Customer focus iref

27 December, 2014
CUSTOMER CARE - IREF
PROF. SURESH MALKANI
1
Vakaratunda, Mahakaya ,
Surya Koti Samprabha
Nirvighnam
kuru me dev,
Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada

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Learning Objectives
 Where does the customer fits in a service operation?
 What perceived risks does a customer face in purchasing
and using services?
How do customers form expectations and differentiate
between desired and adequate service levels?
 Why do people often have difficulty in evaluating the
service they use?
 How does reducing or increasing the level of customer’s
contact with a service supplier affect the nature of their
service experiences?

CUSTOMER CARE IN REAL ESTATE
27 December, 2014
CUSTOMER CARE - IREF PROF.
SURESH MALKANI 3

Real Estate value chain
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YESTERDAY…TODAY…TOMORROW
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Customers
were:
Customers are: Implications:
Less well informed
about
products
More financially informed Customers aware of competitors
More loyal to
providers
Less loyal to providers Customers more prepared to
switch providers
Faced with less
choice
Faced with greater product
choice
Highly competitive market harder
to retain customers
Limited by
traditional channels
Empowered by the Internet
and new technologies
(WAP phones, call center
Technology)
Increased customer focus
through development of
distribution channels

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PAST PRESENT MOVING FORWARD
Lack of Industrial Status In line for industrial status
“Want it now generation” is young,
productive and demanding (quality)
Finance being arranged
mainly from pre-selling
of the units
Multiple sources of funding –
Debt, PE, VC,
Fully organized
industry
Limited purview of the
government
Enjoys strong attention of the
central as well as state
government
Well placed industry
standards
Quality of construction
average
Remarkable improvement in
the quality and designs of
construction
Industry regulator in
place to control the
sector
Lack of transparency Improvement in the
transparency level
FDI allowed in across
real estate avenues
Emergence of well-defined REITS/REMFs
THE REAL ESTTE SECTOR’S

PLAYERS PRE
2000
2001 - 2010 2011
ONWARDS
CHANGING SCENERIO
AGENTS ,
EASTATE
AGENTS ,
BROKERS ,
CONSULTANTS
LOW
ETHICS
BETTER
ETHICS
PROFESSIO
NAL
From one man show to broking firm with staff; affiliations; as part of networks.
From pocket book to software based and internet savvy.
From cash to service taxed.
From ‘chitti’ to ‘bills raised.’
From ‘ chappal’ and ‘paan’ to tie and blazer!
From night bar gossips to dinners and discussions.
From showing customer ‘ just – idhar – just adha ek km to Google based
From suburb based to corporate broking house/ MNC/
From dingy shops to website operated….
CUSTOMER
S
UNP
ROFE
SSIO
NAL
PROFESSI
ONAL
HIGHLY
PROFESSIO
NAL
Willing to use professionals [brokers/ agents/ consultants / ]
Willing to pay , but highly demanding service levels
Good homework.
Ability to zero in ‘ as per specs’ property.
Well informed.
Well educated
Has access to Google / Yahoo / property portals /
Access to research reports
DEVELOPERS LOW
ETHICS
PROFESSION
AL
GOOD
ETHICS
From sly to professional to systematic & organised.
From regular to ERP / CRM / SAP based.
From one man show to 2nd generation managed (MBA/ engineer sons)
From small outfits to corporate(ISO certified); to PE funded; public listed; MNC
From secrecy shrouded to transparent (heavy closed cabins to open office)
IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION
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PLAYERS IN REAL ESTATE – IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION
ON BROKING COMMUNITY
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PLAYERS PRE
2000
2001 -
2010
2011
ONW
ARDS
EARLIER SCENERIO
(FROM)
CHANGED SCENERIO
(TO )
AGENTS ,
EASTATE AGENTS
,
BROKERS ,
CONSULTANTS
LOW
ETHICS
BETTER
ETHICS
PROFESS
IONAL
One man show.
Pocket book.
From cash.
From ‘chitti’
From ‘ chappal’ and
‘paan’
From night bar
gossips
Showing customer ‘
just – idhar – just
adha ek km
From suburb based
From dingy shops ….
broking firm with staff;
affiliations; as part of networks.
software based and internet
savvy.
service taxed.
‘bills raised.’
tie and blazer!
dinners and discussions.
Google based
corporate broking house/ MNC/
website operated….

PLAYERS IN REAL ESTATE – IMPACT OF
GLOBALISATION ON DEVELOPERS
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PLAYERS PRE
2000
2001 -
2010
2011
ON
WAR
DS
EARLIER SCENERIO
(FROM)
CHANGED SCENERIO
(TO )
DEVELOPERS LOW
ETHICS
PROFESSIO
NAL
GOOD
ETHICS
sly
irregular
one man show
small outfits
secrecy shrouded
professional to systematic &
organised.
ERP / CRM / SAP based.
2nd generation managed (MBA/
engineer sons)
corporate(ISO certified); to PE
funded; public listed; MNC
transparent (heavy closed cabins
to open office)

Category 1970–1979 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019
Geography Local Regional National Global Without Bo
Competition Many Competitors Some Competitors Few Competitors
Strategic
Competitors
New Compe
Business Strategy Focus On Location Focus On Design
Focus On
Operations
Focus On
Customers
Focus On Cu
Customers
Goals Market-Driven Capital-Driven
Performance-
Driven
Relationship-
Driven
Knowledge-
Market Dynamics Fighting Over Sites Fighting Over Money
Fighting Over
Marketshare
Fighting Over
Talent
Fighting Ove
Share
Operational Focus Collecting Reputation Collecting Assets
Collecting
Competitors
Collecting Clients Collecting R
Leadership Personality- Based Functionally- Based Service-Based Solutions-Based Strategy-Ba
Organization Few Teams Appearance Teams Necessity Teams Reoccurring Teams Virtual Team
Brokerage A Representative A Broker A Specialist An Advisor A Confida
Founder An Entrepreneur An Executive A Leader A Coach A Collabora
Growth Strategy
Growth From Market
Dynamics
Growth From
Abundance Of Capital
& Financial Engineering
Growth From
Consolidation,
Securitization &
Digital Economy
Growth From
Customer
Connectivity,
Talent & Capital
Shifts
Growth Fr
Globalizati
Generation
New Urban
Greening
Tommorow never comes !
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Customer Criteria for Selecting
a realtor
• Availability (24 hour ATM)
• Convenience (Site location)
• Dependability (On-time performance)
• Personalization (Know customer’s name)
• Price (Quality surrogate)
• Quality (Perceptions important)
• Reputation (Word-of-mouth)
• Safety (Customer well-being)
• Speed (Avoid excessive waiting)
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Ten key determinants of a customer(1)
Concerned with the quality outcome of the service
Access – Approachability and ease of contact
Credibility – Trustworthiness,beleiveability,honesty of
service provider
Knowledge – Understanding the customer, making
effort to know customers & their needs
Reliability – Ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately
Security – Freedom from danger,risk,or doubt
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Ten key determinants of a customer(2)
Related to the delivery process
Competence – Possession of the reqd skills &
knowledge to perform the service
Communication – Keeping customer informed in a
language they can understand &
listening to them
Courtesy – Politeness,respect,consideration and
friendliness of contact personnel
Responsiveness – Willingness to help customers &
provide prompt service
Tangibles – Appearance of physical facilities,equipment,personnel &
communication material
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SERVQUAL DIMENSIONS
ORIGINAL TEN DIMENSIONS FOR
EVALUATING SERVICE QUALITY TANGIBLES
RELIABILI
TY
RESPONSI
VENESS
ASSURAN
CE EMPATHY
TANGIBLES
RELIABILITY
RESPONSIVENESS
COMPETENCE
COURTESY
CREDIBILITY
SECURITY
ACCESS
COMMUNICATION
UNDERSTANDING THE
CUSTOMER

Relative Importance of Service Dimensions
When Respondents Allocate 100 Points
Reliability
32%
Tangibles
11%
Assurance
19%
Empathy
16%
Responsiveness
22%
Tangibles Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy
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CUSTOMER AND YOU
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(1) you do not have to constantly search for new clients,
(2) your revenues and customer loyalties increase,
(3) your net income should increase, and
(4) your marketing costs will decrease.
Within the real estate brokerage industry, success
is determined by the number and quality of
valued, recurring customer relationships.
IF YOU GET THIS RIGHT THEN:
HOW WILL YOU GET THIS RIGHT ?

What Investors/customers Value Most in Their Broker
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1. Understanding of their goals/objectives.
2. Quality communication and follow through.
3. Direct solicitation of potential buyers or tenants.
4. Accuracy and quality of financial analysis.
5. Quality of research.
6. Negotiating skills.
7. Quality of marketing/investment sales package.

What Tenants Value Most in Their
Broker/Service Provider
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1. Understanding of their business.
2. A relationship built on trust.
3. Open communication and accessibility.
4. Collaboration and a team approach to their needs.
5. Financial/analytical skills and structuring advice.
6. Knowledge of value-add opportunities.
7. Understanding of the market and opportunities.

What Clients Value Most When Selecting
Their Broker
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1. Relationship with Broker.
2. Prior experience/performance.
3. Understanding of their business/objectives.
4. Reputation of firm/brand identity.
5. Fee structure.
6. Knowledge and advice.
7. Personalized approach/solutions.

What Frustrates Brokerage Clients
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1. Lack and poor quality of communications.
2. Lack of accessibility to their representative.
3. Lack of interest in their business, needs, and goals.
4. Feeling that they are just a fee source.
5. Brokers not knowing when they are in over their heads.
6. Sloppy work, inaccuracies, and poor reporting.
7. Go-it-alone service providers.

Define Your Customers
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• Who are your past clients?
• Who are your current clients?
• Who are your competitors’ clients?
• Which customer segments are growing in your marketplace?
• Which customer segments are shrinking in your marketplace?
• What customers would benefit most from your core
competencies?
• Which customer segment(s) would be the most difficult to
penetrate?
• Which customer segment(s) would be the least difficult to
penetrate?
• At the end of the day, do not forget the value of existing
customer relationships

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“A customer is the most
welcome visitor to our
premises. He is not dependant
on us, we are depending upon
him. He is not interruption to
our work, he is the purpose of
it. He is not an outsider on our
business, he is part of it. We
are not doing a favor by
serving him, he is doing us a
favor by giving us an
opportunity to do so”
CUSTOMER DEFINATION

Definition of Consumer Behavior
• …the decision process and physical activity
individuals engage in when evaluating ,
acquiring , using ,or disposing off goods and
services.
As applieed to real estate:
…the decision process and physical activity an
individual engage in buying/selling a piece of
real estate and evaluating , acquiring , using the
services of a consultant /realtor for the purpose
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DEMAND GROWTH –EFFECT OF 3 A’s
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Affordability Availability Aspiration
Rising per capita income Quality
construction
“Want it now generation” is
young, productive and
demanding (quality)
Growing trend of double
income families
Benign interest
rates
Close affinity of Indians to “own”
a house… and a house bigger
than before
Robust business growth in
services sector allows
aggressive geographic
expansion .
Easy access to
home loans .
Corporate offices asking for world
class space

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INFORMATIVE (THINKER)
Car-Laptops-Real estate
Model: Learn-Feel-Do
Media: Print media; brochures
AFFECTIVE (FEELER)
Sports cars and motorcycles
Fashion apparel and jewellery,
Perfumes
Model: Feel-Learn-Do
Media: Audio visual media;
image based
HABIT FORMATION (DOER)
Bread, Stationery, Soap
Model: Do-Learn-Feel
Media: Audio visual media;
image based; POP stimuli
SELF-SATISFACTION
(REACTOR)
Cigarette, Liquor, Movies
Model: Do-Feel- Learn
Media: POP stimuli
THINKING FEELING
LOW INVOLVEMENT
HIGH INVOLVEMENT
Consumer behavior while purchasing different categories

Consumer Decision-Making
Process
Post purchase
Behavior
Purchase
Evaluation
of Alternatives
Information Search
Need Recognition
Cultural, Social,
Individual and
Psychological
Factors
affect
all steps
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7 P’s for purchasing a flat
• Pawan
• Pani
• Patta
• Prakash
• Paisa
• Paros
• Parking
• Parikrama
Some of these are NEEDS,
Others WANTS
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17 P’s
• Product / Service
• Place & Time
• Promotion & Education
• Price
• Physical Environment
• Process
• People
• Politics
• Public relations
• Probe
• Partition
• Priorities
• Position
• Profit
• Plan
• Performance
• Positive implementation
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Need Recognition (awareness of need)
• The buying process starts when the buyer
recognizes a problem or need.
• The need can be triggered by internal
,external, marketing stimuli.
• Ex.- person’s normal needs-hunger/ thrust
–rises to threshold level and becomes a
drive.
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NEEDS AND WANTS
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Needs are based on Logic
Price, Quality, Company, Standards, Delivery,
Service.
Wants are based on Emotion
Prestige, Job security, Reputation, Fear, Brands ,
Locality, Architect,
, Ego, Implications, Relationships.
Emotional reasons are always below the surface
and are rarely or never openly declared ! They
have to be recognised ! The realtor has to sense
these early to close the deal.

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EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS
SOCIALCLASSINFLUENCES
FAMILY INFLUENCES
OTHERIFLUENCES
PERSONALITY &SELF -CONCEPT
PROBLEMR
DECESION PROCESS
PROBLEM RECOGNITION
INFO SEARCH & EVALUATION
PURCHASING PROCESS
POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOR

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Difficult to evaluate service
 Product attributes affecting evaluation
 Intangibility of service performance
 Variability
 Quality control problems

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Personal Needs
Beliefs about
what is possible
Alternatives
Situational
factors
DESIRED
SERVICE
ZONE OF
TOLERENCE
ADEQUATE
SERVICE
EXPLICT & IMPLICIT
SERVICE PROMISES
WORD OF MOUTH
PAST EXPERIENCE
PREDICTED SERVICES
Factors influencing customer expectations

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DIMENSIONS OF
SERVICE
QUALITY
Access
Credibility
Knowledge
Reliability
Security
Competence
Communication
Courtesy
Responsiveness
Tangibles
DETERMINANTS OF PERCEIVED QUALITY
WoM PERSONAL
NEEDS
PAST
EXPERIENCE
PERCEIVED
SERVICE
QUALITY
EXPECTED
SERVICE
PERCEIVED
SERVICE
SERVICE
QUALITY
GAPS

Major tasks of any real estate set up
• Service companies are faced with three major
marketing tasks; they need to:
– increase competitive differentiation
– increase service quality
– increase productivity
THE BEST WAY TO START WOULD BE TO UNDERSTAND
THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS AND WANTS.
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Property purchaser’s behavior
• As marketers we often think of how we will
make a killing.
• Rarely do we research the customer ,at most
we have a general mental and instant opinion
of the customer and our strategy is decided at
the first contact.
• Let's get a bit theoretical and examine the
buying process from the customers
perspective.
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Complete model of consumer behavior buying real estate
Stimuli
(marketer
dominated,
other)
External
search
Memory
Internal
search
Exposure
Attention
Comprehension
Acceptance
Retention
Search
Need
recognition
Alternative
evaluation
Purchase
Outcomes
Dissatisfaction Satisfaction
INTERNAL
DETERMINANTS:
MOTIVATION
PERCEPTION
KNOWLEDGE &
LEARNING
ATTITUDES
SELF-CONCEPT
PERSONALITY
LIFESTYLE
EXTERNAL
DETERMINANTS:
Reference groups
Culture
Subculture
Social class
Family
Start
BELIEFS
ATTITUDES
INTENSIONS
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Motivation & Need Recognition
Preferred State
Marketing helps
property buyers
recognize (or create) an
imbalance between
present status and
preferred state
• When a current property isn’t
performing properly.
• When family is expanding
• When business is expanding
• When new technology property is
preferred
• When the consumer is fed up of the
present location and usage.
• When another property seems
superior to the one currently used in
terms of efficiency.
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motivation
Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be
continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an
effort to attain a goal.
Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious
factors such as the:
• intensity of desire or need,
• incentive or reward value of the goal, and
• expectations of the individual and of his or her peers.
These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way.
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What activates a need ?
• Time
• Changed circumstances
• Property acquisition
• Property composition
• Individual differences - customised
• Marketing influences
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Information search
• Property buyers seek and use information as part of a rational
problem solving and decision making process.
• Buyers first search internally for historically gathered
information ,experience, length of time since last purchase,
and satisfaction with previous purchase will affect the their
reliance on internal information.
• As most consumers purchase real estate infrequently, they
rarely rely solely on their past knowledge when selecting a
new property to purchase.
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The information search stage
An internal search involves the
scanning of one's memory to recall previous
experiences or knowledge concerning
solutions to the problem-- often insufficient
for real estate products.
An external search may be necessary
when past experience or knowledge is
insufficient, the risk of making a wrong
purchase decision is high, and/or the cost of
gathering information is low.
Personal sources
(friends and family)
Public sources (rating
services like Consumer
Reports)
Marketer-dominated
sources (advertising
or real estate agents
/developers)
The evoked set: a group of
brands from which the buyer can
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Determinants of External Search
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Internal determinants of buyer
• Motivation
• Perception
• Knowledge and learning
• Attitudes
• Self – concept
• Personality
• Lifestyle
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Internal determinants of buyer -
Motivation
• The force that drives a person to buy and use a good or service is called motivation. It
explains why people buy what they do and what they are trying to accomplish to fulfil their
aspirations.
• Needs arise from the discrepancy between actual and desired states of being. Needs can be
classified as utilitarian or hedonic (devoted to pleasure)/experiential.
• As the discrepancy between the desired and actual state of being increases, a condition of
arousal called a drive is activated. When the drive becomes strong enough, the consumer
will take action in an attempt to satisfy the perceived need..
• Wants refer to specific products that consumers believe will satisfy the need. Benefits are
what consumers derive from products and the reasons they want them
• Thus, a real estate buyer may be trying to satisfy both a utilitarian need for space and a
hedonic need for status simultaneously. An accurate valuation model must consider that
the benefits the buyer is expecting are not limited to financial rewards.
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Perceptions
• Perception deals with recognizing, selecting, organizing, and interpreting stimuli to
make sense of the world around us.
• Consumers tend to interpret what they perceive so that it does not conflict with their
basic attitudes, personality, motives, or aspirations. They pay attention to stimuli
deemed relevant to existing needs, wants, beliefs, and attitudes and disregard the rest.
• One perception important to the study of consumer behaviour is the level of perceived
risk in a potential purchase. Types of risk consumers face include functional/
performance, financial, physical, psychological, social, and time The amount of
perceived risk is a function of the product (price, length of time consumer will own, cost
of switching, additional products and services needed to be consumed with it),
characteristics of the consumer (resources, willingness to gather and use information,
experience), and external forces (information available, options to reduce the
consequences of the choice).
• Two investors in similar financial situations may place different risk premiums on a
particular investment because of their personal attitude toward risk.
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Internal determinants of buyer –
Knowledge & learning
• Information processing describes the series of steps by which information is
encountered through some exposure to a person’s senses, attended to, interpreted,
understood and accepted, and stored in memory for future use in making decisions
• Elaboration via mental processing transforms this information into beliefs, attitudes and
intentions that determine product choice and related aspects of purchase.
• For a stimulus to be effective, it must be of sufficient strength to reach the lower or
absolute threshold to activate the consumer’s sensory receptors, creating a sensation.
Because of the sheer number of stimuli to which consumers are exposed on a regular
basis, not all stimuli will receive additional processing. Consumers subconsciously
screen stimuli and select those that deserve their attention.
• People are also more receptive to information that maintains or enhances consistency
with their beliefs and attitudes while they avoid information that challenges their
beliefs and attitudes
Thus, real estate marketers may encounter difficulty in communicating with potential
buyers and tenants until the buyer has recognized a need for a move.
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Attitudes
• An attitude is an overall evaluation about something combining cognitive beliefs, emotional
affects, and behavioural intentions.
• Attitudes may vary along the dimensions of strength, direction (positive or negative), and
stability . Also, not all attitudes are held with the same degree of confidence.
• Attitudes based on direct experience with a product are usually held with more confidence
than those derived from indirect experience. Confidently held attitudes will usually be relied
on more heavily to guide behaviour
• If a consumer does not feel confident in an attitude, he or she is more likely to search for
additional information before making a decision. Attitudes held with less confidence are also
more susceptible to change.
• The multiattribute attitude model also provides guidance for changing consumer attitudes .
The choices are to change the consumer’s beliefs about the product or change the consumer’s
ranking of the importance of an attribute. However, whether a positive attitude leads to an
intention to purchase a product and, subsequently, to its actual purchase depends on several
factors. Attitudes and intentions are more likely to be good predictors of behaviour when they
are measured at a time relatively close to when the behaviour is to occur, before situational
influences and unexpected events can have an impact
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Internal determinants of buyer – Self
- concept
• Self-concept is an organized set of perceptions of the self, comprised of such elements as the
perceptions of one’s characteristics and abilities; the perception of oneself in relation to others;
and objectives, goals and ideals which are perceived as either positive or negative.
• Self-concept is now generally viewed in several dimensions:
– ideal self (what one aspires to be),
– real self (the way one thinks one actually is),
– self in context (how one sees oneself in different social settings), and
– extended self (possessions and artefacts help define who one is)
• Real estate can be a viewed as part of the extended self, an object that helps to form identity. By
their very nature, single family homes almost always perform many highly emotional,
individualized, personal roles in the lives of their occupants .Consumers will choose to purchase
real estate that either fits with their current self-image or is associated with the ideal image they
want to achieve. This may be reflected in both choice of housing style and neighbourhood.
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Personality
• Personality accounts for consistent patterns of behaviour based on enduring psychological
characteristics . It is the pattern of traits and behaviours that makes one individual unique and
different from all others. Personality may be described using the psychoanalytic, socio-
psychological, or trait-factor theories.
• Trait-factor theory contends that an individual’s personality is composed of distinct
predisposition attributes called traits. Traits are relatively enduring ways in which one person
differs from another. These traits are common to many individuals, but vary in absolute
amounts among individuals. Traits are expected to exert fairly consistent effects on behaviour
regardless of the environmental situation .
• In general, personality appears to be related to how consumers make decisions about
innovative products . For example, people who have a high need for cognition enjoy the effort
of information-processing activities and may actively seek and consider more information
about a product.
• Consumers’ response relative to risk is related to personality. Risk takers tend to be thrill
seekers with a need for stimulation and easily become bored. They are likely to list success
and competence as their goals in life in contrast to risk avoiders, who list happiness as their
first choice
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Lifestyle
• Lifestyle refers to the distinctive ways in which consumers live, how
they spend their time and money, and what they consider important
-- activities, interests and opinions.
• Lifestyles evolve over time, so consumption patterns may change
over time
• Consumers will purchase real estate services that are compatible
with their lifestyle. Thus, an outgoing, athletic young single who
values social interaction will likely place greater value on an
apartment that has access to a swimming pool, tennis court, and
activity center.Meanwhile, an inner-directed, sedentary young single
who values privacy and solitude might value an apartment with a
private balcony more.
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External determinants of buyer
• Reference groups
• Culture
• Subculture
• Social class
• Family
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External determinants of buyer-
Reference groups
• Reference groups are individuals or collections of people whom the individual uses as source
or point of comparison for attitudes, beliefs, value or behaviour. Consumers belong to some
of the groups that influence their consumer behaviour and either aspire to join or work to
avoid association with others.
• Reference groups affect consumer choice in three principal ways: normative compliance,
value-expressive influence, and informational influence
– Normative influence is when reference groups affect behaviour through pressure for conformity and compliance.
This pressure is most likely to be felt when the consumer feels the rewards from compliance exceed the cost , there
is strong motivation for social acceptance , and the product is publicly conspicuous in its purchase and use .
– Value-expressive influence is when a need for psychological association with a group is evidenced by acceptance of
its norms, values, or behaviour and a conforming response is made. The desired outcomes are enhanced image in
the eyes of others and identification with people who are admired and respected.
– As an informational influence, consumers often accept the opinions of others as providing credible and needed
evidence about products.
• word-of-mouth influence has a more decisive role in influencing behaviour than advertising
and other marketer-dominated sources . Greater perceived credibility is the deciding factor.
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External determinants of buyer-
Culture
• Culture consists of society’s beliefs, values, ethics, customs, shared meanings, rules,
rituals, norms, and traditions. Culture provides people with a sense of identity and an
understanding of acceptable behaviour.
• Culture is deep-seated and enduring, but does change slowly over time.
• Values represent beliefs about life and acceptable behaviour. Values express the goals
that motivate people and appropriate ways to attain these goals.
• Personal values reflect the choices an individual makes from the social value systems to
which that individual is exposed. Individuals are influenced by social values of groups
to which they belong (nation, religion, family), but they choose from these various
social values to develop their own personal values. Personal values have been linked to
brand choice and product usage
• Builders would be wise to watch changing cultural values, producing properties that
are more environmentally friendly and housing layouts that are more suitable for
family activities and interaction.
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External determinants of buyer -
Subculture
• Subcultures are racial, ethnic, religious, or other
groups whose members are distinguishable from the
general population and who are held together by
common culture and/or genetic ties.
• To the degree that people in an ethnic group share
common customs, values, rituals, and traditions that
are different from those of other ethnic groups or
the larger society, they constitute a distinct ethnic
group.
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External determinants of buyer –
Social Class
• Social stratification represents the hierarchical division of members of a society into
relative levels of prestige, status and power . Social class refers to divisions based on
economic and demographic characteristics.
• Those in same stratum have roughly similar consumption, lifestyle, and income, and
socialize with each other. While upward and downward mobility is possible, most
tend to remain in the stratum into which they were born.
• Possessions are symbols of class membership, with wealth reflected in the item
purchased. The most important possession decision reflecting a family’s social class
is the choice of where to live, both the type of home and the neighbourhood. Thus,
social class will affect what neighbourhoods and architectural design consumers will
consider for housing. In addition, housing layouts must accommodate the furniture
and living style of members of each social class. People trying to move up through
the social class structure might choose a house and neighbourhood that they think
members of the higher class would choose
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92

External determinants of buyer -
Family
• The most influential reference group is the consumer’s family. The family teaches the consumer
cultural values that have a substantial impact upon shopping behaviour. It continues to be a point
of reference even when the consumer has formed his own household.
• Family members may play instrumental roles, such as determining the financing and functional
attributes of purchases, or they may play expressive roles, supporting other family members in
their decision and expressing the family’s aesthetic or emotional needs.
• Those with the most expertise may exert a less direct influence. The decider is usually the person
with the financial authority and power to choose how money will be spent.
• Changes in family structure increasingly are causing husband and wife decisions, including those
about housing, to be made jointly . Thus, the real estate broker must appeal to both spouses in
making a sales presentation.
• Families change over time, passing through a series of stages called the family life cycle The
traditional family pattern has been single, then married, married with children, empty nest,
retirement, and widowhood. Changes in household and family structure have resulted in many
people no longer following the traditional process, delaying marriage, having children out of
marriage, and divorcing and remarrying. This creates demand for a wider variety of housing
options throughout the life cycle. It also makes it more difficult to estimate demand for housing
types based on demographic factors.
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94
Major tasks of service industries
• Service companies are faced with three major
marketing tasks; they need to:
– increase competitive differentiation
– increase service quality
– increase productivity

Post purchase Behavior
Can minimize through:
Effective Communication
Follow-up
Guarantees
Warranties
Under promise & over
deliver
Cognitive Dissonance
?Did I make a good decision?
Did I buy the right product?
Did I get a good value?
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96

•Real estate has been a savoir and a villain, a source of opportunity,
•A political football, and, at times, a regulatory nightmare.
•Personalities and cult-like figures have been created, featured, celebrated, and
discredited by real estate.
•Fortunes have been made and lost because of real estate. Families have benefited
from and torn apart because of real estate.
Entire industries and companies have disappeared because of real estate.
•Real estate has been a passion for some, a job for millions, a hobby for others, and
a source of income and wealth creation for many;
•Real estate has been a convenient forum for blame as well as—more often—a
source of personal and community pride.
•No other industry today has so many working parts, conflicting priorities, risks, and
rewards. No industry is as integral and essential to our lives.
•Real estate is truly a part of everyone’s DNA.
Why, What, When, How, Now, Then
27 December, 2014
107

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