Visit your dream home before you build it
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The mock-up apartment is emerging as a powerful weapon in the arsenal of marketing strategies employed by builders to push up sales and gain advantage over their rivals in the crowded residential property market, writes T. Nandakumar. <
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– Photo: S. Mahinsha
Off-site model: At a mock-up apartment.
This is as close as you can get to the real thing. Now it is possible to walk right through your dream apartment even before the first brick has been laid for the structure. And we are not talking of the virtual world. Offering a ‘What you see is what you get’ experience seems to be latest trend in the construction sector.
The mock-up apartment is emerging as a powerful weapon in the arsenal of marketing strategies employed by builders to push up sales and gain advantage over their rivals in the crowded residential property market.
Until now, builders primarily depended on slick, colourful brochures with pictures of happy families and floor plans showing the lay out of the residential area to impress clients and bring in inquiries. But the emergence of a new breed of high-class market-savvy clients who are plugged into the international circuit has dictated the need for upmarket technology solutions.
Off-site model
The first off-site mock-up apartment in the city was unveiled earlier this month on the stretch of the National Highway bypass, near Kazhakoottam, one of the most happening real estate areas in the city. The developers, Skyline SFS, have embarked on the state-of-the- art venture to promote Cyber Palms, an ambitious project for the construction of five blocks housing 550 apartments on nine acres of land bordering the bypass road. The project also includes standalone units for sewage treatment and garbage incineration, retail areas and a host of common amenities for the well-heeled clients who are likely to gobble up the prime residences.
Located across the road from the project site, the full-size mock-up replicates one of the A-type apartments covering a floor area of 1,792 sq. ft. It includes a living room with French windows opening out onto a wide balcony, a dining hall, three bedrooms, including one for guests and a kitchen. The company has invested close to Rs.70 lakhs on the mock-up, demonstrating its commitment to the new marketing tool as a key element in future development.
“The mock-up has been built to reflect the quality of the residential space on offer; it offers the potential buyer an opportunity to get a feel of the apartment,” says S. Sudheesh Nair, Manager, Business Development, Skyline SFS. “For a project of this magnitude, the investment is justifiable because it generates tremendous consumer interest and promotes impulse buying”, he explains.
Unlike a sample apartment that is usually completed in advance at the project site and gives an idea of the standards offered by a builder, a mock-up apartment is an off-site sales suite intended to make a bold design statement, replicate the environment and demonstrate the kind of lifestyle offered by the builder. Creating the right image is key to the design of a mock-up.
Using cutting-edge design, the three-bedroom mock-up apartment at Kazhakkoottam has been constructed with brick and mortar on the outside and gypsum walls on the inside. The air-conditioned interiors are fitted out with vitrified floor tiles, partition walls and fully furnished with curtains, lighting and electrical fittings. It adopts a trendy theme with the use of vibrant colours and a mix of modern and ethnic furnishings, including cane, metal and wooden chairs, brass wall hangings and paintings.
To convert enquiries into sale, the company has added a dedicated marketing office to the mock-up. The plush air-conditioned sales section is manned by a team of unformed marketing personnel trained to understand customer preferences and educate them on the spatial quality and design flexibility offered by the company.
Definite advantage
An off-site mock-up apartment has a definite advantage over a sample apartment. “With workers swarming all over the place and the incessant transport of building materials, maintaining a fully furnished space in the dusty environments of a building under construction is next to impossible. An off-site arrangement helps to keep the space spick and span and always ready to greet the client who walks in,” says Mr. Nair.
“It is typical of a high stakes battle. As the residential property market hots up, builders will be increasingly forced to adopt new ideas and strategies to generate and maintain interest in their projects. The mock-up apartment is the latest feature that is likely to catch on,” says B.S. Arunsha, General Manager (Marketing), Sree Dhanya Estates.
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