Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: Know Your Personal Brand Values

iPhone's Touch ScreenOne way to help clarify your personal brand values as a luxury real estate marketing professional is to clearly define your own preferences as a consumer. Here is an example of how you can put this into practice.

Have you noticed lately how many companies are gunning for Apple’s iPhone to compete for the coveted smart phone market? The iPhone with its elegant touch screen is way cool. But, is it for everyone?

Just in case you do not already know, a smart phone sends and receives email, text messages and instant messages. It has a web browser and can do many things your desk top computer can do via various “applications”. Some applications are for business and others just for fun. For example, you can store photos, take photos, listen to music and watch videos. It knows where you are via a GPS system, so it can show you how to get from where you are to where you want to go as if you are using a similar system in your car.

I found it difficult to type messages on a flat surface and that was my biggest issue with the iPhone. I often typed a key that was next to the one I wanted, e.g., an N instead of an M. Being able to type a quick email response while on the go is my personal priority in terms of functionality. So, I looked for a smart phone with a great keyboard.

Blackberry BoldI discovered the top of the line Blackberry Bold that has a smaller screen than the iPhone but equally vivid. It is non-touch screen, but it has many of the same type of toys as the iPhone. Plus, it has a keyboard with contoured keys that clicks like the driver’s door when it closes on a fine Mercedes Benz. Now, that got my attention!

Take the time to think through your own buying decisions. What attracts you to certain products and not others? That will help you define your personal brand values.

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: Client Acquisition

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, can you quickly, clearly and succinctly state how your personal brand is different from your closest competitor's brand of doing business? The faster you can communicate this in words, in graphics, in video, in other media and also in the way you do business, the faster your potential new clients will know you are the one with whom they want to do business.

Confusing messaging slows down the client acquisition process. The clarity of your brand message speeds up sales. Get your message right if you want to increase the rapidity of client acquisition.

Apple Computers really gets it. Have you ever seen one of their Mac vs. PC TV commercials? Each commercial has one goal in mind: to get PC users to switch to Mac. The primary differentiator is Cool (Mac) vs. Stodgy (PC). Check out the video and see for yourself. Can you state how your personal brand is different in just one word?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Thinking Outside the Jewelry Box

As luxury real estate marketing professional it is important not to underestimate the extent to which high net worth consumers enjoy shopping and searching online. Think of ways to surprise and delight these consumers on your website and you will win more clients. Here is an example of how a fine jewelry firm “thinks outside the jewelry box” when courting big spenders.

Luxury goods have been reluctant to join e-commerce, because Internet shopping has been associated with bargain hunters and discount goods. The high end goods market has been cautious in exhibiting their valuables online, feeling that no one would buy a very expensive piece of jewelry without physically seeing it. Here is an example of someone who challenged this assumption.

In September of 2007, the House of Boucheron, a worldwide leader in the High jewelry market, unveiled their European e-commerce site. Unlike other jewelry stores that have some of their products on sale online, they decided to differentiate themselves by displaying their entire collection of jewelry online. Every item in the store is online.

Their forward looking CEO, Jean Christophe Bedos, understood that high net worth consumers are, indeed, willing to spend online. He also realized that, for these shoppers, time is luxury and they can shop online 24/7. The success experienced in the first year, led them to launch their US site in September of 2008. Another differentiator is that you can custom design a jewelry piece such as a ring online by clicking and dragging different stones into the ring setting. That way you can immediately see if the result is pleasing.

Their online clientele did buy the high end pieces while the traffic in their retail stores increased. Often, clients would come in with their computer printouts of an item they wanted to see or try on. Some of them bought them in the store, while others chose to return home and purchase it online.

Here is what Mr. Bedos feels he has learned from this online venture. He feels that you cannot be prejudiced towards a consumer’s behavior, and that the internet shatters prejudices. When marketing is approached by segmenting a clientele (by income level in this case), it breaks down because he feels, each individual is a marketing entity.

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: Out-think! Don’t Out-Spend Your Competition

The current housing market represents an unprecedented opportunity for luxury real estate marketing professionals who are interested in catching their competition off-guard and capturing market share. But, the key is to out-think your competition not to out-spend it. By out-think we mean you must stand out from your competition in the minds of your target market. You must be distinct. In fact, our motto is “stand out or bow out”!

A powerful lesson in the parcel delivery service industry can be learned about the pitfalls of out-spending and not standing out from the crowd. After investing and losing 10 billion dollars in the U.S. over the past five years in the domestic express-delivery industry German owned DHL is bowing out of this market segment. DHL is the number one international logistics and express service provider in the world. But they could not successfully break into the US market that is dominated by UPS, Fed-Ex with United States Postal Service as a distance third.

MARKET SHARE
U.S. market share for express mail and ground parcels, for the third quarter 2008

• UPS: 52 %
• FedEx: 31.5%
• U.S. Postal Service: 11.7 %
• DHL: 4.8 %

Source: SJ Consulting Group

Historically UPS was known primarily for its domestic ground-based delivery services and faced competition primarily from the United States Postal Service in this category. Then, in 1998 FedEx expanded into the ground parcel delivery market by acquiring Roadway Package System and rebranding it as FedEx Ground in 2000.

FedEx was founded in 1971 when they introduced express-delivery service. Over a decade later UPS began offering Next-Day and 2^nd Day Air Service. With virtually identical services and identical pricing how does the customer choose between UPS, FedEx and USPS? What was DHL thinking by adding yet another identical service at the same price?

Jack Welch, of General Electric had a philosophy about entering a new business category. Basically, he felt that if GE could not be #1 or #2 in the category he would not even bother.

What category of your real estate market can you own such as Waterfront properties, Equestrian estates, or downtown condos? What can you do better than anyone else? In what category can you stand out as a market leader?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Branding: Emotional Branding

Forming a strong emotional connection with your target market is a sure way to increase your market share as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Southwest Airlines really gets this notion of forming emotional connections with its customers. They even send birthday cards to loyal customers.

If FedEx wants to gain a major competitive advantage over UPS in the parcel delivery service industry, it will need to identify a new category to own in the minds of its existing and target customers. With identical services and prices one of the companies will need to make a stronger emotional connection with decision makers in the companies they serve in order to win and retain customers. It all comes down to this question about the brand’s relationship to its customer: Which company feels the best to work with?

The US Postal Service, a distant 3^rd (in market share) behind #1 UPS and #2 FedEx, is definitely on the right track as far as emotional branding is concerned. It has positioned itself as distinct from UPS and FedEX by claiming “greener delivery” on parcels. The assumption is that letter carriers already deliver to US addresses every day of the week (except Sunday). Therefore, they offer the industry’s lowest fuel consumption per delivery. This has given eco-conscious consumers a compelling reason to choose the post office over the other two carriers.

UPS did the green thing in 2005 by recalculating its routes to reduce left turns which cause drivers to waste fuel while standing idle in intersections. Although, it eliminated 464,000 miles from its travel and saved 51,000 gallons of fuel within Washington D.C. alone, due to more efficient routing, it cannot compete with the post office as the most green parcel carrier.

How can you make a stronger emotional connection with your clients and become the breakaway emotional brand in your marketplace?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

What’s In a Brand Name

One of the ultimate coups in branding is creating a name that helps you stand out from the crowd and sticks in people’s heads. For example Mr. Waterfront is the number one volume agent in Annapolis specializes in, guess what niche market in Maryland? The Downtown Crowns are a mother-daughter team (Sharyn and Victoria Crown) who specialize in luxury condos in downtown San Diego.

Check out www.DowntownCrowns.com.

Federal Express (now FedEx) invented the “overnight delivery” business category. In fact, the brand name itself has become a verb. To FedEx a parcel means to overnight it. To Google is now a verb meaning to perform an internet search. To Xerox something is to copy it. Kleenex is a noun that means facial tissue.

Is there a brand name that can make you stand out and be easily remembered?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: It Is a Wonderful World

In the spirit of Thanksgiving Week, we are focusing on the best life has to offer, and there is plenty of that if you are willing to shift your focus from all that is wrong to everything that is right. In fact we believe that everyday should be Thanksgiving Day.

In 1968 Bob Thiele and George David Weiss co wrote a What a Wonderful World specifically for Louis Armstrong. This song was intended as an optimistic message to soothe the charged racial climate in the U.S. Louis Armstrong was selected to record the song because of his broad based audience appeal. Look how far we have progressed in forty years. We elected Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Here are the opening lyrics, which apply to everyday living:

I see trees of green, red roses too.
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white.
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world...

Whatever happens in the world or however bleak things may look, there are many aspects of our lives to appreciate. What are yours?

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: What Does Your Brand Stand For?

If you know how you differ from the pack, then it is time to build your brand. A brand is multifaceted, it has a personality, it has core values, and it stands out by not being afraid to stand for something that it considers important. One of the ways to build a brand is to declare what you stand for. What do you care about? What are the values your clients can align to, identify with?

Here is an example. As we drove past Nordstrom’s this week, we noticed a sign declaring that they believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. They wished their customers a “Happy Thanksgiving!”, and stated that the Christmas décor would be seen in the store on the 28^th of November. In that simple message came the declaration that they differ from the rest of the retailers who are eager to jump start the holiday season. We appreciate their restraint, because we too enjoy savoring the holidays one at a time. This is congruent with Nordstrom’s brand of making shopping a wonderful experience.

Here is Rule #1 from the original Nordstrom handbook: Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.

What can you declare? What do you stand for?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Your Personal Brand or What Sets You Apart?

Photo by Dennis Makarenko

When developing your personal brand, one of the first things to identify is what sets you apart from everyone else in the same business. Everyone has an opportunity to stand out or blend in. Anyone who is a success in any endeavor is stands out.

The music business has many talented people working in it in every genre: pop, classical, rock and roll, etc.. Studio musicians, although given credit on albums, are not necessarily household names to listeners, even though they may be as talented as or more talented than the star of the album. What sets the stars apart is:

• · They are daring
• · They draw attention, love to interact with their audiences
• · They have opinions They take a stand and dress outrageously
• · They are worth paying attention to

You know their names: Madonna, Sting, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Beonce, Prince and Cher. These superstars have all created outstanding personal brands.

They market themselves boldly and openly. They make sure to stand out and promote themselves as different from the pack. They don’t follow the trends, they create the trends. People follow them! They consistently deliver to their audience. They clearly communicate their essence and their value. And, so can you!

As a luxury real estate professional, what makes you different? How can you capitalize on that? How can you market that? What sets you apart?

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Know Your Brand

While attending the National Association of Realtors conference in Orlando Florida, we tried a new restaurant for dinner. The waitress told us with great pride that Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant is a small gourmet boutique restaurant chain. They do not advertise. Instead, they spend their money flying in the freshest fish possible. What is served for dinner was caught no more than 24 hours prior. The fish is refrigerated, but never placed on ice. They use Federal Express to insure overnight delivery in special coolers. Any fish caught in the 200 mile range of the restaurant is delivered and served that day. They also have their own crab boat in Alaska, and lobster boats in Maine to control the quality of these crustaceans.

In a few minutes, the waitress expressed the brand clearly and succinctly. We knew exactly what we were in for. It precisely met our needs and person preferences, as we are quite fond of very fresh seafood. It reminded us of a beachfront restaurant in Portofino, Italy where the fishermen bring in the catch and it is grilled within minutes of leaving the boat.

We ordered a fish that was new to us which was Carolina Grouper. It was absolutely delicious! On our way out we decided to come back the next evening and bring another couple. The second evening was equally perfect

We have told everyone who will listen about this restaurant and now are writing about it. This spontaneous, enthusiastic support of the Oceanaire Seafood brand comes naturally because it feels good to share great finds with friends. Word-of-mouth promotion is better than any advertisement, and it costs the company nothing.

This illustrates the power of a brand. Know who you are and tell your clients in such a way that it makes it easy from them to promote you. Then, live up to your brand.

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: A Green Gift

We spent last weekend at the National Association of Realtors conference in Orlando, Florida. As we wandered through the exhibitor’s hall, checking out all the various booths, we were impressed by the Eco Hatchery exhibit. Given that one of the top trends in the luxury market is the Green Factor, Eco Hatchery has developed a clever starter kit that introduces people to the fundamentals of Green Living. The Eco Starter Kit includes the tools needed to conserve energy, save money, and shrink your carbon footprint for good. The kit contains:

• Energy Monitor to identify appliance hogs
• Eco Lighting Replacement Tool
• Home Tap Water Quality Test & Conservation Tools
• Reusable Filtered-Water Bottle
• Home Insulation Products
• Reusable Shopping Bag
• Eco-friendly Soy Candle
• A-Z Recycling Resources Directory
• Recycled Coffee Filters
• Online Eco Roadmap with personalized recommendations for ongoing savings
• Etc..

The Eco Starter Kit might just be the perfect Holiday gift for your eco-conscious clients or friends. For further information, visit www.ecohatchery.com.

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials:Real Estate Dough, The Book

Bernice Ross has done it again! Her new book, Real Estate Dough is now available and it is a winner. Bernice is a nationally syndicated columnist, trainer and speaker, as well as a Master Certified Coach with over 30 years of real estate sales experience. Bernice is also the author of www.LuxuryClues.com.

In Real Estate Dough, Your Recipe for Real Estate Success, Bernice rethinks the traditional business model for building a successful real estate practice and exposes the urgent need to adopt new business methodologies for the Web 2.0 era. Her style is unique. Each chapter begins with a Skills Check List so that you can focus first on what you need to work on the most. She also offers an Action Plan so that you can immediately implement the principles she recommends.

For example, Ross recommends that you can “Get Rich in a Niche”. Niche marketing is one of the most effective means to accelerate the volume of your business. She offers 13 different ideas of how you can narrow your focus and become known as the expert in your particular segment of your marketplace.

Bernice offers a wealth of resources on her website www.RealEstateCoach.com. You can also order Real Estate Dough (the book and the companion game) there.

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Luxury Spending Trends

Trends are like waves. Like a surfer, a luxury real estate marketing professional has to read the waves and plan accordingly. Here are some of the trends which are manifesting as 2008 wanes and we head into 2009.

Before the economic downturn was evident, Americans were already cutting back on their luxury purchases. What has become cool is to consume less (bling is out), or to consume in a socially responsible manner. Unity Marketing‘s October survey on luxury trends reports this noteworthy change in behavior among 1200 affluent consumers. With an average annual household income of $210,000, half of those surveyed said they were shopping less, and when they did it was at outlet stores or sales.

Furthermore, they are minimizing driving by combining all their errands in one trip in order to lessen the carbon footprint. They are bringing cloth bags to the market to save the earth, (thank goodness Hermes sells one for $995). When making car purchases, they are interested in the Hybrid, and luxury brands are responding accordingly. Even the larger SUV such as General Motors, Yukon as well as Cadillac’s Escalade have hybrid models. Organic is in, sustainable agriculture, anything with the Save the Earth Theme is in.

Another survey by Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate “Living Green” revealed that 48 % of the homeowners are willing to spend $2500 or more to green up their homes to make them more attractive to potential buyers. This is an important bit of information when advising sellers in preparing their homes for sale. The Green attributes should be emphasized in the marketing of a home.

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: The Luxury of Feeling Good-Luxury or Necessity?

 

Too many of us react to circumstances and use the circumstances to dictate our moods. If the circumstances are pleasing, then we are pleased and feel happy. Conversely if they are not, we feel gloomy, sad or whatever we deem appropriate to the event taking place. The key to feeling good is maintaining that positive attitude regardless of the conditions surrounding us.

This concept was poignantly illustrated in the Italian movie, La Vita E’ Bella, which translates as Life is Beautiful. The main character, as played by Roberto Benigni, uses his imagination and sense of humor to help his son survive the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.

In 2006, a Gallup poll revealed that feeling good matters in the workplace and directly impacts productivity and innovation. It also improves customers’ perceptions of the product and the company.

Take the luxury of time to make life beautiful. Or, would you rather hang out with the likes of Oscar, the Grouch. Is feeling good a luxury or is it a necessity? You decide!

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Unconditional Love or How Beauty Will Save the World

 

Luxury real estate professionals dealing with the world at large are sure to encounter all types of wealthy people who do not fit or even begin to fit any known behavior pattern to them. How do you handle people from another culture, whom do not understand you or want to understand? The easy answer is to practice unconditional love, i.e. respect who they are and allow them the right to exist in accordance to their own customs and beliefs, without feeling the need to “fix” them, so that you can feel more comfortable when you are around them.

“Beauty will save the world” is a quote by one the most prominent Russian writers, Fyodor Dostoevsky. His books, such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov influenced the majority of the world’s leading philosophers as well as writers including Ernest Hemmingway. How could someone dedicated to exploring the troubled psyche of Russian society in the 19^th century make this statement?

He was referring to the genuine essence of beauty as an art form expressed either in a work of art or through genuine human love. This essence can move mountains and tame the opposition. This essence is a force to be reckoned with, and is the very thing from which beauty springs. One of the brothers Karamazov is Alyosha. His character represents unconditional love. His genuineness is such that even the raindrops part to keep him from getting wet. In the novel, this illustrates that, when you love unconditionally, everything is possible.

As humans, we all crave this kind of love, why not just give it?

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: The Unique Selling Propsotion #5

The secret for successful luxury real estate personal branding is to find something that you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace, something that you are passionalte about. Then, deliver extraordinary value for your ideal clients who can appreciate that distinctive value. Our client, Rick Teed in San Francisco, is passionate about helping his clients to buy and sell their homes like a professional investor. This is his Unique Selling Proposition.

We hope you have enjoyed this blog series.

This is part of an ongoing series about luxury real estate personal branding. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Essentials: Tea Trends

Tea fields in Maylasia

For a long time, tea, the most widely consumed beverage in the world, has been the stepchild to coffee in the United States. As tea consumption increased in America, coffee stores have included tea in their offerings. Upscale restaurants usually hand you an elaborate wooden chest of different teas so that you can make your choice. Deem sum restaurants hand out tea menus of loose leaf teas to complement the tasty treats.

All teas are related to the tea plant. Technically herbal teas are infusions or herbs and fruit.

In the Hong Kong metro stops, commuters get their get up and go on their way to work, from tea kiosks. Attendants in white lab coats serve the antidote to caffeine induced energy by offering brewed teas for whatever may ail you. These Chinese healing teas have specific names such as: 1) Radiant Skin Tea to improve your complexion; 2) Lateral Thinking Booster Tea, and; 3) Pinkish Glow Tea, which tones and enhances the circulation of “Qi” (energy flow) and blood, as well as promising a rosy complexion. There is also a tea for positive thinking. How can anyone resist?

Here is an important piece of currency if you are working with a Russian client. In Russia tea is brewed and served from a samovar in tea glasses.

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real EstateMarketing Essentials: The Lipstick/Necktie Effect

Although economists have not declared that we are in a recession, the consumers have responded by cutting back. Some segments of the luxury market are doing very well. The segment known as small indulgences, mood boosters, and soothing extravagances are alive and well. Among women, cosmetics and skin care reigns, also known as the lipstick effect. The skin care industry is up 2% for the first two quarters of this year, and sales of premium cosmetic products (over a $150) have climbed 21%.

The business of beauty is recession proof. Recently one of the premier cosmetic companies unveiled a skin care cream that retails for a $1000. Sales are brisk at Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills. 37 jars were sold the first day. The cream contains platinum as part of its formula. This precious metal supposedly creates a bond with the skin’s DNA. It could be argued that at this price, it is less expensive than a surgical procedure.

Men on the other hand splurge on neckties. And instead of skin care, men are buying state of the art electronic gadgets such as flat-panel television sets and video game systems. Perhaps some of them are even using their mate’s rejuvenating creams.

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Realty Marketing Essentials: The Power of Brand Essence, When Praying Hands Applaud!

A brand is not just a logo, slogan, font, color schemes, description of your business, or symbols. A brand includes the logo, slogan, etc. The purpose of a brand is to communicate and create a relationship of trust to the segment of the market you are targeting. It is nice to get your target market to choose you over your competition. However, in the context of luxury real estate marketing, the true objective of a brand is to instantly communicate that you or your company is the answer to your prospects’ most pressing problems or concerns.

Your brand needs to say, “I (or we) are the solution, there is no need to look further”. Therefore, you must clearly define your prospects’ problems and clearly express why you are the answer to their prayers. You want your clients or others to go out of their way to say that you are the only person to work with.  They will go out of their way to applaud you!

People love to promote solution minded people. They trust people who are solution minded. Investing the time to research and define your brand is invaluable. The definition of your brand becomes the keystone for your marketing strategy and the well spring from which a logo, slogan, color schemes and message flows.

How are you the answer to your clients’ prayers?

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.

Luxury Real Estate MarketingLLuxury Marketing Essentials:: Converting Styrofoam into Luxury

 

As a real estate luxury marketing professionals, it is important to be aware of how ecology can be harmonious with luxury. Eco-Luxury is the new buzz word. It expresses those qualities and high standards that can be achieved without creating an imbalance in the ecology of the planet. It means sustainability defined as exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area.

Eco-Luxury is a trend that has taken root among global luxury consumers. For some, it has become a status symbol. The impact is seen in luxury hybrid cars (Lexus, and Mercedes (2009)), runway fashion designers (Stella McCartney), and the travel industry (Luxury Camps and Lodges of the World).

In the luxury building industry innovative home builders are using straw bale construction, rammed earth and rastra block construction. Rastra is made from concrete and recycled Styrofoam. Builders are also recycling and reclaiming beams, fireplaces, stonework, etc. from torn down buildings and homes.

The estate we feature here is located on a private knoll in Glenn Ellen, California. It is marketed exclusively by Maurice Tegelaar of Pacific Union, in Sonoma. It is an outstanding example of a eco-luxury and is built using Rastra Block.

These are some of the other eco-luxury features of this fine home:

• Solar panels for domestic hot water and radiant floor use
• Photovoltaic cells provide partial electricity for home
• Heated 7-zone warm floors
• Imported French antique roof tiles on main house
• Imported Italian cap and pan roof tiles on guest house
• Antique Ironwork
• Bronze switch plates
• Antique wood closet doors
• Stone quarried on site for walls and landscaping
• Antique French oak doors
• Imported antique French oak door

This is part of an ongoing series about Luxury Real Estate Marketing. Get Fluent. Get Affluent! Subscribe to The Language of Luxury by Email or RSS Feed. Comments? Please use form in left column.