In this article you will find out:
- How current consumer trends change office space retailing
- What are the fundamental differences in selling simple space vs. Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
- Why developers need to create and communicate an attractive EVP when selling office space in a competitive area
- How captivating EVP presented with help of Virtual Reality or 360 renderings accelerates sales and brings tangible business results
Simple space vs. Employer Value Proposition
On-demand economy and tech innovation revolutionized how brands interact with consumers across all industries. Today, customers want to buy something more than raw products – they’re looking for unique and personalized experiences. Smart real estate agencies and developers selling office space are already responding to that trend by embracing experiential retailing.
Highlighting the number of the available desks as the main selling point is no longer an option. Instead, developers invest in presenting the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and focus on showcasing the atmosphere and experience inside the office. Selling EVP is far more challenging than selling hard data like 100 desks or 45 power plugs. It’s not something you can do on paper or in PowerPoint presentations. That’s why developers are turning to visual technologies that help to show their clients the potential EVP of their office space at the earliest stages of construction.
Standing out from the crowd in NYC’s hyper-competitive commercial location
A local NYC developer Elijah Equities transformed an old warehouse/parking garage on the Lower East Side into a hip and modern office space. The investment was targeted mainly at tech companies (startups, media) from New York City and San Francisco. The area of New York’s Lower East side is highly competitive and makes it difficult to attract big brands. So when dealing with that type of location, developers need more than hard data or traditional sales methods to start selling office space as early as possible. An attractive EVP is an answer – it sets the office space apart from other properties and attracts main industry players to the building still in its pre-construction phase.
The Warehouse introducing experiential buying
To sell office space as the spot with an attractive EVP, developers need to create memorable and personalized experiences. One of the ways to do that is through visual technologies such as Virtual Reality or 360 renderings.
Elijah Equities sent promotional packages to top real estate agents and invited them onsite. They could walk to a particular spot marked with a sign on the ground, and then experience how The Warehouse will look like once the construction is completed. That mixture of rendered content, 360 photography and existing surroundings enabled to provide fully authentic experience. To further personalize the office space, prospective customers could add their company logos or change the colors in the visualized rooms according to their preferences. Taking a virtual tour inside a branded office helped agents to get a realistic view of the building and offered an immersive experience that set the office space apart from competing properties.
Hiram Haddad from Elijah Equities told us that Virtual Reality:
“Makes the process fun and easy when showing the space to potential tenants”
Investing in EVP is a smart move
Experiential buying is becoming the new standard in many industries, and real estate is no exception. Already some commercial real estate big players, such as Yareal, are adopting this new approach. They are beginning to understand that creating and communicating an attractive EVP is an effective sales strategy that helps properties stand out from the crowd and boosts business results even in highly competitive markets.
See The Warehouse App on AppStore or Google Play
