By Soliudeen Balikis
I currently work in one of Nigeria’s biggest real estate development companies; Arc-View Investment Limited. In the last four years of working in the organization, I have discovered that the real estate market in Nigeria is dynamic and unique, presenting both challenges and opportunities for investors and homebuyers alike. Getting it right with real estate development and investment requires a keen understanding of current trends and insightful perspectives. However, the most important factor is a clear understanding of the dynamics for consumer analysis. In this article, I will delve into the key trends shaping the real estate sector in Nigeria and offer valuable insights for those looking to make informed decisions when it comes to consumer analysis.
Factors for Consumer Analysis
Like every other business sector, the major reason consumer analysis in the real estate sector is to identify and understand the needs of the target customers. By analyzing their needs, real estate developers can understand where, when, what and who to develop a real estate product for. Here are the details of each:
Patterns of Behavior
The patterns of behavior can be divided into two sections, customer purchase criteria and purchase process and patterns. The customer purchase criteria are the factors a consumer thinks about before deciding to buy a product. Understanding the criteria, a consumer considers when they’re shopping can help you determine value in your real estate products and the benefits for the consumer. In real estate investment, I have to discover that the primary aspects a consumer considers are price, prestige, quality and convenience. Price as a factor of what they can afford or pay for conveniently. Prestige because Nigerians consider the class factor very important. There are people who will never buy a real estate product on the mainland because of the class factor no matter how affordable. Quality is also very important to achieve consistent customer review and recommendations. Convenience is more about the location of the property and its functionality to the buyer.
Demographic Considerations
The demographic profile is the second aspect of consumer analysis when it comes to real estate development. It will help you understand more about your target audience. You can use this information to target your customers more accurately with marketing strategies. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when you’re researching real estate consumer demographics: What level of education do they possess? What’s their income range? Do they have children? What’s their marital status? Where is their business located?
After these two important considerations, here are steps you can use to conduct a consumer analysis as a real estate investor or developer based on what I consider a careful study and observation of trends in the sector:
Review Your Industry
This can include a brief historical background of your industry, trends, patterns, an overview of your competitors and the factors that influence the industry. Doing this can help you guide your business or marketing plan. Researching your industry can help you understand your consumers better. This information can help you when you’re implementing your marketing strategies.
Identify Customer Demographics
Identifying and describing your customers’ demographics can help you understand their expectations and social context when they’re searching for a product. Demographics can include an individual’s age range, gender, income range, marital status and education level. You can gather this information by reviewing your analytics or creating a survey for customers to take. After analyzing the data, you can place consumers into similar categories based on their information. You can use the different segments of your audience to create specific advertisements and marketing plans for them. In advertisement and publicity plan for example, social media influencers may work for high-end real estate products while local radio advertisements work perfectly for middle- and low-income real estate products.
Predict Future Changes
Predicting future outcomes in a business based on historical data and managerial insights. You may find it helpful to forecast future changes in your target audience because it assists you in making informed business decisions. If you change a process in a business, you can save time and have a strategic plan for when the market or audience changes. In real estate development for example, you may want to consider why people are getting reluctant to buy real estate products from a location they used to be so happy to buy in the past.
Describe Consumers’ Buying Behaviors
It’s helpful to establish and describe your consumers’ buying behaviors because it can help you determine the best channels to target your audience. When you identify the best way to market to your consumers, it can help satisfy their needs and increase the organization’s profits. For example, if your demographic is primarily consumers in their mid-twenties, single and living in cities, you can find marketing strategies to resonate with them as opposed to using the same marketing strategies you would use to target consumers with families.
Conduct Competitive Review
You can conduct a competitive analysis and review to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your competition. This can help you gain an advantage over competitors because you can research ways to outperform them and potentially gain their customers. It can also help you retain current customers if you’re offering them the best option for products compared to competitors.
Identify Gaps in the Market
While you’re researching your industry and competitors, you can identify the gaps in the market. What have your competitors not done? This can help you gain an advantage over other developers or investors. If you find a gap in the market, you can create products to fill the space, which can increase profits, gain new customers and increase existing customer loyalty. It can also show you ways to help you fulfill your customers’ needs and desires.
SOLIUDEEN BALIKIS is a business, marketing, finance and investment review enthusiast.
