A local real estate developer is embarking on digitizing their processes, tools, and customer experience. However, despite their initiatives, converting leads into paying customers has proven challenging, especially during the pandemic. This study aims to better understand customers’ information-seeking needs and behaviors, interaction expectations, and pain points, and aims to help the developer improve the user journey and develop new design and process interventions.
In-depth interviews were conducted among participants to determine triggers and considerations for purchasing properties, their perception of real estate companies, touchpoints for awareness, and factors that affect information-gathering behaviors. Mystery shopping enabled customers to reach out to the developer, as well as their competitors, via assigned touchpoints. Follow-up interviews were conducted to review the mystery shopper experience and learn more about the behaviors, tools, and strategies used to shortlist properties.
Shopper Personas segmented the shopper base into profiles with unique needs and different levels of assistance needed when buying properties
Purchase Journey explored the stages that most buyers go through during their search for a new property: Needs and Readiness Assessment, Familiarization, Detailed Investigation, and Evaluation & Selection
A wide scope of individual needs and motivations are involved in the consideration and purchase of real estate. Some individuals see properties as investments, while others envision them as potential residences for themselves or their children.
Customers learn about and interact with developers and properties in different ways. Guided buyers prefer dialogue and learn through engagement with the developer or agents, while independent buyers prefer to go through information on their own and explore different tools on various platforms.
Gender appears to influence the motivation to purchase real estate. Women tend to be the main decision-makers when the property is intended as a home, while men tend to purchase properties as investments.
As the primary representatives of the developer, real estate agents play a critical role in the process of buying properties. Potential buyers value an agent’s timeliness, professionalism, as well as other attitudes and behaviors that create pleasant in-person interactions.
Site visits serve as an opportunity for buyers to assess the design and build of the property, and most importantly, to get a sense of living in the property. After this stage, their preference (or lack of interest) for the property becomes clearer.
Preferences in the way payment terms are presented, as well as in the kind of assistance extended by agents, varies across buyers of real estate. In addition, price, discounts and promotions, clarity of presentation, ease of purchase process, and after-sales support are some of the things that buyers also consider when discussing payment options.
Across the whole purchase journey, real estate developers have the most influence on the shopper's decision-making process during the stages of familiarization and detailed investigation.
