How we helped sell at a premium during recession

The year was 2010. The global recession that started two years earlier had made the real estate market in Chennai sluggish. An over-supply of projects and fewer customers made discounts and price cuts the order of the day. That is when a challenge was thrown at us.

A project had to be re-launched since most of the customers who had booked earlier had cancelled along the way. However the builder continued developing this project which had excellent amenities. We asked them to complete the project and use the fact that you could occupy it the next day as the USP.

They did not cut corners and stuck to high-end specifications. We decided to target the CEOs, Chairmen and top executives of MNCs. Hence the ad was released in Wall Street Journal and Economic Times and not in the local daily. We requested the client not to involve any sales people and give a special number for the Director himself, for customers to call. The price, which was higher than the prevailing one, was communicated upfront.

It worked like magic. The secretary of a CEO would call and fix an appointment. When he came the director himself would be there to show him the project personally. Most of them took immediate decisions and not even one person asked for a discount.