on both time and cost – to that effect, we have made significant investments in upgrading the consumer journey. We are taking the lead in the use of technology to have a lasting impact and be a sales enabler. Tablet and mobile apps help us connect with customers on the move, and our platform-agnostic website anchors prospective customers and motivates them to spend more time looking at properties online.
What, according to you, sets Godrej Properties apart from its competitors?
What is your strategy to help Godrej Properties reach new heights?
Can you tell us in brief about some of Godrej Properties’ most exciting ongoing projects?
With the recent launch of our flagship project, The Trees, we have added hospitality and retail to this list. The Trees will house premium office space, residential towers, high-street retail and five star hospitality - all centred around a large landscaped park.
Some of our ongoing residential projects are:
What are your success mantras?
Is there anything you like to do in your free time? How do you strike a balance between your personal and professional life?
Do you have any advice for aspiring youngsters who are looking for a career in realty marketing?
Today, a marketer’s job does not end once a sale is made and spreads across a larger timeline spanning not only the lifecycle of a product but even beyond that. The rise of the mobile, coupled with an evolving virtual marketplace, will present a vastly different communications landscape going forward and the real challenge for brand managers in the near future will be to think like technology guys. They will have to play the dual role of a Brand Custodian and IT Specialist.
(Advertiser-Sponsored Feature: A Marketing Initiative)
