Viewing entries in
Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Think Like a Journalist!

 

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals believe that the primary purpose of blogging is to increase their website traffic. It is true that a great blog can actually account for more traffic to your website than traffic generated when search engines, like Google, display your website/blogsite at the top of their search results pages (and users click through). However, more traffic is actually a by-product of your blog not the purpose.  The real purpose of your blog is to build an ever-expanding local, national and international sphere of influence, a stronger referral base, and an audience of raving fans who recognize you as an expert in your field.

When your blog is follow-worthy, buzz-worthy and comment-worthy you actually emerge as a journalist on par with those who write for major news publications and magazines.   As a journalist you become a reporter, a columnist, a commentator, an entertainer, and a correspondent.  Your opinion becomes sought after by traditional media.   The more you aim to achieve this level of professionalism as a blogger, the more your sphere of influence will grow. 

Just as e-book readers are changing the book industry, smart phones and tablet computers, like the iPad, are changing the magazine industry.  With digitization, the cost of printing and delivery/distribution (over the internet) is virtually zero. That is now freeing up resources that can be deployed to making each magazine edition truly interactive.  With videos,, 3-D  effects, links to archived editions and related stories, search, social interaction, polling, and more extensive photography, magazines can provide an vastly more satisfying user experience than a print issue.   

The new magazines will be available everywhere, on any device which can expand its circulation. And, readers will spend more time interacting with each edition, more time than a one hour TV show that may cost the same price, for example. Besides this rich user experience, readers can count on the fact that the magazine articles will be well researched and well edited which is a “value add” that most blogs cannot match.   Think of the depth of sports coverage in Sports Illustrated when this magazine is published on the iPad.

If you are currently blogging or are contemplating becoming a luxury real estate blogger, keep in mind that the competition for attention is going to get even fiercer as print magazines go digital and become truly interactive.  Now is the time to step up the level of professionalism on your blog. Start thinking like a journalist!

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Focus is the Name of the Game

 

 

Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO --Courtesy of Xerox

The imperative to re-invent yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional has never been greater.  The competition for attention on the internet now requires that you declare a highly focused , sharply defined “brand position”. To stand out from the crowd, you must stake a claim to an uncontested market niche and offer an extraordinary promise of value. Your claim to market leadership must be based on something that you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace. Now more than ever, focus is the  name of the game in luxury real estate marketing.

For decades Xerox was focused on one thing: plain-paper photocopying. Xerox was one of the first brand names to become a verb, just as the verb “to FedEx” has come to mean ship overnight. Although Xerox still “owns” the top-of-mind status in the prduct category of plain-paper copiers, the status has become less and less relevant in light of the transition of documents between the paper and digital worlds. This fundamental shift necessitated that Xerox completely reinvent itself and reposition the brand in the minds of its target market and substantial customer base.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Xerox worked to transform its product offering into a service. Xerox began providing a complete "document service" to companies including supply, maintenance, configuration, and user support. Customers became clients. To reinforce this image, the company introduced a corporate signature, "The Document Company" above its primary logo. However, at this time documents still meant ink on paper.

In 2008, Xerox changed its logo again to a red sphere and a white X with three grey stripes. The change is meant to shift the emphasis of the company’s focus from plain-paper document photocopying to digital document management and solutions. 

On July 1, 2009, another change occurred in Xerox. Ursula Burns became the first African American woman to head a company the size of Xerox.  Under Ms. Burn’s leadership, in February 2010, Xerox acquired Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. transforming Xerox into the world’s leader in business process and digital document management.

With this acquisition, Xerox now processes over one million credit card applications and twelve million student loans each year.  They also provide HR (human resources) services for more than 4.4 million employees and retirees annually.  Xerox’s extraordinary new promise of value is to “help our customers reach new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, giving them the freedom to focus on what matters most: their real business”.

From product oriented to service oriented, from paper documents to digital document management and  out-sourced business processes Xerox has undergone an astonishing metamorphisis, a total shift in focus.

What will be your new focus, your new claim, your new extraordinary promise of value? Focus is the name of the luxury real estate marketing game.

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Winning Formula of Passion & Competence

 

Mount Fuji, Japan

The difference between luxury real estate marketing professionals who are genuinely passionate about what they do and others who are not is palpable. It is your passion and competence that compels others to rave about you and refer business your way. But, competence alone is not enough. Emotions attract more business than logic. Tapping into the emotions of your target market and offering an extraordinary value proposition beyond competent service will give you the competitive edge.

In Japan, consumers of electronic gadgets have traditionally been persuaded to buy new products based more on extensive new features rather than the emotional benefits of ownership. Skeptics warned that Apple’s iPhone would not sell well in Japan because it lacked detailed technical features that would require hours of studying a thick instruction manual to master.

The skeptics were wrong about the simplistic user interface of the iPhone and also about the iPad, which was recently introduced to raving fans in Japan. Apple products have become a brand name accessory. They are considered a luxury on par with Louis Vuitton handbags which are extremely popular in Japan. Apple has found a way to tap into the deep seated emotional consumer needs of self-expression and the promise of gaining acceptance, approval and admiration from others. 

Showing off your new iPad, a product that has instant brand recognition, offers emotional currency to the consumer.  This effect can occur from twenty feet away simply by recognizing the Apple logo.  That is brand power! From twenty feet away you cannot tell if a competing gadget has the latest technical features inside.

Then, there is Apple's "coolness factor"-- an inimitable brand culture that has been developing over decades.  You do not just buy a product; you join a brand and you belong to a likeminded community. Have you ever walked into an Apple store? The brand culture, the passion and the camaraderie between customers and competent employees is obvious there.

The reason that Apple has such a superior competitive advantage is not because of features but, because of this emotional currency. Google, Samsung, HP and dozens of other companies are coming out with tablet computers in the near future.  But, they will all be competing based on features alone, not on emotions, a realm that Apple dominates. 

Dell is coming out with a tablet that has a 5 inch screen (double the size of a smart phone screen). The logic is that is can still fit into your pocket like a smart phone.  They will be given away free with a wireless subscription because Dell will subsidize the cost of the device in a revenue sharing model. 

When you compete on the basis of features alone, you become a commodity because features can easily be copied.  The only territory left, when all competitors have the same features, is price. We saw this phenomenon with discount real estate brokerage firms.

Tap into your passion, as a luxury real estate marketing professional.  Claim an contested market niche that you can dominate. Serve this niche better than anyone else in your marketplace. Then, you will find the winning formula of passion and competence.

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Become an "Investigative Reporter"

 

Have you heard the term “investigative reporting”?  That is one of the great roles of a journalist and should be one of the roles you assume as a luxury real estate marketing professional when you decide to blog.  There are so many fascinating local stories to cover if you just look for them.  Find one that you can be passionate about and tell the story from your own unique voice. Your personal slant on the facts is what makes your “column” worth following.

One of the stories that we find most interesting, from a strategic branding standpoint, is the new competition between Google and Apple especially in the realm of smart phones and other mobile devices such as tablet computers (iPads).  What is at stake?  There are billions of dollars in advertising revenue at stake on mobile devices, plus applications, media subscriptions, e-books, video and more. The drama that is now unfolding, on the world stage, between these big brands sheds light on the dynamics between rival agents seeking market leadership in any luxury real estate marketplace.

Apple has just surpassed Microsoft in valuation; a feat that Steve Jobs describes as “surreal”.  Can you remember when Microsoft surpassed General Motors in valuation?

Mr. Jobs is a charismatic leader with tremendous vision.  He is bold in his move to dismiss Adobe Flash as a technology whose days are numbered.  Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad only support HTML-5 a new video technology that Jobs considers to be superior to Flash.  He is not afraid of controversy, Many of his critics, including Google, say that he has made a serious error in judgment, that he is not “open and inclusive” regarding these two major video platforms (Google supports both Flash and HTML-5).  They say the consumers will be the ultimate judge.  

Mr. Jobs agrees with his critics on this point.  One iPad is now selling every three seconds! 

In our next segment on Apple vs. Google we will cover the impact that this device is having in Japan where the iPad is emerging as a luxury brand on par with Louis Vuitton.

Find a story that you can sink your teeth into and extract meaning, your interpretation of the facts,  for your readers.  That is the role of “investigative reporting”.  Locally, this practice allows you to meet many people who are likely to become loyal referral sources.

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Be Complacent at Your Own Risk!

 

 

Courtesy of Google and Apple

Complacency is a trap that many luxury real estate marketing professionals fall into when they attain market leadership.  This offers an excellent opportunity for competitors to pick up the slack and surpass the current market leader, especially if they have a superior grasp of technology. Staying on top of the latest technology and becoming a master of social media is now an imperative if you wish to sustain your market leadership.position. Otherwise, an unlikely competitor can suddenly challenge your domain.

Here is an example of how Google is challenging Apple, the current market leader in smart phones (iPhone) and tablet commuters (iPad).

On August 3, 2009 Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors because Google entered some of Apples core businesses.  With Android (Google’s smart phone platform) and Chrome (Google’s browser-based Operating System) Apple faces direct competition for the iPhone, the iPad, and even Apple TV. 

Google TV claims to finally integrate TV and the web, so you can spend less time searching for content and more time watching it.  Google TV will work with your current paid TV subscription as well as the majority of video content online, making it easy and seamless to switch between the two.

What is behind all of these moves by Google? In a word, it is Ads!  Yes, Google is a technology company, but its economic driver is advertising revenue. People watch an average of five hours of TV per day.   TV ads amount to $70 billion per year.  There are over 4 billion TV users worldwide vs. 1 billion PC owners.

That is why Google wants to reach beyond your desktop and laptop. It wants to dominate the delivery of ads on all of your devices while you are on the go, and also while you are in your living room. In fact, you soon will be able to sync up all of your devices that operate on Android/Chrome as well as your computers, because Chrome operates over the web not in the hard drive of your computer.

If Google’s wish could come true, all device manufacturers (other than Apple) would use Android/Chrome as their platform so it can serve up more ads.  They also profit share with all of the developers who create mobile and TV Apps (software applications) that consumers can purchase at their store.

Apple has a head start with the most number of Apps available for the iPhone and iPad. But, Android is gaining momentum.  Google supports both Adobe Flash (the most widely used video format) and HTML-5. Apple only supports HTML-5.

Schmidt is positioning Google as being “open and all inclusive” vs. dictatorial and closed, like Apple. Steve Jobs has consistently positioned Apple as a leader in sophisticated design and innovation, a cut above the rest. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Apple be able to sustain its market leadership position in smart phones and tablet computers? Time will tell. But, you can count on the fact that Apple is not being complacent.

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: To Gift or Not to Gift?

 

To gift or not to gift?  That is the question. Many agents who are involved in the business of luxury real estate marketing feel the need to give closing gifts to their clients. If you are going to do this, give a gift that tells a story so they remember you long after receiving the gift.  That way they will tell the story to their friends and promote you in the process.

One of the great gift giving stories took place in Russia when Tsar Alexander lll gave his wife an object d'art in the form of a bejeweled egg crafted by Peter Carl Fabergé, a goldsmith appointed as the designated jeweler to the Imperial Crown.  His wife was so delighted with the gift that it became a tradition on each anniversary of their marriage to give a "Fabergé Egg" to his wife. He gave the master craftsman free reign in the creation of the gifts, which became an ongoing commission, but with the stipulation that the egg must contain a surprise inside.

Most of the eggs were made of precious metals and decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé egg" has become closely associated with luxury. Many are considered to be masterpieces and have sold in auction for millions of dollars. 

Some luxury real estate marketing professionals believe that their clients should give them gifts for delivering invaluable service. Either way be sure to gift yourself when you close a transaction!

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power of Strategy

 

As a luxury marketing professional it is important to develop a strategy to achieve your goals. A strategy is not a tactic. Tactics are means of achieving immediate goals. A strategy is a long term plan of action.To strategize is to make a deliberate choice of direction which will affect the outcome of your goals. And, that is the power of strategy.

In order to develop a successful strategy it helps to discover those aspects of your business about which you are most passionate. Passion fuels your enthusiasm and sustains your determination. It enables you to stick with your strategy, to hold your vision, even when things do not appear to be working. and also to trust the process of manifesting your vision. 

Developing a great strategy is the result of defining, aligning and refining your personal brand and your position in the marketplace.  When your strategy is based on what other people think you should do instead of following your own passion, it is likely to fail. 

One of our friends, a successful realtor, loved historical homes. She began remodeling several of them, and became an expert in selling them. She knew, through her own experience, what it took to restore these historical homes. She also had a list of vetted craftspeople who could help her buyers and sellers in the restoration process, which made her a communication hub for specialized  information. Staying top-of-mind, yielded an abundance of referrals and her highly focused practice thrived.

Her passion led her to join an historical society. Her enthusiasm and participation in the organization created lifetime friendships and more referrals. This was a strategy based purely on passion which never waned; although retired now, she still works with the group.

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 3

 

Part 3:  Get In Touch!

Touch screens on computers have been in development for years.  But, they did not reach a critical mass in terms of consumer use until the iPhone, and recently, the iPad was introduced by Apple. Soon touch screens will become ubiquitous on many types of devices. At Napa Consultants, International we anticipated this trend and have been designing our clients' web sites to be "touch-friendly" for luxury real estate marketing.

For example, one tap of the photo icon of a neighborhood can produce instant mapped search results for all available high rise condos in that neighborhood  One tap on the map and you can see details of a particular building, plus, those units within the building that are available for sale.  This is the kind of instant gratification that users are now expecting.

Riding the touch screen wave of change can give you an immediate competitive advantage as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Get in touch!

Check out this video to see where the revolutionary touch screen wave of change is heading . You will be amazed!

 

- WATCH MORE VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 2

 

Part 2: Capitalize On Your "Unfair"Competitive Advantages

 The stunning sales velocity that Apple has achieved with the iPad (1 Million iPads in just 28 days) is truly inspiring. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, when you study and stay focused on these kinds of results you will attract more of what you want for yourself.

In part one of this series we looked at how Apple spotted two trends and rode these waves to propel sales of the iPad. Those trends are the popularity of netbooks and e-books.  Here in Part 2, we look at a question that Steve Jobs must have asked himself to stage such a stupendous encore to the iPhone:  What else can Apple do better than anyone else in the world?  If market leadership is your quest, this is a question that you need to ask yourself as well; just rephrase the question to, “What can I (or my company) do better than anyone else in my marketplace?  What are your “unfair” competitive advantages?

Apparently, Jobs had been asking himself these questions about the tablet computer for some time.  He must have determined that Apple’s “unfair” competitive advantages included:

  1. The feedback received by consumers (of all ages) who rave about the simplicity of user interface experience with other Apple products including the touch screen of the iPhone and iPod Touch
  2. The world’s largest selection of Apps (applications) from other Apple products
  3. The iTunes Store with established accounts of millions of customers already in place, which would make it easy for iPad owners to buy more products and services from Apple.

Prior to the launch iPad, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble had an unfair competitive advantage in the e-book space (as categories or niches are referred to in marketing terms) over other e-book readers. That is their vast databases of customers with established customer accounts, plus established relationships with publishers.  But, Apple, who was an unlikely competitor, ALSO has established iTunes accounts with a significant number of Amazon and Barnes and Noble customers.  And, for about $150 more someone who is considering buying a Kindle or Nook can get a very powerful computer.  Needless to say the other e-book readers’ chances of achieving market leadership are “slim-to-none”.

The real shocker that turned the tables and made the iPad a game changer was the low price.  Apple’s purchase of the chip maker that runs the iPad also became an “unfair” competitive advantage.

Capitalize on what you can do better than anyone else in your luxury real estate marketplace.  Leverage your “unfair” competitive advantage!

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 1

 

Part 1: Capitalize on Trends

Apple announced that it sold one million iPads in just 28 days.  That is less than one half the time it took to sell 1million iPhones which took 74 days.  Over 300,000 iPads were sold in one weekend upon the release of their 3G model (anytime internet access wherever there is 3G coverage vs. the less expensive model that accesses the web in Wi-Fi hotspots only).  This phenomenon has very important implications for luxury real estate marketing professionals that we will cover in a three-part blog series.

The speed at which these devices have sold staggers the imagination considering the fact that, prior to 2010, very few consumers were even aware of the category of tablet computers.  However, when you assume a broader perspective, an aerial view if you will, there is a logical explanation that helps to make sense of this sales velocity. 

Apple astutely spotted and capitalized on two significant consumer trends:

  1. The rapid sales of netbooks (small, inexpensive laptops).
  2. The growing popularity of e-book readers (e.g., Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Nobles’ Nook).

The iPad was positioned, in the mind of consumer, as a superior alternative to both of these devices, at a cost that was less than the two other devices combined.

When you anticipate trends and position yourself in the path of progress it is like catching and surfing a wave.  By harnessing the power of trends you leverage energy that is bigger than just your own effort and your success rate dramatically improves.

We often recommend to clients “to go fishing where the fish are biting”.  If sales are slow in one price range or one geographic area, concentrate where the movement is happening. It is of vital importance to watch for, tune into and anticipate luxury real estate sales trends in your marketplace.  

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Create Your Own Niche

 

As a luxury real estate marketing expert, if you want to be best in class in your market place you must define your class or your niche. Here is an example of niche marketing. If the niche does not exist, you need to create it.

Originally, wine bars were  counters that served wine by their generic names, Beaujolais, Sancerre, and other ordinary wines. They did not bother naming the producers or the vintage years, and they served modest appetizers with the wines. The next evolution was L’Ecluse which took the concept to a higher level. They served good Bordeaux with foie gras, carpaccio and other delicacies.

In 1988, an Englishman, Mark Williamson expanded on the idea. After an extensive education in wines, he decided to open his own version Willi’s Wine Bar. His plan was to serve Rhone wines at his wine bar. One of his friends remarked that you can’t serve Rhone wines without food. He opened Willi’s Wine Bar and served food. Mark Williamson remarks, “There was nothing like Willi’s when we opened, we took the idea of a traditional bistro and put a wine list into it. The old days when you got by with a few cold cuts are over; a wine bar is mostly a restaurant where you serve wine by the glass.” Willi’s success started a trend. Everyone started calling their new places wine bars. Someone asked Mark whether Willi’s is a really a restaurant. His answer to this was, “I started the place, I called it a wine bar, I defined the genre. Who is anybody else to say, it’s not?”

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power & Luxury of Laughter

 

Having a sense of humor and being able to laugh easily is a must for a luxury real estate marketing professional.  Given the nature of the business which often involves a life changing decision and the myriad of emotions that accompany this decision it is important to sometimes bring relief to a tense situation by introducing a lighter side.  The importance of laughter cannot be underestimated.

When something is both rare and desirable it becomes a luxury.  Laughter is a luxury regardless of economic conditions. Being joyful is the state of abundance. That is why we love the idea of emphasizing LOL (a.k.a. laugh out loud) as the abbreviated version of the Language of Luxury.

“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” ~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D. 

Laughter also creates bonds in teams.  Teams who share a familiar joke (“you had to be there, to appreciate how funny it was!”) perform better in stressful situations.  Emotional laughter releases beneficial hormones which help you maintain a positive attitude.

“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Mark Twain

As grownups, we tend to be serious, and even those who feel they have a great sense of humor are not laughing enough.  A recent study revealed a startling fact.  Children up to pre-school age laugh about 300 times a day.  Adults on the average laugh about 15 times a day. 

An Indian physician from Mumbai, Dr. Madan Kataria launched Laughter Yoga as an exercise routine,(combining Yoga breath, Pranayama and laughter) because of its benefits both physiological and psychological.  Since its launch in 1995, the Laughter Club has grown to 6000 chapters in 65countries.

World laughter day is May 2, achieving peace through laughter.  We wish you a week full of laughter!

- WATCH VIDEOS -

 Bu zz-Worthy Luxury Website Design 

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

- JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY -

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain

 Broker Agent Social, Proxio, Real Town, & Bigger Pockets

Follow Us on Twitter: LuxuryMarketing

Luxury Real Estate Marketing at It's Best: The Alignment of Purpose

 

 

One of the very best luxury real estate marketing secrets is aligning the purpose of your practice with your clients and  also your community. Here is an example of how a major luxury department store  applied this principle of alignment of purpose  in the global community.

Prior to Mother’s Day awhile back, Saks Fifth Avenue came up with a new Mother’s day gift and a great marketing strategy. They joined www.charitywater.org , a non-profit organization that helps bring water, clean water, to the Third World  And, they engaged customers to participate in the program in an exciting way.

1.1 billion people on the planet do not have access to safe, clean drinking water. That is one in six of us. Charity Water can give 100% of its donations because big corporations and generous individuals underwrite their expenses. Every dollar raised goes directly to digging wells and purifying water.

Saks understands its clientele. They know that the majority of mothers who are Saks shoppers do not really need a major gift from their family members on Mother’s day. So, they came up with the concept of giving the gift of water. It is inexpensive, and it is innovative. $5.00 gives someone safe drinking water for 5 years! The gift was a black rubber band style bracelet with Charity Water printed on it. For $20.00, you could send an email, in your mother’s name and she could pick the country the water went to for 20 years. For additional dollars you could provide a well, and so on.

This was an elegant strategy. Mothers in the Third World are the ones who walk miles to get the water. Mothers in America were helping mothers on the other side of the planet. The beauty of this strategy is that it exposed people to a worthwhile cause and gave the gift of water, a gift of luxury. It also illustrates that luxury can be defined in many ways given the circumstances of one's life. The idea of making it affordable for anyone to give the luxury of water was ingenius!  Thinking strategically, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, can make you feel great, help others and also generate business. When these components all align, that is as good as luxury gets!

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: How Do You Stay In Touch?

Are you staying in touch with your clients after the sale? Staying in touch does not mean boring them with articles about recent real estate related court cases, the real estate market report for their area, the current loans rates,  or telling them to change the batteries in their smoke alarms. Boring, canned, impersonal e-newsletters just do not cut it anymore with web-savvy clients and friends.

Your communications must be about the things that people value. Moreover, they must be about the things that a particular person values.  For instance, if your latest sale was to a golf afficionado,  have your assistant cull news items relating to golf.  It can be done easily by using Google and subscribing to "golf alert".  Periodically, these can be sent to your golfing friends, with a personal message from you.  Next time they are asked for an agent by their friends, guess who they will refer to?  

 

Consistent, personalized one-on-one communication is an art form that most time-starved luxury real estate marketing professionals have neglected. Yet, if you could quantify the results of personal communication in terms of referrals and listings you would think twice about doing it more often.


What are some of the methods that you use to stay in touch?

 

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Tapping Into Your Passion

 

Authenticity in your personal brand is essential when targeting high net worth clients in the realm of luxury real estate marketing.  Pretense will not get you very far in the long run. For example, if you are representing that you are an eco-luxury expert, but you are not really passionate about all things “green”, people will eventually see right through you.  However, if you are truly passionate about environmental stewardship, your passion will be palpable and your enthusiasm will be contagious to those who are also on your wavelength. Your passion is your natural resource and your greatest asset if you are willing to tap it.

The alignment of your wavelength with the wavelength of your ideal clients takes all of the effort out of marketing because you do not need salesmanship to convince them that you are a match. Precisely communicating your unique, authentic personal brand signal with laser-like clarity to a like-minded audience is the surest way to attract new business, to spontaneously spark word-of-mouth advertising, and also to generate unlimited referrals.  

By far, the best channel, system, vehicle or medium of communication to reach other people like you who will like you because you are like them, is through your blog.  To be a market leader today, you must gain visibility, you must be seen where your target market shows up, which now is on the internet.  It may take some getting used to, but the surest way to achieve top-of-mind status in your marketplace right now is to fully embrace this communication medium.

Here are the three biggest challenges of developing your personal brand as a blogger:

Challenge #1:

The first challenge of creating your personal brand is to identify an uncontested market niche that you can passionately dominant as an expert blogger.  The fierce competition for attention on the internet now makes it an imperative to create a personal brand as a blogger, one that enables you to instantly stand out from your competition. 

Challenge #2:

The second challenge of personal branding is crafting your marketing message. Your message (expressed through graphics, text, photos and video) must concisely convey your unique, authentic personality and your extraordinary promise of value. Your message must be delivered precisely and swiftly. That is the true measurement of an effective personal brand.

Challenge #3:

The third challenge of personal branding is consistency.   You must blog consistently to maintain visibility and sustain top of mind status.  You must consistently stay on your brand signal and maintain your authenticity.

To triumph over these challenges you must be passionate about your subject.  Otherwise, you will lose interest and bore your audience, who will simply unsubscribe.  That is why leveraging your passion, your greatest asset, is so important to your success today, as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

 

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Become The Game Changer!

 

Courtesy of Apple

Do people need an iPad? No. Is iPad a must have? Yes! Therefore, iPad is a luxury.  What makes iPad a luxury is the user experience. It’s tactically interactive. It is eye candy. It is, above all, simple and fun, with endless possibilities of entertainment via the Apps Store. Apple has raised the bar of EXPECTATION in user experience and has thus changed the game.

If you want to gain the competitive edge as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you must become the game changer. Your own website must create an extraordinary user experience and you must provide a superior promise of value as a professional that is newsworthy.

Two days after iPad launched, we had lunch in downtown Santa Barbara across the street from the Apple Store.  People were swarming in and we decided to see what the buzz was all about, up close. Dozens of potential customers were gathered around several large tables testing iPads.  One freed up and we swooped in to play with it.  The experience was joyous; it was easy and very intuitive to use.  For fun, we checked out how our website looked on the screen. It looked great. We turned the iPad sideways (landscape vs. portrait), we made the pictures bigger with gestures. We navigated through pages with a tap of the screen, enlarged images and giggled like kids.  It was an awesome experience for us iPhone hold outs.

On the cover of Newsweek magazine a question was posed:  What is so great about the iPad? The answer was: Everything! Whether or not you agree with its merits, the iPad is a game changer for the competition.  On the back cover was an ad for Amazon’s best selling product, their ebook reader, the Kindle.  Fueled by the hurricane of publicity that Apple commanded (which is a story unto itself) leading up to the iPad launch, 300,000 units sold in one weekend.  This has put Amazon, the market leader in the ebook product category, on notice. They very well may have to settle for the back seat in this market space. The Nook, Barnes and Noble’s “me-too” ebook reader may never recover from a distant 3rd place.  Other ebook readers are no longer on the radar screen.

If gaining market leadership is your aim, the power and speed of publicity via social media can completely disrupt the competitive playing field and give you the competitive edge “overnight”.  That is, if you have identified an uncontested market niche that you can dominate like Apple, create a new category of service, and thus, create a truly newsworthy story. 

WATCH VIDEOS:

"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: LuxuryMarketing

Click SHARE ARTICLE Below

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: What Is Your Slant As a Blogger?

 

The primary purpose of blogging, as a luxury real estate marketing strategy, is to amass an audience of people with whom you can develop a relationship of trust and a reputation as an expert advisor in a particular niche.  The ultimate goal as a blogger is to provide extraordinary value to a sizable base of raving fans.   But, to accomplish this successfully you must have a distinct slant, an angle, a particular leaning.

Where most luxury real estate marketing professionals run into trouble as bloggers is that they start blogging before they have first discovered or identified their natural talent, their passion, their bent, their preferences, their inclinations, their distinct opinions , their original point of view,  i.e., their authentic unique voice.    Just reporting the facts about their local market conditions or the real estate statistics that are available to every other agent will not accomplish the primary purpose of blogging.

Facts are facts. How you interpret them is what makes you stand out.  Here is an example of some facts that may be of interest to you.

  • According to NAR’s member profile, 60% of Realtors have a web site aged an average of 5 years. 
  • 17% of Realtors regularly use blogs. 

These are accurate facts based on surveys conducted by a trusted source.  Reporting this to luxury real estate marketing professionals is part of our role as a professional journalist.   Getting these facts and conveying them to you accurately is very important. However, this is not original content.  

What do these facts mean to YOU in particular?  That is the question.   Here is our interpretation:

  • If 60% of Realtors have web sites that are virtually obsolete, investing in building a distinctive new website can give you the opportunity to demonstrate your superior marketing savvy and thus, run circles around your competition!
  • If only 17% of Realtors blog, the field is wide open for a luxury real estate marketing professional like you to discover an uncontested market niche and dominate it, right now!
  • There is a fierce competition for attention to build an audience, today.  But, blogging with an  inimitable slant can be your ticket to success.  Whoever builds the most high trust relationships in a sharply focused niche, wins!

Getting accurate facts and interpreting them in a way that answers your target market’s most pressing questions, is what builds trust with your audience.  Insightful interpretation of facts, consistently expressed in your unique voice, can build a sizable audience of raving fans, if you are up to the challenge.

WATCH VIDEOS:

"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: LuxuryMarketing

Click SHARE ARTICLE Below

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Begin the Cycle of Networking by Giving

 

If you are like most luxury real estate marketing professionals you are probably tired of hearing the hype about online social and professional networking and are looking for the ROI, already. However, if you are not adept at the fundamentals of networking in the first place, all of the new tools will not help your cause. You most likely will get frustrated and miss the true value of the tools.

Social and professional networking has been around as long as human beings have transacted business together.  Networking is at the heart of building a business based on referrals. The new tools of networking can simply speed up the process and exponentially open up new possibilities of connecting with potential referral sources even beyond your immediate marketplace.

To clearly differentiate the importance of networking skills from the new tools, we strongly recommend that you read some books on the art of networking that were written BEFORE online social networking existed. Brush up on your fundamentals then take a fresh look at the online tools. Once you fully understand the fundamentals, the tools will seem almost magical.  Serendipitous moments will start to become the norm, but no less astonishing.

Begin the Cycle of Networking by Giving

Here is an example of the kind of coincidence that can happen when a key networking principle is applied very well. That principle is to begin the cycle of networking by giving.  We were trying to find out the name of a specific group on Linked In that we were unable to find. We posted our question on the “Answers” section of the site.  Several people answered, but no one had the right one. Two weeks after the question was automatically closed, we were approached by someone who happened to see the question and indeed had the right answer.  This gentleman owns a professional video editing school in Hollywood. I called him and, after a bit of brainstorming, we discovered that we can also do some video business together.

Reciprocity is a natural phenomenon that results when someone begins the networking cycle by giving.  It is a good practice to explore ways that you can reciprocate when you are given to first.

WATCH VIDEOS:

"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: LuxuryMarketing

Click SHARE ARTICLE Below

Syndicate Your Original Content, Like You Syndicate Your Listings Part 3

Blogger’s Misconception #3“If You Build It, They Will Come”

(From the novel Shoeless Joe and the movie Field of Dreams, in reference to a baseball field that would automatically  attract fans, once built)

You understand the concept of syndicating your listings.  On major brand touts that they syndicate their listings on over 250 websites in addition to displaying them on their own company website.  The idea is to get your listings maximum exposure by displaying them in the countless places where buyers begin their property searches. With links back to the company website (or to your own website) plus your phone number, hopefully, the buyer will find you and contact you.

Here goes misconception #3!  You cannot expect a large audience to find you just by blogging on your own website. You can build it there and nowhere else, but relatively few will come! If vastly expanding your sphere of influence is your goal in blogging, you need to syndicate YOU!

A very important blogging principle is to become a syndicated columnist and a guest blogger on other websites. Your column should appear in as many places as possible to reach the largest audience.  You need to syndicate your blog like you syndicate your listings.

There are blog directories where you can register your blog and be found.  But, the best way to amass a large audience is to set up “outposts”, where you can post the same articles that appear on your primary website or blog site, with links back to your site. You need to be seen where your target audience is most likely to show up.  And, you need to make it easy for them to find you there.

We hope this clears up some of the misconceptions and white noise about blogging.  Create original content; passion is the key. Syndicate your content like you syndicate your listings and you will expand your sphere of influence exponentially.

WATCH VIDEOS:

"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: LuxuryMarketing

Click SHARE ARTICLE Below

It Takes Passion to Be a Consistent Blogger: Part 2

Passion Flower

MISCONCEPTION #2: I CAN COMPETE WITH PASSIONLESS AND SELF PROMOTING POSTS

As luxury real estate marketing professional who blogs, it is your passion about your subject that engages and uplifts your audience.   When you are truly passionate about your subject YOU are an original because no one else possesses your particular viewpoint on your subject.  That is why finding your own “voice” is the first step in becoming a blogger. You must first identify what you are most passionate about and eager to write about.

Do not blog until you discover your passion!  Otherwise, you are just adding to the white noise that is comprised of boring blogs.

It takes passion to consistently tap your resources for new material.  It takes passion to be persistent in producing posts on a regular basis.  If your content is uninspired or purely self-promoting your results will not inspire you, let alone your audience.  And, like many luxury real estate marketing professionals, you will soon abandon your blog.

It is the “subscribe” button and the “share” button on blogs that makes the blog such an amazing marketing tool. These features make it easy for your audience to follow you, to participate in your journalistic journey and also tell their friends about you, which can lead to increased business.  

Subscriptions build your audience. Think of subscribing to a magazine. Your subscribers are telling you that they like your brand of content. That is why it is so important for you to have a consistent authentic voice.

Building an audience is what makes your blog a media. There is fierce competition for attention out there. Your audience expects a certain brand, your brand of content, each and every time you publish a post.  By staying consistent on your brand signal when you blog,  and delivering on your unique promise of value, each and every time, your blog  can help you achieve top of mind within your marketplace, especially if it is focused on a particular niche. 

WATCH VIDEOS:

"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

Personal Branding Case Studies and Company Branding Case Studies

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: LuxuryMarketing

Click SHARE ARTICLE Below