Realestate.com.au Marketing Mix: A Case Study Analysis for MARK804

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MARK804 Assessment 2 Case
study analysis report
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Elements of the extended marketing mix that have been managed by Realestate.com.au
Realestate.com.au is a digital advertising business based in Australia. It is a public company
and is owned by the REA group, which is listed in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The company has an annual turnover of $600m, and a net profit that exceeds $214.5m
(realestate.com.au, 2019). Since the company was established when online property listing
was in its infancy, the reason for its success can be attributed to its marketing strategy. This
section reviews the key areas that the company has managed efficiently in its extended
marketing mix (Jackson and Ahuja, 2016).
 Product – During the initial stages of its incorporation, realestate.com.au was selling
intangible benefits, employing listing properties in websites, during a time when the
concept of the internet was still in its infancy. Therefore, this element of the marketing
mix was efficiently managed by the company. The company employs innovation in its
product designing, whereby creative services in the likes of ‘price lookup facility’, and
‘find an agent services’ are provided by the company
 Place – realestate.com.au managed this element of the marketing mix efficiently. The
company originally incorporated as a garage startup, but was later acquired by the REA
group, and is now the business leader in the industry it operates in
 Promotion – This is perhaps the strongest point in the operation of the company.
Realestate.com.au used great advertising techniques to extend its positioning in the
market. The company employed the services of Arnold Schwarzenegger, to popularise the
branding of the company in the market (businessinsider.com.au, 2019). Owing to its
success in the promotion, realestate.com.au holds 95% of all properties in Australia
 Pricing – During its inception in the 1990s, realestate.com.au had to popularise the
concept of online advertising. As a result, the company had to price its services low
primarily. It used the penetrative pricing scheme to appeal to customers. The company
originally intended to capture the market using sales maximisation. Realestate.com.au
successfully implemented this element of the marketing mix
 People – Realestate.com.au has a means of differentiating between its ‘consumers’ and
‘customers’. According to the company policies, ‘consumers’ are those that are merely
visitors on the website, whereas ‘customers' are the people who invest in paid
subscriptions
 Process – For a service provider like realestate.com.au, it is imperative that the processes
involved in their service provision are efficient. Realestate.com.au ensures confidence in
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its processes by maintaining a service blueprint, whereby the policies of the company are
laid out
 Physical Evidence – Since services rendered by realestate.com.au are intangible, it is
essential that physical elements are associated with the services to provide better physical
evidence. The company employs innovative website designs, and along with various
creative notions, realestate.com.au ensures it maintains the physical evidence of its
products
Marketing mix element that can be managed better
After an analysis of the marketing mix of realestate.com.au, it can be concluded that it can
manage its consumers better. The company may be lacking in its ‘people' element of the
marketing mix, because of its differentiation of consumers and customers. The company has
special benefits for its customers that pay for the subscriptions, whereas the individuals that
inquire about the services in the company's website are devoid of such benefits. Therefore, it
is recommended that the company does not differentiate between its customers, and provides
equal benefits to each of them. There may be certain tiers of benefits that can be used to
distinguish between subscribed and non-subscribed customers. This will help the company in
delivering customer value.
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Reference List
Farquhar, P. (2014). The Inside Story Of How An Ad Agency Got Arnold Schwarzenegger To
Star In Australian Real Estate Ads. [online] Business Insider Australia. Available at:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-inside-story-of-how-an-ad-agency-got-arnold-
schwarzenegger-to-star-in-australian-real-estate-ads-2014-8 [Accessed 9 Apr. 2019].
Jackson, G. and Ahuja, V., 2016. Dawn of the digital age and the evolution of the marketing
mix. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 17(3), pp.170-186.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/dddmp.2016.3
Realestate.com.au. (2019). Real Estate, Property & Homes for Sale - realestate.com.au.
[online] Available at: https://www.realestate.com.au/buy [Accessed 9 Apr. 2019].
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