Blah Post or Blog Post? The Difference is Original Content, Part 1

BLOGGERS MISCONCEPTION #1:CONTENT IS KING

Recently, we have heard the term “white noise” used to describe the bombardment of information coming from countless advisors who tout the benefits of blogging. Someone we know used the expression, “blah, blah, blah, blah blog” to describe their overdose of information on the subject. Yet, if the blog was really understood for the stupendous marketing tool that it is more luxury real estate marketing professionals would bite the bullet and blog.  There is definitely a “disconnect” here that needs to be bridged.

We have identified one of the biggest misconceptions about blogging.  That is the notion that “Content is King”.  Content is comprised of articles, photos, videos and pod casts (audio clips). The misconception is that creating content in your blog will automatically attract followers and possibly advertisers.

Content is not king.  ORIGINAL content is king!  People everywhere are starving for original content to solve their problems, to entertain them, to get informed, to participate in discussions and to uplift their spirits.

When you blog you become a columnist, a journalist. But, what is a columnist without an audience?  If the content of your blog is unoriginal, it is just a “blah post”, not a blog post. If your content is unoriginal no one will take the time to make a comment. Nor, will anyone bother to engage in a discussion with you or others who leave their comments.

When your original content is remarkable, follow-worthy, comment-worthy, buzz-worthy, people naturally want to subscribe to your steady stream of articles, engage in discussion and also share your content with others.  If your content is original blogging can be like word-of-mouth advertising on steroids. Sharing becomes contagious. That is what is meant by “going viral”.

The blogging tools themselves make it so easy for people to spread the word about you and re-distribute your content. But, it is original content that people want to pass along. It is the expectation of original content that gets them to subscribe to your blog and keeps them coming back for more. Can you understand why those with unoriginal, regurgitated, “canned” content are scratching their heads, trying to figure out why no one is reading their blog posts, let alone passing it along to their friends? 

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Attract More High Net Worth Clients with a "Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Real Estate Website

How can you expect to capture the website leads of high net worth clients without first capturing their attention? High net worth clients expect remarkable, distinctive packaging when purchasing luxury products and services. 

You can instantly differentiate yourself from your competition with a stunning, eye-catching website that makes your competition’s site pale in comparison.  Isn’t it time to demonstrate your superior marketing savvy?  Discover how to attract more high net worth clients with a buzz-worthy luxury website. WATCH THE VIDEO!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Discover Your Client's Most Pressing Needs

In a previous post we referred to the importance of acquiring a deep understanding of your current and potential clients’ mindset.  We call this the study of psychographics, which is comprised of the personality, values, attitudes, interests, activities and lifestyles of your target market.  However, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, to provide remarkable service you also need to discover your client’s most pressing needs, right now.  

The late, Peter Drucker, author and management consultant, once said, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself”.  Apple is now taking pre-orders for the iPad.  There is just one commercial running for this new product and all it shows is the iPad features. No persuasive sales are needed. 

The buzz about the iPad has been nothing short of astonishing.  Apple has introduced an entirely new product category based on a deep understanding of the needs of their primary target market.  Why buy an inferior net book computer and/or an e-book reader when you can essentially have both, plus much, much more for less money?

We say the art of marketing is communicating about your product or service in such a way that your target market instantly realizes that the value you offer is the answer to their prayers. When you answer people’s prayers, it is truly a remarkable experience. This naturally sparks word-of-mouth advertising which is the answer to your prayers.

Here is a personal example that millions of men around the world should be able to identify with (and women too).  Even with the advances in shaving technology most men continue to experience discomfort during and after shaving, especially when the blades tug, pull and often cut the skin. Ouch!  

I (Ron) have been on an eternal quest for the perfect shave.  The last shaving cream I tried was a disaster. I thought it might be my razors. Then, I tried a new product by MENSCIENCE using the same blade.  It may very well be the end of my quest; the shave was that smooth, close and painless.  Now, that is remarkable!

I did not need to be sold. I was simply told that this shaving cream would answer my prayers, guaranteed.  Amen!  Guys, you should try it!

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The Power of Print in Luxury Real Estate Marketing

In the self-serve environment of real estate information online, it is essential for you to convey to your target market exactly what your unique promise of value is as a luxury real estate marketing professional. The internet has been a disruption not only to brokers and agents but also to luxury real estate print media.   However, some very innovative print marketing ideas have emerged that can give you the competitive edge.

We are excited to announce a new video blog series launching next week in which we feature our LOL media partners.  Each publication has a unique promise of value. Each has developed innovative ways to help agents market themselves and their luxury properties.  We thought you would like to know more about these new ideas so you can make intelligent choices when advertising in print by finding the publications that best match your particular marketing needs.

There has been much ado these days about the current health and the very future of print media in general, magazines in particular.   Many are asking, “is print dead”? 

Movies didn’t kill radio. TV didn’t kill movies. The internet will not kill magazines!   This is the basic premise  a consortium of consumer magazine publishers (non-real estate) who want to set the record straight about their industry. They say an established medium can continue to flourish so long as it continues to offer a unique experience.

•  Magazines are very much alive! Here are the facts:
•  Annual number of paid subscriptions is nearly 300 M
•  Magazine ad recall has increased by 13% over the last four years
•  Adults 18-34 read more issues than adults 35 and older
•  The average reader spends 43 minutes reading each issue
•  Readership has actually grown over the last five years

In luxury real estate marketing there are those who tend to “throw away the baby with the bath water” by eliminating print media altogether. From our standpoint, the right print media campaign, when combined with online marketing strategies, can be an integral part of building your personal brand and advertising your luxury property listings.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Know the Psychographics of Your Target Market

Knowing the demographics of your marketplace can be very helpful.  However, understanding another very important marketing principle known as “psychographics” can give you a competitive edge when marketing luxury real estate. Psychographics are comprised of the personality, values, attitudes, interests, activities and lifestyles of your target market.

Most luxury real estate marketing professionals are familiar with the concept of demographics.  If you were to segment the population of your marketplace into gender, race, age, income, educational attainment, employment status you would get an objective overview of who lives there.

For example, if your marketplace is Park City, Utah one useful demographic factor to know would be the cities, states and countries in which the greatest numbers of second home buyers own their primary residence. Since many buyers come from Mexico it might be advantageous to market your ski-in, ski-out listing both in Spanish and in English.

A Baby Boomer is one of the 76 million Americans born during the post WWll baby boom.  This is a demographic profile not a psychographic profile. The Sandwich Generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children. While they may vary in age it is their psychographics that is crucial to understand because they are usually putting their own lives on hold while caring for others.  Their deepest psychological need is time off for themselves or time alone with their spouse.  Using soothing words and describing your listing as a retreat would resonate with the Sandwich Generation.

The entire purpose of the Language of Luxury professional networking and learning community is to help you attract and better serve more high net worth clients.  By better understanding the psychographics of these consumers (personality, values, attitudes, interests, activities and lifestyles) you will be able to speak their language and connect more deeply with them than your competitors do.

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: Your Website Appearance Really Matters!

Like it or not aesthetics play a very big role in the realm of luxury real estate marketing and the marketing of most luxury goods and services in general. Millions of dollars are spent each year on package design because it is human nature to make “snap” judgments based on outward appearance.  In our time-starved world, people often do not take the time to look below the surface and make decisions, even unconscious decisions, based on aesthetics alone.   As a luxury real estate marketing professional, you are doing yourself a tremendous disservice if your website (which may be the first point of contact for potential clients) does not reflect both your inner beauty and your competence.

You may recall the story of The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen.   The cygnet’s egg rolled into the nest of a duck and the hatchling was mistaken for an ugly duck.  The “duckling”, who later transformed into a magnificent swan, was teased, criticized and ostracized. This classic story, among other wonderful lessons, points out the aesthetic cultural biases that most humans have been taught or have absorbed in the absence of unconditional love.  

For better or for worse, aesthetic cultural biases exist.  Why not turn this to your advantage?  The internet has created an unprecedented hyper-condition known as “competition for attention or eyeballs”.  Your competition’s website is just a click away. Never have consumers had such a plethora of choices.  A stunning website that makes your competition’s site pale in comparison can not only capture attention, but also has a higher probability of capturing the lead.

Few luxury real estate marketing professionals pay enough attention to their “personal packaging”. Nor, do they realize what is at stake.  We often hear the excuse “if my website is not broken, why fix it?”  Your website may work, but if it is not remarkable in appearance and eye catching, it may not be used by potential clients in the first place.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Are You a Fox or a Hedgehog?

The personal journey in the unabashed pursuit of market leadership can be among your most exciting lifetime experiences. If you, indeed, have a proclivity for luxury real estate marketing you can reignite your career by applying the most powerful principle from the bestselling business book, Good to Great, by Jim Collins. That principle is known as the “Hedgehog Concept”.

The hedgehog concept was derived from a fable about a fox and hedgehog and illustrates the strategic difference between the two.  Foxes are dispersed strategists.  They will try any strategy that they believe will give them the immediate competitive edge. But, these strategies will not yield sustainable results.  Hedgehogs are focused strategists.  They fend off predators (think competitors) by rolling up into a ball which fully exposes their sharp quills or spines.

In business, hedgehogs have identified their winning strategy and their authentic brand identity. And, they stick to it with unwavering consistency.

Here is the competitive advantage that hedgehogs have over foxes:

1. Hedgehogs identify a market niche or an approach to marketing that they can master and be better at it than anyone else in their marketplace.  They feel like they simply have the natural talent to be the best at this.  To hedgehogs, it feels like this is what they were born to do.
2. Hedgehogs select something that they are passionate about.  They love what they do and feel lucky that they also get very well paid to do it.
3. Hedgehogs are not predators. They mind their own business. While your competition is constantly hatching new plans to out-fox you, your hedgehog strategy renders your competition irrelevant.

In our strategic branding and marketing consulting practice we help our clients to identify their hedgehog strategy.  We help them to bring their authentic personal brand identity into full focus. And, we coach them to stay in focus, by minding their own business when they execute their hedgehog strategy. Although, we call this journey the unabashed pursuit of market leadership, the real prize is the inner certainty that comes from knowing who they really are and from living a life of passion.

 It is this inner certainty and the focus of the hedgehog that consistently attracts an abundance of ideal clients. This is one of the most important marketing principals of all time.  It is what separates the good from the great!

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Luxury Real Estate Web Design: Turn Up Your Nose to the Template Website

Luxury real estate marketing professionals, it is time to turn up your nose to the template website and invest in a luxury website makeover!  If market leadership is your quest, owning a template website is tantamount to cutting off your nose to spite your face!

When we lived in Los Angeles, there was a plastic surgeon (pseudonym, Dr. Quirk) that became quite famous.  His specialty was nose reconstruction.  For quite some time he was extremely popular among the Beverly Hills beauty seekers.  However, all his “nose jobs” looked alike, as if he used a template.  He had a penchant for the upturned nose look regardless of the face it was on.

A template website is like a Dr. Quirk nose.  It defies your individuality. It shows a lack of marketing savvy and imagination!  Your website should be your silent salesperson. Do you want your silent salesperson dressed in the same uniform as your competition? This is the antithesis of luxury!

Recently, we researched the websites of one of our client’s closest competitors.  This is part of the competitive analysis that we do in our strategic branding and luxury website design services. We came across two identical web sites in the same city! The only difference was the background color; one had a blue background and the other was green.  What does this say to potential high net worth clients?

The French author, Philippe Mihailovich, defines luxury as “the very best that human beings can make, give or receive.” Does your website represent the best that you can be? Or, is it luxury website makeover time for you?

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Mesmerized by Social Networking? Just Pick Up the Phone!

Recently, we had the pleasure of being introduced to very successful mortgage planning specialist by a mutual friend.  We were introduced by email.  But, we immediately scheduled a phone call to get to know each other.  Too many luxury real estate marketing professionals have become mesmerized by the mechanics of online social networks and have all but forgotten the phone call as being a vitally important component of professional networking.  

Ironically, it seems that this crucial step, that builds strong rapport, has all but dropped out of our digital lives.  Phones have become “smarter” and smart people need to use them more often while networking professionally. 

This guy really understands the power of networking and is very well-connected.  While we were on the phone, he opened up his list of contacts on Linked In (remember the Rolodex?). Like a matchmaker, he specifically looked for people that he felt we should meet (and vice versa).  He offered to make introductions and we gladly accepted.  He did not expect us to do the same for him right then and there, because he understands the power of “giving first”, which is all part of the art of networking.

Needless to say, we were both impressed and appreciative. And, we are in the process of following up on all of his suggestions.   There is no question that we will reciprocate, if possible, and match his generosity.  At the very least we will “pay it forward”, meaning we will do the same for someone else.

This scenario has been going on in one form or another for as long as humans have transacted business together.  It is professional networking at its best. 

Linked In is simply a very efficient professional networking TOOL. It does not replace the phone!   It makes it easier for our new friend to search his contacts and recommend connections. All we need to do is request an introduction and he simply passes it along to his friends with a single click and a brief note.  The tool of Linked In makes this age-old process quicker and easier, smoother, actually effortless, once you get the hang of it.  

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, are you deliberately expanding your sphere of influence on a consistent basis, through professional networking?  The more contacts you make the more commissions you earn.  Whoever has the most high trust referral relationships wins!  

So, if you are hesitant to learn the mechanics of professional networking tools like Linked In, snap out of it! . And, remember to pick up the phone!

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Luxury Real Estate Website Design: You Need Eye Candy to Capture Attention before You Can Capture the Lead!

Photos courtesy of www.zchocolat.com

If you practice luxury real estate marketing in a vacation destination marketplace you know that high net worth travelers can become buyers overnight. Get the idea that a couple arrives in your town from a neighboring state that is ready, willing and able to purchase a luxury home.  They would like the assistance of a competent real estate professional who really knows the local marketplace, but they do not know one in particular.   How do they select one? How do you they find YOU?

Perhaps, if you have an inviting storefront, they may wonder in randomly.  If your office is dusty, gloomy or in disarray how long will it take them to make an about face and walk out?

But, chances are they have done some research on the internet. Can you see just how important their first impression of your website is?  How does your site stand out from your competition? Does it look similar?  Is it more than five years old like over 60% of real estate websites are today? 

The very first goal of website design is to capture attention.  In today’s attention deficient world you need eye candy to attract eyeballs!  Packaging is paramount!  Your website homepage is your store front.   How can you expect to capture their lead if they are not impressed with your window display to begin with and quickly “walk on by” to your competitor’s site with a click of their mouse?

The mechanical functionality of real estate websites, are fairly standardized.  A good IDX provider can offer your visitor a satisfying MLS search experience.  However, it is the graphical interface and the shortcuts you offer to help your visitor get immediate gratification for their search query that determines if they will come back or register on your site. 

With a plethora of choices and a scarcity of time, your website must be a WOW!  Isn’t time for a makeover?  Templates are templates.  Just look at the packaging of the best luxury consumer product brands in the world.  They understand that you need high quality eye candy to capture the attention of high net worth consumers.  That is the first step in capturing the lead on a luxury real estate website.

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Achieve Market Leadership in the Blink of an Eye!

In the arena of luxury real estate marketing, the entire competitive landscape needs to be redefined.  A completely new paradigm needs to be considered that determines who the big winners in the industry will be in 2010 and beyond. Whoever wins the COMPETITION FOR ATTENTION (who stands out the most?) and the COMPETITION FOR RETENTION (who is remembered first?) will get the lion’s share of business.

In the Olympic Men’s Luge event Germany took first place, with Austria second and Latvia in third.  The athletes were so close in technical skills that what separated gold, silver and bronze was the length of time it takes to blink your eye. The difference between first and second place was 0.5250 second.   Latvia was behind #1 by only 1.002 second.   

Following this Olympic example, if luxury real estate agents competed on fundamentals alone, such as negotiation skills or local market knowledge, there would probably be very little difference among the top three agents in terms of market share.  But, in business it usually does not work that way.  Often, there is a large margin between best selling or top producing #1 and the #2 contender, with #3 being forgettable. 

Ironically, the difference may have nothing, whatsoever, to do with the quality of product or service in a given category.  In the category of MP3 players, the well-made Microsoft Zune cannot hold a candle to Apple’s iPod who dominates this category with a 90% market share.  iPod has won the competition for attention, because of its design and the popularity of iTunes.

iPod has also won the battle of retention because most people have retained only one MP3 brand in their “memory folder” for this product category. They cannot even think of a second brand name. 

Try this! Start blinking your eyes and quickly answer this question:  What is the first adhesive cellophane tape that comes to your mind? Now, can you think of a second brand other than the “category killer”, Scotch Tape?

This is the paradigm shift that needs to happen in luxury real estate marketing: the difference in market share is, in reality, MIND-SHARE! The competitive playing field is actually in the minds of the target market.  Very few agents understand this concept which opens up a tremendous competitive advantage for those of you who want to become the “break-away brand” in your marketplace.

Understanding that you are competing for the ATTENTION of your target market in a time starved, attention deficient world will change your entire approach to marketing and branding. In our strategic branding practice, we use the expression. Stand Out or Bow Out! People do not have time to pay attention to a lesser known brand that “blends in”. The agent, who COMES TO MIND FIRST, the personal brand that wins the battle of RETENTION, dominates the marketplace, period! If you have the heart of an Olympic champion it is you who needs to come to mind first, in a blink of an eye.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: The Spaghetti Bench Mark

A benchmark is something that serves as a standard by which others may be measured or judged.  To be original, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, your personal brand of doing business should set a new standard of excellence in your field. It should raise the bar and become a benchmark.  How else will you become the standout, if market leadership is your quest?

To become a market leader we recommend that you identify and dominate an uncontested market niche. You need to select something that you can do, with passion, better than anyone else in your marketplace and become known for this as your trademark. A trademark is a distinguishing characteristic or feature firmly associated with a person or thing.  You must spot a niche that is underserved and not obvious.  Then, you must claim it as yours and own it.

The Spaghetti Bench, by the Franco-Argentinean artist and designer Pablo Reinoso, is both a benchmark and a trademark series of work. He has taken the ordinary, yet functional park bench and elevated it to something quite extraordinary. It would be next to impossible for another artist or designer to do a similar work without being called a “me-too” or copycat. 

The Spaghetti Bench is truly remarkable!  You just feel compelled to tell others about it. We actually contacted Mr. Reinoso in Paris and asked for his permission to publish his works on the LOL Blog. We were that moved to share it with you.  We hope you pass this post along to your friends, if you are moved by his work as well.

It was an immediate emotional response for both of us when we saw two park benches intertwined, becoming one, yet retaining their individuality.  Reinoso’s works convey what we value the most: innovation. How absolutely outrageous to begin a piece of art in one room and have it continue in another as it transforms from inert to dynamic movement. It spans a spectrum from practical to lyrical and says, “You can have it all!” It reaffirms that we do not live in an ‘either-or” world as many would have us believe, that your lifestyle, your love style and your work style can be a continuum when you live a life of passion.  And, that is part of what defines luxury for us.

When you are willing to step out of the realm of conformity, to free yourself of the tyranny of the status quo and become an original, only then will you have a remarkable personal brand that becomes a benchmark for all others.  Find that which can become your trademark, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, and you will succeed beyond your dreams.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Win Listings in Just Two Minutes

iPad - Courtesy of Apple

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, can you make a convincing case, to prospective home sellers, to hire you in the first few minutes of your listing presentation?  If you can, you stand to win more listings, run circles around your competition and become the market leader in your area. 

Steve Jobs is a master at presentation!   His presentation of the iPad, Apples newest tablet computer, was stunning from a branding standpoint.  In less than two minutes he was able to make a compelling case for buying an entire new category of device. 

Basically, he stated that tablet computers have been around for quite some time but have received a tepid reception at best.   Most of Apple’s target market already uses laptops and smart phones.  Why a 3^rd device?  His answer was simple:  The tablet must be far better at key tasks than the other two devices.  It must be better at browsing, email, photos, video, music, games and e-books.  And, that is what the iPad was designed to do. 

In other words Apple has found a way to passionately add extraordinary value to an underperforming product category or niche.  Apple has a sterling track record of doing this with the MP3 player (iPod) and the smart phone (iPhone).  Like each of these two niches, Job’s intention is to make the iPad the “category killer”—the market leader.

HP and Dell both have tablet computers in the works. But, Jobs plans on leaving the competition in the dust.  From day one, all of the 100,000 iPhone apps will be available for iPad users.  Your entire iTunes library can be uploaded instantly to the iPad.  

And, due to the acquisition of a computer chip company, Apple will be able to sell the iPad for just $499, which foils his competitors on price.  He also was able to completely dismiss the fastest growing segment of the computer market, net books, as cheap, slow functionally inferior small laptops.

Your listing presentation must be compelling.  If market leadership is your quest you must be able to communicate your extraordinary promise of value in just a couple of minutes.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Lessons from Lamborghini

 

Luxury real estate marketing professionals can learn an outstanding lesson from Automobilli Lamborghini and the Auto Gallery of North Los Angeles. The founders of Auto Gallery, Harry Gray and Tony Schwartz have experimented with a novel way to market these fine cars by opening a showroom adjacent to Neiman Marcus in the Topanga shopping mall.  Their philosophy:  Make the car buying process fun and hassle free!

Watch this exciting LOL Video and see if you can come up with some ways to make the luxury home buying experience FUN!

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Luxury Real Estate Web Design: Delighting Web Visitors with Easy Search

For luxury real estate marketing professionals it is now essential to have a website that enables visitors to find what they are looking for IMMEDIATELY! Here is a case study VIDEO about our clients, Crown & Crowns in Downtown San Diego, who are known as the Downtown Crowns.

Downtown San Diego is comprised of 8 Districts with dozens of luxury high rise condominiums. Finding the right condo in the right district is made fast and easy on this the Crowns' website.

This video is best seen in FULL SCREEN mode.  Simply click on the > to start the video. Then, hover your cursor over the video and click on the monitor icon at the lower right corner of the screen.

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Luxury Real Estate Web Design: Off with Your Head!

How would you feel if you went shopping on Rodeo Drive, Madison Avenue or in any other upscale shopping area, and the owner of the store you approached was sitting in the window, waving at you and begging you to come into the store to shop? Does the song title, “Walk on By” seem appropriate as an answer?  As a luxury real estate marketing professionals, you must realize that your competitors’ website is just a click away.

This is the effect that luxury real estate websites have when the agent walks across the screen and starts pitching or even when a personal welcoming video starts playing automatically on their home page.  Yes, it is cool that this new technology exists.  But, the effect is not only tacky it annoys website visitors who are getting more and more internet savvy by the day.   The likelihood of repeat visits is very slim.

Now, take this a step further.  You walk into a luxury goods store where you just want to peruse the merchandise with no particular intent to buy.  You are in a “just looking” mode.  Get the idea that the manager of the store follows you around every step of the way peering over your shoulder.   How soon would you be inclined to make a return visit? 

This is what the effect of having your headshot on your home page now has on net savvy website visitors.  We say, (to quote the queen in Alice & Wonderland) "Off with your head--your headshot, that is!"

Web visitors now want to be left alone in a self-service venue.  If your website elegantly fills this need your chances of capturing the lead is significantly increased. 

You have a nanosecond to make a first impression with your head shot or video.  You want to make a lasting first impression.   What if all of the salespeople in our luxury store stood like statues with their arms crossed smiling at you?  Some photographer somewhere along the line came up with this pose, which is supposed to convey “professionalism” and it has been copied thousands of times by real estate agents all over the country.  What do crossed arms mean to you with or without a smile?

The bottom line here is this:

1. Take your headshots and personal welcoming videos off your Home page and put them on your “About” page. 
2. Nix the “walk-on” special effects.  Think of those in their pajamas in the wee hours of the night who do not want to be startled and just want to search for their next home.
3. Relax those crossed arms.  This body language does not communicate certainty. It indicates tension.

Remember:  "Off with Your Head!"

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Expand Your Sphere of Influence, Exponentially, by Blogging

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, one of the best ways to meet new people, develop more referral sources and expand your sphere of influence is to blog about exciting local happening.s  Think of yourself as a syndicated columnist, a journalist who covers a particular “beat” and reports on local events from a unique vantage point, with a distinct “voice”.

Social networking can put you in touch with like minded people from all corners of the globe.  But, there still is something special about meeting new people right in your home town with whom you can share common interests. If you are a lifelong learner blogging also gives you an opportunity to learn new things. 

A friend of ours in San Francisco introduced us to her hobby of bird watching in the Bay Area. She invited us to Hawk Hill, which is positioned on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  It arguably has the best view of San Francisco and the bridge from that vantage point.  We had expressed interest in birding while we were living in the Napa Valley wine country, as there were so many fascinating birds that hovered over our home there.

Hawk Hill is perhaps the best place to observe the raptor migration in the Western U.S.   You do not have to be an ornithologist to be a bird watcher.  Raptors in particular are extraordinary birds to watch.  They are at the top of the food chain and their health is an indicator of the condition of the entire chain.

What was most interesting to us was just how light weight they are.  To calm them down when they are captured for observation and tagged, they are placed in a tube made out of two connected tin cans.

Birding is just one way to meet new people, locally.  But, once you discover a new hobby or interest like birding, you can now count on the fact that there are plenty of birding groups on social networking sites where you can post your blog.

Follow your interests and you will meet many new friends.  Blog about things local and you will expand your sphere of influence exponentially.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Think Local When You Blog!

Fully Cusotmizable Vinyl Car Skins--No Paint!

 Lessons from Local Motors—Part 3—Think Local!

Luxury real estate marketing professionals often ask us what they should blog about.   And, we answer:  Think Local!  Look for stories of local heroes and find an angle that no one else is covering.  For example, if you specialize in eco-luxury, look for stories about companies and people who are making news on this front.  Local Motors is such a story.

In fact, the Local Motors story, in our opinion, holds the keys to the future of capitalism, enlightened capitalism. It offers us hope that economics, society and the environment can achieve a balancing act where everyone wins.  It also makes us proud to be Americans because the story is unfolding right here. 

In Part 2 of this series we mentioned that Local Motors offers the unique ownership experience of actually building your own car in a local “micro-factory”, in just two weekends, under the supervision of a Designated Builder Trainer.  When you assemble the parts you will find out, firsthand, the degree to which the actual components of the car are eco-friendly. Here are a few examples:

• The motor used in the Rally Fighter, Local Motors’ first model, is a BMW M57 clean diesel engine.  It offers a fun experience with very low fuel consumption, achieving 36mpg on the highway, or 30mpg in an off-road setting.   The motor relies on extremely high fuel-injection and combustion pressures to burn fuel more completely--dramatically reducing both soot and nitrogen-oxide emissions.
• The body of the car is made of a composite material that can actually be recycled. There is no corrosive steel used that winds up on a junk heap.  In fact, a separate composite material is used for the nose cone and the rear fender that is stronger than steel.
• This car has zero layers of paint! A vinyl car skin is used that can be fully customized by the customer. It lasts for years and is easy on the environment because the color ink is sprayed close to the surface and thus significantly reduces harmful chemicals in the air.

Ecology is much more than just the natural environment; it extends to the community that was built online to design the cars and to engage customers in the process.  As such Local Motors is also a stellar social media story.  By March 2009 there were 2,400 active contributors to the site, uploading drawings, commenting on each others' work, and voting on designs. Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, says that number has since climbed considerably. Social media channels on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter add millions more people to the Local Motors community.

There are so many wonderful stories right in your marketplace.  You just need to present your story in your own voice, which is what a personal brand is all about.  If you can show your followers that there are exciting and interesting stories right “in their own backyards” you will indeed become what we call “follow-worthy”, and people will spread the word about you.

 Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Preempt Your Competition

Lessons from Local Motors-- Part 2—Preempt Your Competition

In Part 1 of this story we focused on how Local Motors “crowd-sourced” the design of a vehicle for an underserved market niche.  Their first car, the Rally Fighter, is an off-road vehicle (desert terrain) that can double as a family car on the road.  In Part 2 we examine how Local Motors has captured the essence of how the very concept of luxury is evolving. It is becoming experiential not just material.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, can you state your unique promise of value in just a few words?  Local Motors can:  Make C.O.O.L. Cars!

Community: The world’s largest community of designers, engineers and enthusiasts come together    here to help design and develop cars

Open Source:  Open Source chassis data, open development process (collaboration with no secrets)

Ownership Experience:  From design to build to service and community experiences.

Local:  Cars are built, sold and serviced locally in Micro-Factories

Perhaps, the most unique aspect of Local Motors is the ownership experience. When you purchase your vehicle you are invited to work alongside the experts to build it.  Based on your skill level, a customized program is designed to give you hands on experience.  It takes only two weekends (6 days) to build your own car and you will have a Designated Builder Trainer to help you.  According to Local Motors, “When you come into one of the Local Motors micro-factories you will be sure to meet friends for life”. For car enthusiasts, this brand of ownership experience is true luxury!

By breaking new ground with this experiential ownership model any other car company will appear as a “copy cat”.  It is what we call a pre-emptive strategy that is virtually inimitable without becoming a “me-too” brand.  This is the sign of market leadership.

How can you break new ground in your luxury real estate market arena and preempt your competition?

 Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Find an Underserved Market Space

Rally Fighter at Low Ride & High Ride Height

Lessons from Local Motors- Part 1—Find an Underserved Market Space

We are often asked by luxury real estate marketing professionals, “What does it take to become the break-away brand in my marketplace?”  Our answer is:

Find an uncontested, underserved market space that you can dominate with passion, one that makes economic sense. Make sure you select something that you can do better than anyone else. 

For inspiration, look outside of real estate for examples of how other entrepreneurs are doing it.  There is an extremely exciting news story emerging in 2010 about a new American car company that is re-thinking just about every rule in the automotive industry by identifying and masterfully serving underserved market niches.

We are delighted to be covering this story in the Language of Luxury blog as we believe that this ground-breaking story will yield tremendous insights for luxury real estate marketing professionals who have set their sights on market leadership.  If you have any questions about the future of “Yankee Ingenuity”, which is at the heart of the brand we know as American, you can rest assured that it is alive and well at Local Motors!

When Jay Rogers returned from active duty as a Marine in Iraq in 2004, he came home with the brilliant idea of bringing cars to market in a sustainable manner.  That is, a way to produce and sell automobiles that is economically, environmentally and socially beneficial.  In Jay’s words:”the cars people want, where they want them, when they want them”. This is what his new car company, Local Motors, accomplishes.

After receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School and raising $4 million in seed money Jay did something that had never been done before in the car industry. Rather than dictating the design of the vehicles, he reached out to the design community and offered a cash reward for the best design. Local Motor’s first “crowd-sourced” vehicle was born: a rugged off-road vehicle that could also drive comfortably on the open road. 

The Rally Fighter was created based on the needs of an underserved market niche: the need for a vehicle that can easily traverse desert terrain and also double as a family car that comfortably handles the open road.  The winning design provides manually adjustable dual height suspension. It seats 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 children. The Rally Fighter goes into production this summer.  The cost is $50,000.

But, the best part of the story is that Local Motors plans to produce their cars only on demand at local “micro-factories” (that also serve as showrooms and service departments) where you, the buyer can watch and even participate in making your own car.  With “just in time” delivery of parts and components there is no wasted resources, no inventories languishing on car lots, and no unnecessary shipping. 

And, there is much more to this exciting story that we will cover in subsequent posts. But, it all started by identifying an uncontested, underserved market niche.   What aspect of your local luxury real estate marketplace is underserved?  That is the first place to look for your new niche.

 Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

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