One of the fastest growing and most dynamic industries in today's Indian economy, real estate is drastically changing its image and its lingo. This is what the delegates of Real Estate Marketing Summit organized by CREDAI NCR in New Delhi on August 18 most certainly felt.

The first such summit in India touched on perhaps the most critical issue in real estate - that of bridging the gap between the developer and the consumer in the changing market environment.

For the first time, developers and real estate consultants articulated the need for real estate to move from a mere service model to an ongoing customer relationship model. As Ramani Sastri, president of CREDAI, pointed out, "The image of a developer, in recent times, has become that of a dynamic professional who takes a project from concept stage through planning, detailing and execution. In this new situation, customer relationship is a critical element."

A number of points were discussed that drive a good customer relationship --- safety, quality, best practices, innovation and focused marketing are all among the values that are gaining importance in the developers' practice. Arvind Khanna from Beekman Helix emphasized the need to assure customers of continuing quality, something that several developers have achieved through offering reliable and consistent facility management services. Going the extra mile, by creating green developments for instance, was another well-received suggestion.

A lot of these changes are consumer-driven and reflect the growing demand from the consumer, for quality, variety and amenities. Besides, developing and establishing an image and a brand recall has become another critical tool for developers to reach out to their audiences. Sanjay Dutt from Cushman and Wakefield also advised developers to "find the right stream before creating a corporate identity" and laid down the principles of "understanding the target audience and the stakeholders."

Along with all the optimism came words of caution. Speakers outlined the need for relying on quality research, the need for the industry to set standards and benchmarks and self-imposed regulatory processes and overall, the need for a sense of social consciousness.

Other than brand development and management, several marketing tools like improving customer relationships, staff responsiveness, using newer media like the Internet, using customer loyalty, regaining lost customers, and using channel partners, came to the fore as emerging priorities for developers.

Meanwhile, Prof Shiawee X Yang, from Northeast University, Boston, brought in an interesting perspective. "For the last 15 years, experts have been talking about a real estate bubble for China, but even today, an apartment complex in Shanghai is literally sold overnight." If the real estate growth is backed by real economic growth, the bubble never really comes true, and this would be true for India as well, she felt.

In fact, developers and consultants were unanimous in their concern over meeting the demand-supply gap in real estate. Far from there being a bubble, the reality is that policies, practices, attitudes --- nearly everything --- need to be geared towards maximizing the potential of the real estate industry.