Create added value to lure buyers

The Jakarta Post, K. Basrie, Jakarta

Analysts and marketing experts believe that no new apartments will be constructed this year and that sales of units will remain sluggish. Developers, on the other hand, hold a different view, saying that the once sluggish market will now start to grow in a positive direction.

Businessman Burka Setiadi (not a fictitious name) has just recovered from a serious headache.

The pain started a few days ago when his Rp 2.3 billion (approx. US$223,300) well-secured and equipped mansion in the up- market area of Pluit, North Jakarta, was severely inundated by murky waters during the recent flood. The only thing he, his wife and adult children had in mind was to sell the house quickly, of course at a good price.

Refusing to waste time and prolong the headache, Burka immediately came to the conclusion that it was time for him and his five-member family to move to an apartment which could accommodate his needs: ample space, well-furbished, easy-to- reach, and in a flood-free area.

In the beginning, he could not believe his eyes when he visited several apartments at major spots in the capital and found that the basement and ground floors of the apartments were also flooded.

After several days of hunting, a broad smile appeared on his 57-year-old's face when he finally saw an apartment unit of his dreams. Today, he's just waiting for his Pluit mansion to be sold.

Panangian Simanungkalit, a property observer, said that some rich Chinese living in Pluit and Kelapa Gading do not only stay there for economic and security reasons.

They, for example, have the belief that living near a coastal area often called "the head or mouth of a dragon will always bring them luck", Panangian said.

So, it's hard for them to leave their property, which has been badly inundated. "They want to return again," he added.

Just as the growth in property sales throughout this year remains unpredictable, the sales of apartment spaces in this country is also in question.

But marketing guru Rhenald Kasali of the University of Indonesia has these golden words of advice: "There's always an opportunity in any condition. If there's optimism, there must always be pessimism."

According to him, it is high time for marketers in the apartment sector to put added value into their strategies to lure buyers.

"We all know that many rich Indonesians purchase apartments only as an investment, not for living in," he said. "Instead of buying houses in places like, for example, in Sentul, West Java, and leaving them unoccupied and dilapidated, why not invest money in an apartment where maintenance services are already included in the package."

And marketing directors should be innovative to highlight added value to lure buyers.

"I, for instance, wonder why (the management of) Rasuna Said Apartment in Kuningan ignores the ugly and cluttered view around the complex," Rhenald explained on Monday.

A number of old cracked parts of the apartment buildings could be seen which could give a different impression about the apartment itself even though its rooms are quite good.

"This image has to changed. They have to change the image of the site. And it's the marketing staff from the apartment sector who really know the business."

Rhenald gave one suggestion.

"The marketing department could for instance work together with Citibank to approach the Citibank Gold members, who have extra savings and usually live in Jakarta's suburbs, to invest in their property."

"Tell them that this is not purely a great investment for your money but will provide an excellent experience for them, their children and family to stay in a luxurious apartment in the heart of the capital," he said.

Krishnan Rajendran, a visiting professor at IPMI management institute in South Jakarta, stressed that facilities, location and security system were vital for expatriates, the major apartment occupants in Indonesia.

According to Roy Goni from the RKS management consulting firm, the industry should admit the apartment business in this country is now at the survival stage.

"We have to remember that all the existing apartments here were constructed during the boom period in the early 1990s. So, now when the economy is going down, they are going in the same direction," he said on Monday.

That's why many apartment operators are only carrying out a survival strategy, by offering, for example, attractive weekend packages.

"In reality, according to me, there is no other way for the apartment marketing department to market their product. It's difficult, at least for the time being."

Roy must be too skeptical; or perhaps he's challenging the market players.