Yes, these are marketing rules. But no, those attending the seminar where these truths were brought home were not trainee marketing executives. But estate agents, realtors, builders, all of whom the real estate slump has forced to some soulsearching.

Knowing that it is a buyer's market out there only helped to formulate their strategies. At a seminar on `Marketing the Magic Mantra' organised by the Estate Agents' Association of India at Centaur Hotel today, Conrad Saldhana, director of Xaviers Institute of Management, set the ball rolling when he said that those in the real estate business need a "paradigm shift to learn what their buisness is all about."

As he put it, in today's melt down economy, "Consumers are looking for maximum benefit at cheaper rates. It would not do well for a builder to promise something he cannot deliver." Hedissuaded real estate agents from using razzmatazz to seduce the consumer and cautioned that a happy and satisifed consumer will require transparency on the part of the builder. "Nothing, whether it is the built-up area, carpet area, water supply, fitting specifications...nothing should be left to interpretation. Everything should be spelt out clearly," he stressed.

He described the buyers of houses today as those moving from mass to customised markets. "The biases against builders will go if the customer is better fulfilled," he adds. He insisted that marketing, especially of such a high value product, like property, was not "a gimmick, but a self-satisfying asset."

Niranjan Hiranandani, one of the captains of the construction industry, filled in with his straight forward remark and in no uncertain terms told his industry-fellows to pull their socks up and change for the future.

Taking a cue from Saladhana, Hiranandani remarked that the builders were not "listening" to the changes around them. Amongthe changes that would have far reaching effects on them, he listed the repeal of the Urban Land Ceilings Regulation Act (ULCRA) which will bring more land for construction. The introduction of foreclosure laws for property purchase, he said, would increase the loan capacity of the buyer. Finally, the reduction in stamp duty will make buying homes much easier.

"In such scenario, construction will not be a problem, marketing will be," he observed. He cautioned his colleagues that it would be wrong to expect high rates for shoddy constructions. "With foreign direct investment allowed in the construction industry, do we have the capital to face the challenge?" he asked.

Earlier, R K Jha, former head in the transport and communication department of CIDCO, explained how the organisation created `Seawoods' as an NRI-high society, upscale creation and succeeded in marketing it.