AWARENESS AND MARKETING OF GREEN HOMES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Singapore, being a fully urbanized city-state, is constantly being subjected to every form of environment degradation, and real estate has an important role to play in transforming the urban landscape of Singapore into a more sustainable city. However, the demand for green homes in Singapore is still highly deficient. Marketing of green homes has a big role to play in raising the level of positive response consumers may have. This paper looks into the current deficiency in the demand of green homes from the marketing perspective. Firstly, it will evaluate the current level of awareness and perceptions consumers have for green homes. Subsequently, it will assess the level of marketing efforts put in by the marketers in creating positive response based on an empirical framework. The findings have revealed that generally the public has a poor awareness and weak perceptions of the green homes. Consumers generally received little positive signals regarding the green features, therefore leading to their indifferent responses. In terms of perceptions, consumers are generally unwilling to commit to additional costs and intangible long-term benefits. Desktop research of Green Mark (GM) certified homes has also shown that poor marketing efforts have been put into the marketing of green homes. Most marketers are unwilling to distract consumers from other interest-arousing features with green features. Establishment of causal relationship between creating awareness and marketing efforts remains debatable. However, it could be seen that as both the demand and selling of green homes are weak, it has created a perpetual vicious cycle of the marketing of green homes. Interview with a marketing agent has also yielded results that indeed public awareness and perceptions are low, and most marketers are unwilling to put in effort to the marketing of green features. It is therefore important to introduce third parties as stimulants to break though the vicious cycle of the marketing of green homes.