Tagged “Exploring modern marketing techniques for real estate product and services,” the 2O14 mandatory professional development seminar of the FCT branch of Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyours and Valuers offered professional perspectives to waging and winning the marketing war in estate surveying. FRANCIS ADINOYI KADIRI writes that the participants called for synergy among estate surveyors, pointing out that it is one of the keys of effective marketing, which leads to success.
Last week, estate surveyours met under the aegis of the FCT Chapter of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyours and Valuers NIESV to device and share knowledge that will lead to effective marketing of the talents and services of the profession. They jointly stressedthe importance of developing effective marketing techniques toward ensuring that professionals are patronized.
In his welcome address, the chairman in Session, ESV Bode Adediji who is the 19th national President of NIESV gave the battle cry saying the sector has a battle to wage. “We have a war to prosecute and it starts from the marketing platform of real estate products and services,” he said, adding that whoever fails to learn and deploy effective marketing strategies in the estate surveying professing will fail woefully.
According to him, marketing of product and services has taken a center stage in the market especially among competitors stating that it is especially so in the estate surveying profession.Real estate is highly commoditized, it is not a specialist product that one needs to spend ten years learning the trade, he said.
He explained that at entry point, the estate surveying profession is the smallest and easiest compared to that of other professions. “Only a business card, a mobile phone and a competent secretary,” a developer stands the chance to succeed. Oncesomeone succeeds, he is automatically reckoned with,” he added.
Harping on the strategy for effective marketing, he explained that a practitioner surely needs some smartness, even he is not schooled. “So we need to acquire knowledge for marketing needed to thrive in the estate surveying profession, and by extension, the real estate profession.”
He said as a strategy, professionals in the built environment must know their competitors, adding that if they fail to seek knowledge for effective marketing, they will fail.
“If you don’t tress well, you are bound to specialize in the properties meant for agberos and co,” he said.
Adedijicalled on built environment professionalstocooperate, stressing that it cooperation is inevitable if they must succeed. “If you want to wage a solo war today in real estate market, you will fail abysmally,” he said.
While explaining that built environment professionals should share knowledge generously, he harped on the importance of updating training. If a practitioner fails to spread the information, if he monopolizes information, he would not succeed, he warned.
According to Adediji, Nigeria has a serious problem of youth unemployment. “When a small company grows, more people are employed. No company can grow if it is deficient in marketing technology.
“If you open the pages of newspapers and you are not concerned about those who are waging marketing war against themselves, or those who are waging marketing way against the estate surveour profession, then you are bound to fail,” he said.
Adedijirecalled the depth of marketing existing among various competitors in local and domestic markets.
“About three weeks ago, there was a war between two bluechip companies. One of them paid a consultant the sum of N15O million to wage a war against the products of another company. So the two key brands from the two companies were at war on the bar shelve.
“In the cement factories, a leading brand from a certain most wealthy man is at war with other cement manufacturers.Internationally, the need for marketing has inspired a war among competitors. Samsung and Apple have long been at logger heads.”
He therefore called on professional in the built environment to take best advantage of the seminar.
Chairman of the FCT Branch of NIESV, ESV Emmanuel Alao said various marketing options are available for real estate products considering the market environment and characteristic of the target customers and the expected reach.
According to Alao, professions should maximize the use of e-marketing tools for real estate products as well as overcome contemporary challenges to ethical standards in real estate transactions.
According to Alao, negative incidences of taxation in marketing real estate products and services in the FCT must be stopped, stating that the goal of the seminar is to recommend to participants an acceptable standard approach to modern marketing techniques for real estate products.
In his keynote address, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Dr Ezekiel Oyebo said current developments in information technology which has reduced the world to a global village makes it imperative that electronic marketing tools be used in modern real estate practice.
“The era of letting boards and newspaper advertisements are nearly over, dependence thereon by practitioners cannot achieve effective marketing penetration,” he said, adding that most industries have changed their marketing startegies.
While pledging to cooperate with companies that advance the professional integrity of the institution, the Permanent Secretarylamented that moral and ethical issues in real estate transactions present a common challenge to government and the general public, recalling that the minister of lands and housing had charged the Board of Estate Surveyoursand Valuers to “treat seriously cases of misconduct and ill performance by members.” The Permanent Secretary further charged built environment professionals to take a critical look at the various challenges bedeviling the profession with a view to keeping and improving the integrity of the profession.
In June 2O14, the federal government published the Estate Surveying and Valuations Regulations, a document intended to guide the conduct and practice of the profession. While saying that it is important that all members and profession acquaint themselves with the regulations as well as comply with them at all times, the permanent secretary warned that “any non compliance with the code of conduct amounts to professional misconduct,” stating that estate surveyoursmust “raise the bar of professional excellence and continue to explore and harness the advancement in technology to resolve current and future challenges.