We would like to share our management philosophy and thoughts on the theme of “Why does INA engage in real estate media?” As a company in the real estate industry, INA & Associates is not only involved in brokerage and management of properties, but also engages in a “media business” that involves disseminating information independently. Why is this? Behind this is our strong belief in facing the challenges of the industry head-on and providing long-term value to our customers and society. In this article, we will explain the reasons behind our efforts based on this belief in a step-by-step manner.
Eliminating information gaps to reform the industry
First, we would like to emphasize the deep-rooted problem of information gaps in the real estate industry. For many years, there has been an asymmetry in real estate transactions, with agents holding detailed information and consumers lacking sufficient information. Taking advantage of the fact that consumers (buyers) cannot freely access property information, businesses exploiting this information gap still thrive today. For example, while a real estate database (REINS) contains all relevant information, it is not publicly available, and companies keep this information to themselves to generate profits—such a structure persists in the industry.
However, we aim to change this outdated system. Real estate is one of the most significant transactions in a person's life. Yet, if information is biased, customers are forced to make decisions while feeling uncertain. This uncertainty can lead to distrust and even a lack of confidence in the industry as a whole. In fact, it is often said that “there is an information gap between real estate agents and the general public, which can easily lead to distrust,” and in Japan, the social status of real estate agents is not as high as in Western countries.
One of the main reasons INA is pursuing a media business is to eliminate this information gap and enhance transparency in the industry. Fortunately, we have accumulated extensive knowledge through our consulting services for real estate owners and brokerage services for high-net-worth individuals. In fact, when we entered the property management business, we realized through numerous discussions with real estate owners that “the property management sector has one of the most severe information asymmetries in the real estate industry.” That is why we want to actively disclose and share our industry knowledge and expertise with the outside world, so that we can deliver accurate and useful information about real estate to as many people as possible. We believe that this is not just marketing, but a social responsibility to guide the industry in a better direction.
Increasing transparency through information dissemination is directly linked to building long-term trust. We believe that long-term trust can only be built through a cumulative effort of providing honest and accurate information. Breaking down the lack of transparency that pervades the industry and spreading accurate knowledge. That is the fundamental motivation behind INA's media operations and the ideal we want to achieve first and foremost.
Building long-term relationships with customers
In the real estate business, once a property is sold or leased, the transaction is complete and the relationship tends to end—at least that was the conventional wisdom. However, we believe that the relationship with our customers really begins after the contract is signed. While purchasing or renting a home is a major life event, there are always needs and questions related to living and asset management that arise in between. That's why we use our media platform to provide ongoing information and create a space where we can build long-term relationships with our customers.
Specifically, we continuously share information about real estate market trends, useful lifestyle tips, and knowledge about assets on our own media platform. This allows us to maintain contact with customers even when they are not actively searching for a property. These efforts serve as a reminder of our company even when customers are not immediately considering buying or selling a property. From a marketing perspective, it is said that it is effective to establish contact through information dissemination even when customers are not considering real estate transactions. For example, even if someone has no plans to move or buy a property at the moment, their needs may change in the future due to changes in their life stage. In such cases, if they have been exposed to our useful information in the past, they will think of INA first when the time comes.
Through continuous information provision, we aim to remain a partner that accompanies our customers. We provide a wide range of information, from local lifestyle information to knowledge related to real estate, because we want to be a reliable presence in various stages of our customers' lives. We believe that this accumulation of efforts will deepen the bonds with our customers and develop into a lifelong relationship of trust that goes beyond one-time transactions. Media management is an essential strategic tool for fostering such long-term relationships.
Providing valuable information to ultra-high-net-worth individuals
Among the real estate areas in which INA&Associates is involved, one of the most distinctive is our transactions with ultra-high-net-worth clients. Wealthy clients often own high-priced, rare real estate as part of their asset portfolios, and the quality and perspective of the information they seek is even more sophisticated. One of our missions is to provide ultra-high-net-worth individuals with high value-added insights that go beyond mere property information.
The wealthier our clients are, the more information they are exposed to on a daily basis. They have developed a keen eye for discerning what is truly valuable. Therefore, our media strives to deliver valuable, specialized content to our discerning readers. Specifically, we cover a wide range of topics, including analysis of domestic and international luxury real estate market trends, explanations of legal systems for asset preservation, and lifestyle proposals tailored to the ultra-wealthy. All of our content is based on reliable data and expert knowledge, and we strive to identify what high-net-worth individuals who value status and asset value really want to know. For example, we provide reports on price trends and future investment value of luxury properties in the neighborhood, as well as information on top-notch restaurants, international schools, and medical facilities to enrich the lives of our readers after they purchase a property.
By accumulating such content, we aim to become a “source of valuable information” for the affluent. The trust built through information dissemination is highly valued by customers with large assets. In fact, from the perspective of affluent marketing, they consider “reliability” to be an important criterion for decision-making. If we can build up our media presence and make people feel that “the information provided by INA is reliable,” there would be nothing more gratifying.
Additionally, we have extensive expertise cultivated through our consulting services for high-net-worth individuals. Sharing this expertise through our media serves as both a service to our clients and a demonstration of our specialized knowledge. As such, we anticipate significant response to our high-quality content tailored specifically for high-net-worth individuals. We aim to provide valuable information that offers tangible benefits simply by reading it, thereby enhancing trust in our company and strengthening our brand value.
Pursuing brand reliability and transparency
The benefits of media operations are not limited to direct customer relationships. In the long term, we believe that strengthening our brand power will also have a significant impact. At INA&Associates, we place great importance on establishing brand transparency and consistency through information dissemination in order to remain a trusted brand in the real estate industry.
As mentioned earlier, there is still a culture of “concealment” in the real estate industry. That is why we want to build a transparent and clean brand image by sharing information openly. Companies that consistently provide useful information on a regular basis are perceived by customers as honest and trustworthy. Our goal is to reflect our values in every piece of content we publish and to spread the recognition that “INA = a brand of trust and expertise.”
We aim to become a brand that people think of when they think of high-end real estate or real estate investment. To achieve this, it is essential that we continue to publish highly specialized content through our own media.
In terms of brand transparency, we also place great importance on maintaining an attitude of honestly communicating both good and bad information. For example, when the market is in a downturn, we do not forcefully express optimism, but instead include risk information and points to note. By doing so, our readers will feel that we are transparent about even unfavorable information. This is the foundation of trust, and we are confident that it will enhance our brand value in the long term.
Information dissemination is, in essence, the act of constantly presenting our company's ideas and expertise to the world. By maintaining responsibility and consistency in this endeavor, we aim to steadily build trust in our brand.
A place for learning and growth for employees and stakeholders
Another reason we are engaged in media business is the internal benefits it brings to our company. In fact, our own media serves as a place for learning and growth for our employees and partners. It is not just a matter of disseminating information to the outside world, but also of utilizing the process to promote knowledge sharing and human resource development within the organization.
When employees write articles or conduct interviews and research, they deepen their knowledge in that field. The more specialized the topic, the more discussion and consultation with experts is required to ensure the accuracy of the information. This process itself serves as an opportunity for employee training. In fact, many companies have pointed out that owned media can be used as an internal training tool. New employees can learn about the company's vision and industry knowledge by reading articles on the company's media, and all employees can share the corporate culture and direction by participating in content creation. At our company, we ask new employees to read past media articles to familiarize themselves with INA's philosophy and specialized knowledge. This also reduces the burden of training new employees and helps them become productive members of the team quickly after joining the company.
Furthermore, positioning media as a place for employees to share their output fosters a culture of independent learning and information sharing within the company. By summarizing the company's latest initiatives and success stories in articles and sharing them both internally and externally, employees can learn about each other's achievements and inspire one another. For example, if an article is written about a unique contract case at a certain branch, other employees can read it and gain new insights. This accumulation and sharing of internal knowledge directly contributes to the improvement of skills and service quality throughout the company.
Our media serves as a specialized real estate information site for external audiences, but from an internal perspective, it also functions as an open internal newsletter. Every time an employee writes an article, they learn something new, and when they read it, they learn something else. By involving everyone in the company in content creation, employees gain a deeper understanding of the company, which helps the organization move in the same direction.
In addition, “stakeholders” include business partners and industry partners. Fortunately, our media is read by many people, and in some cases, real estate operators and financial institutions at other companies refer to it. We are very honored to hear that “we shared your article at an internal study session.” We believe that the advancement of knowledge sharing within the industry will contribute to the overall improvement of the real estate industry, which will in turn lead to the growth of our company.
In this way, media operations are not only a means of disseminating information to the outside world, but also a platform for developing human resources and circulating knowledge both inside and outside the company. Our commitment to media operations is also based on our desire to be a company where every employee continues to learn and grow.
Creating sustainable corporate value
The significance of media operations is clear not only from a short-term perspective, but also from a long-term perspective. That is, from the perspective of creating sustainable corporate value. We view our investment in media as an asset that will benefit our company in the future.
Advertising and publicity have only a temporary effect once they are published, but high-quality content can become an asset that continues to generate value semi-permanently. Once published, useful articles continue to attract new readers through search engines, creating new points of contact with our company. Owned media can become a corporate asset through continued operation and a tool that generates long-term effects and profits. This is exactly what has happened at our company, where we have been able to gain stable access and inquiries every month as articles accumulated since our launch. This is different from buying traffic with advertising expenses; it is an effort that increases asset value like a snowball over time.
Additionally, having our own media platform opens up possibilities for future business diversification. While our current media is purely for branding and lead generation, we may eventually leverage the accumulated reader base and content to expand into new ventures (such as paid market reports or online seminar services). This is not a concrete plan at this stage, but the potential for the media itself to become a standalone business asset is significant.
Furthermore, by consistently accumulating the philosophy and messages we promote through our media, our management vision will be firmly ingrained both internally and externally. Looking ahead to the next five or ten years, the consistent accumulation of content will become an asset that is part of our corporate culture itself. Even if the market environment changes significantly, the content we have communicated will remain as a trusted archive, which will serve as a source of support in difficult times.
Recently, there has been talk that “companies should become media.” Companies that have their own communication capabilities and a base of fans (supporters) have greater stability in their management. We also want to nurture our media and build a solid support base so that we can achieve sustainable growth that is not easily affected by economic fluctuations. These efforts will not yield results overnight. However, we are confident that persistent efforts will yield significant benefits in the future. This is why we are committed to media operations with a long-term perspective, rather than focusing solely on short-term results.
Learning from other industries and companies
Our media strategy is by no means unique; many companies around the world are pursuing similar initiatives and achieving success.
At INA&Associates, we aim to learn from these precedents and create unique media value in the real estate field. Fortunately, we have the strength to provide information on a wide range of topics, from investment for the wealthy to community-based lifestyle information. While referencing the success stories of other companies, we will provide information from our own unique perspective and aim to become a media outlet that is recognized for offering insights that cannot be found anywhere else.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, there are many reasons why INA&Associates is engaged in the real estate media business. These include the normalization of the industry through the correction of information disparities, the establishment of long-term relationships with customers, the provision of value to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, the enhancement of brand credibility, the creation of growth opportunities for employees, and the accumulation of sustainable value as a company. All of these factors overlap, giving our media a meaning that goes beyond that of a mere tool for attracting customers.
Of course, operating a media platform is not an easy task. It requires effort and time to continuously produce high-quality content, and it can take time for results to show in numbers. However, we believe that continuing to provide honest information is the most reliable way to earn the trust of our customers and society, even if it seems like a long road. Fortunately, we are gradually receiving more feedback such as, “I read your article and contacted you,” and “I agree with your perspective,” which gives us a sense of accomplishment. We are determined to cherish these efforts and continue moving forward without wavering.
Personally, I am driven by a desire to bring a fresh perspective to the real estate industry and improve its image. To achieve this, I believe it is essential for us to take the lead in disclosing information and demonstrating an open and fair attitude. Our media business is a direct embodiment of this commitment.
INA&Associates Inc. will continue to provide useful and honest information through our real estate media. We firmly believe that this will lead to benefits for our customers and, ultimately, to greater trust in our company. In the future, all of our employees will continue to work hard so that we can hear people from all over Japan say, “I understand real estate well thanks to INA's media” and “I can conduct real estate transactions with peace of mind thanks to INA.”
This has been a lengthy message, but thank you for reading it through to the end. We hope you will continue to follow INA & Associates' media and our ongoing challenges. We look forward to your continued support in the future.
