Foxtons Real Estate Agency - Assignment Example

Branding Assignment Part A- Report Introduction In this age of stiff competition and tough economic meltdown, the real e segment of UK attainedquite superior prominence in the market as compared to other sectors. It is mainly due to the increase in the number of nuclear families as compared to joint families. Along with this, due to the enhancement in the rate of availability of finance or loans for the booking of the real-estate apartments, the demand of these apartments increased. Other than this, rapid urbanization is also another vital factor that enhanced the craze of real estate organizations thereby amplifying its profit margin and revenues to a significant extent. This report is divided into two phases. The first phase depicts the market trends and market opportunities of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents. Along with this, it also presents the industry analysis of real estate agent, Foxtons. And the second phases present a plan to change the branding of the organization of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents so as to enhance its competitiveness in future times. Part A Overview of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents Foxtons Group Plc is one of the most renowned British real estate organizations operating significantly in the market of United Kingdom. Since 1981, the organization and its subsidiaries of the entrepreneur named Jon Hunt are providing effective services to the residential property buyers in United Kingdom as compared to others. This helped in enhancement of the brand image and reputation of the organization in the market of UK as compared to other rival players. And it also improved the net profit margin by 15.45% in the year 2011-2012. Macro environmental Analysis of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents In order to analyse the market trend of Foxtons Group Plc, analysis of the macro environment is extremely essential. This might be performed with the help of PEST analytical technique. It is one of the most prominent and notorious group in the segment of real estate as compared to others. Political- the political environment proved extremely effectively for the organization of Foxtons: London’s Real Estate Agents. This is mainly because of the introduction of the property act of 1979. This enhanced the buying behaviour of the individual thereby amplifying the market share and demand of the real estate organizations by 12% and 26% significantly. Along with this, the OFT rules also enhanced the purchasing rate of real estate apartments to a considerable extent as compared to others. This helped the organization of Foxtons to expand its growth rate and equity significantly. Economic- economic downtown acted negatively over the organizations operating in real estate segments. This reduced the buying behaviour of the individual of UK thereby declining the profit margin and market value of the organization operating in this segment. Along with this, the rate of unemployment increased and the range of per capita income and net income of the individual of UK also reduced thereby the power of purchase also reduced significantly. Moreover, changes in the prices of VAT and stamp duty prices also affected the market of real estate. All these above mentioned factors reduced the demand of the real estate organization such as Foxtons in the market of UK. Social- the growing interest of the citizens of UK to reside in communities also acted negatively over the organization of Foxtons. Along with this, as most of the citizens of the UK comprised of their own properties, the craze to purchase new apartments reduced to a certain extent. And as the number of aged populations increased, the rate to purchase new apartments decreased. All these factors reduced the total sale of the apartments of Foxtons in the market among others. Technological- non-implementation of innovative technologies such as SMS property alerts, email alerts are also responsible for its decline. Along with this, implementation of iPhone software is also essential, which the organization of Foxtons lacked. Therefore, due to the presence of all these factors, the brand value and profit margin of the organization of Foxtons declined among other competitors as presented below. Micro environmental Analysis of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents The micro environmental factor also needs to be analysed in order to detect the challenges faced by the organization in this age of competitiveness. To do so, SWOT analysis is used. Strengths- High brand image- as the organization of Foxtons desired to offer value-added products at a quite lowest price so the image of the organization enhanced to a significant extent among others. Along with this, it also tried to offer buildings with high level of professionalism, ethics, quality and customer services so as to retain its dominance in the market among others (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Competitive price- the prices of the building constructed by Foxtons are quite lower as compared to its contenders such as Ealing Estate agents, Crystal Palace Estate agents, Docklands Estate agents and many others. So, its profit margin increased by 23.67% along with net revenue of 34% among others (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Extremely good customer services- customer service offered by the management of Foxtons also acts as the strong strength for the organization that attracted wide range of customers towards it. Weakness- Lack of trained staffs- presence of untrained staff acts as a curse for the organization of Foxtons among others. This reduces the satisfaction ratio and brand loyalty within the minds of the customers (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Lack income rates- recessionary impacts reduced the market share of real estate organization Foxtons to a considerable extent among other existing contenders. Presentation of highly innovative constructive structures- lack of presentation of varied types of inventive structures is also equally responsible for the decline in the growth rate of Foxtons in the market of UK (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Opportunities- Introduction of laws- introductions of varied types of housing laws by the government of UK acted in favour of the real estate organization. This enhanced the opportunities of the real estate organizations for expansion in new markets. High level of buying behaviour-due to high level of incomes of the citizens, the purchasing behaviour increased. As a result, the total sale of the organizations operating in this segment might get enhanced significantly (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). High rate of inhabitants to UK- the number of inhabitants in the country of UK is also enhancing at a rapid pace from its neighbouring countries such as Portugal, Germany, Holland, France, Italy and US. This acts as an opportunity for the organizations of real estate, thereby enhancing its rate of sale and profit margin. Threats- High rate of competition- due to the presence of large number of rival players, the number of competition enhances. This acts as one of the biggest threats for the organizations operating in the segment of UK. Change of the housing laws- changes in the laws of the housing, might act as one of the threats for the organizations operating in real estate segment. This might hinder the total sale and profitability of the organization in the market of UK among others. Thus, due to the above mentioned points, the organizations operating in the segment of real estate desire to offer inventive and prominent structures so as to retain the preferences and buying behaviour of the customers (Grant, 2005, pp. 345-678). Industry Analysis of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents The industry analysis of Foxtons: London's Real Estate Agents is also essential in order to detect the need for rebranding of the organizational plans and tactics by the change management strategy of empirical rational. It might be done with the help of porter’s five forces (Nickols, 2010). Bargaining power of the buyers- the bargaining power of the buyers in the segment is extremely high. This is mainly due to the presence of numerous contenders. So, in order to retain the customers, maximum extent of the organizations desire to offer high renovated apartments at a quite lowest price as compared to other contenders. Bargaining power of the supplier- the bargaining power of the suppliers is medium to high. This is because; they desire to offer best quality of products at a competitive price so as to retain its portfolio in the market among others (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Threat of new entrants- the threat of new entrants is extremely high as compared to other segments. So, maximum extent of the rival players desire to offer extremely designed products at lowest price in order to fascinate the customers towards their brand (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Threat of substitute products- the threat of substitute products such as rented houses, rented flats etc is also very high as compared to other segment players. So, in order to retain the customers towards its brand, Foxtons desire to offer varied types new facilities such as extra discounts or rebates at the time of any festivals or occasions (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Intensity of rivalry- the intensity of rivalry among the contenders is also extremely high. This is mainly because of the presence of numerous rival players. So, maximum extent of the players desire to offer qualitative products at a quite low price as compared to others as detected by extensive research. Therefore, due to these challenging factors, the brand image and reputation of the organization of Foxtons is reducing at a rapid rate as compared to others. So, the management of the organization desired to improve the policies and strategies in order to enhance the dominance of the brand in the market of UK (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). The entire process of branding is conducted by ‘Curious London’, which is one of the most renowned and popular branding organization among others such as Amnestry International or Creative branding agency. It is mainly due to its value-added proposals and designs at a very competitive cost as stated by the customers of London, UK. Moreover, the executives of ‘Curious London’ might undergo repositioning of the brand, marketing, image up-liftment, positioning and many other methods (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Part B Briefing of branding and implementation strategy A brand is described as a name, sign or logo used to distinguish it from many other rival players operating successfully in this segment. Moreover, it also reflects a set of promises presented by a seller to a buyer in order to create a specific brand image, reputation and position within their minds. Only then, the seller of a brand might retain its loyalty in the market among other competing brands. Therefore, a specific set of factors makes it a unique one (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Therefore, in order to enhance the positioning of the brand Foxtons in the market of UK, the executives of Curious London decided to implement ‘competitive strategy’, that means presentation of a four wheeler (as a special offer) on the booking date of the apartments for the first 10 customers in this Christmas. Along with this, it also decided to present an opportunity of extra discount facility of 10 % on the total booking amount of the apartments mainly in 11th and 12th floors mainly for the natives till 25th of this month. Along with this, the organizational management might also implement the strategy of presenting loan facilities from the bank for the interested customers, which is extremely essential in today’s era. The prime objective behind such type of strategy is to fascinate more and more customers towards the brand: Foxtons and to enhance its sustainability in future among other rival players. Moreover, in order to fulfil such strategy, the organization need to offer advertisements and promotions through newspapers, direct mails, online media’s as well as posters and banners. Only then the customers might become aware about the facilities offered by the Foxtons as compared to other rival players. This might prove effective in enhancing the brand image and position of the organization within the minds of the customers among others. Other than this, experienced staffs are also needed to be recruited within the organization of Foxtons so that, all the queries might be better described to the customers. Only then the organization might become able to retain its position and loyalty in the market among other rival players. However, in order to fulfil such strategy, the organization of Foxtons needs to advertise with the slogan, ‘Get a Creative world at a Competitive Cost’. This might help the organization in reducing its underlining threats thereby amplifying its strengths and opportunities of expanding into new markets (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). However, in order to fulfil such above mentioned plan, the organization might require a proposed budget of 20,000 US $. And by which the position of the organization of Foxtons might get enhanced within a time period of 1 year among other rivals. As a result of this strategy, the brand value and market share of the organization of Foxtons might also get enhanced to a significant extent as compared to its previous position. Along with this, the market size of the organization of Foxtons might also get improved from 28% to 35% among other rival players (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Design Phases The competitive strategy of branding might be implemented in four phases as stated below: Phase 1- initial stage In this stage, the organization of Foxtons might present varied types of advertisements highlighting the offers in this festive season. Only then, the target customers might become aware about the special deals presented by the organization of Foxtons. And then only, the customers might get interested towards the apartments prepared by Foxtons as compared to others. This stage continues for the first 2 months. Phase2- growth stage In this stage, the organization of Foxtons might recruit some experienced and talented staffs so as to describe the features and extra facilities of the apartments in an effective way to its customers. So that the customer become satisfied and pleased by the behaviour of the staffs of the organization of Foxtons as compared to other rival players. And then only the customer might become satisfied to present the booking amount of the apartments. And as a result, the brand image and reputation of the organization might get enhanced in the entire market among other rivals. This stage continues for next 4 months (Foxtons Estate Agents, 2013). Phase 3- Maturity stage In this stage, the experienced staffs need to tackle the customers in a very efficient and effective way so that, their portfolio and loyalty remains stable within their minds. So that, many other reference customers might be attracted from the existing ones. This stage continues for 4 months. Phase 4- Decline stage This is the last stage of this process and it continues for 2 months. In this stage, the organization needs to offer push marketing strategy (discounts, email marketing to the existing customers) so as to attract more customers towards it. Only then, the plan to reposition the brand might become effective and successful as compared to other rival players. Conclusion A significant increase in the net income as well as per capital income of the individual also acts as a boon for the rapid enhancement of the organizations operating under the umbrella of real estate. And the high growth rate of the service sector organizations such as IT’s, telecommunications also helped the real estate organizations in amplifying its craze for fully furnished residential spaces, commercial spaces, retail spaces, office spaces, hospitality spaces as well as SEZ’s to a certain extent. So, the growth rate of real estate organizations increased at a CAGR of 25% to 30% within 2011-2012 that proved extremely beneficial for the economy of UK as compared to other countries. References Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). About Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/foxtons/about/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Landlords. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/landlord/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Valuation. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/valuation/both/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Contact Us. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/help/contact.html#departments [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Foxtons Real estate Agents. [Online] Available at:http://www.foxtons.co.uk/contact/foxtons_islington_estate_agents.html [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Investments. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/investments/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Properties of Foxtons. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.com/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Properties of UK. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/foxtons/about/foxtons.html [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Search For a property. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Search the best property. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/search [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Foxtons Estate Agents. (2013). Varied types of properties. [Online] Available at: http://www.foxtons.co.uk/sell/ [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Grant, R, M. (2005). “Contemporary Strategy Analysis”. London: Sage. Nickols, F. (2010). Change Management Strategies. [Online] Available at: http://www.nickols.us/four_strategies.pdf [Accessed on 2nd December, 2013]. Bibliography Christensen, C. (2003). The Innovator’s Solutíon, Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Read More