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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"Buzz-Worthy" Luxury Website Design

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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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LOL Special Video Edition - No. 2

LOL Special Video Edition - No.2

Video & Radio Interviews:

Lou Novick, Architectural Photographer

Brad Taylor, CEO - Luxury Homes Magazine

We are excited to launch a new LOL Radio Show & Video Interview series.  Here we will feature outstanding architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and architectural photographers.  We will also interview members of the LOL Team of Experts & Discussion Leaders and our LOL media partners.

Each interview is comprised of a 2 minute video "Radio Trailer" - like a movie trailer for that radio episode (yes it's a first) plus, the 15 minute radio interview.  If you are interested in listening to the entire radio interview just click on the link provided.  You can even download the show and listen to it at your convenience on your iPod via iTunes. In the future we will also promote the live radio show.

Be sure to check out the three very exciting Luxetera blog posts, as well. See the links below.

Thanks for watching, reading & listening!

Ron & Alexandra Seigel, LOL Community Founders

 

Interview with Lou Novick

Architectural Photographer

Miami, Florida

Listent to the entire Lou Novick internview on Language Of Luxury Radio

Visit LouNovick.com

 

Interview:

Brad Taylor, CEO - Luxury Home Magazine

We are excited to introduce you to our newest LOL media partner, Luxury Homes Magazine. through our interview with Brad Taylor, CEO.

This is the first in a series of an interviews with the publishers of the finest print media in luxury real estate marketing.  It is our intention to shine a spotlight on the distinct marketing benefits that you can derive  from  each publication and also to discover the innovative ways in which our media partners have combined online marketing with the power of print. 

To hear the entire audio interview online or to download it via iTunes, please visit  this episode  of our  Language of Luxury Radio Show (Click Here).  Also, visit LuxuryHomeMagazine.com.

Yachts Fit for Kings at Half The Price: Interview with Roger Liang of Kingship Yachts

Edible Faberge Eggs in Chocolate For Easter

 

The Magnificent French Riviera: Old Word Charm and Splendor

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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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The Reputation of Your Personal Brand: It is all about Trust!

As a luxury real estate marketing professional your reputation is at the core of your personal brand equity—the value of your brand.  Your reputation, your trust factor can be the deciding factor in selecting you to list a luxury property over your competition or be selected as a buyer’s representative.

Blogging is a great way to build trust over time with potential clients, providing you have something of interest to say on a subject about which you are passionate.  It is a wonderful way to build your reputation and your personal brand in the minds of potential referral sources who do not even know you personally.  But, your column must be follow-worthy and comment-worthy.  If you really want to stand out, it must be “buzz-worthy”. That is, your content must be worthy of sharing with others. To spark word-of-mouth advertising your content must remarkable.

Do you still subscribe to a newspaper? We do, but only to one: the digital edition of the Wall Street Journal where we can customize the content that we want to read and also receive news alerts of things that matter to us the most.  Personalized, customized news is readily available for free, yet we are willing to pay a nominal monthly subscription fee to WSJ for a good reason. The reason is simple: we trust the Wall Street Journal as a news source and we follow certain columnists like Walt Mossberg, whose opinion we trust. 

Walt Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday for almost 20 years.  Walt is a perfect example of a “power journalist” and a one-man-brand.  He is an opinion leader with an impeccable reputation.

Walt is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry's most prestigious annual conference, D: All Things Digital.  On allthingsd.com, Walt spells out his Statement of Ethics.  “It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out”, says Walt.

With the general trust level for real estate agents in general, blogging can set you apart as a trusted advisor.  You may not have to include a Statement of Ethics on your blog or website. But, if you set high standards like the WSJ and Walt Mossberg, not only can you create a strong personal brand, but you can also build a solid reputation that will give you a competitive edge.

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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: Is Your Message on Target?

Expression of Joy?

 Luxury real estate marketing professionals take heed!  A very valuable lesson in messaging, can be learned from the massive new ad campaign of luxury brand, BMW.  Messaging is the words you select to communicate the essence of your brand to your target market.  A brand’s message tells your audience how you or your company wants to be perceived as distinct from your closest competition. As such messaging is an extremely important component of personal and company branding.

BMW has set out to “own” a word in the mind of affluent consumers. They have staked a claim to the word “joy” and they are spending big bucks to get it to stick in your mind.  We do not believe that it will stick. Whereas, they have owned the phrase, “the ultimate driving machine” for years, BMW is completely missing their target this time. They are now off their previously strong brand signal which stood for efficiency, high-performance, and precision engineering.

Do you know of an agent or a company in your marketplace or a neighboring marketplace that “owns” a segment of the market? Perhaps, it is a specific golf community, a luxury high rise, the downtown area or the waterfront area.  Their name is synonymous with that niche.

You can own a niche or a category of product or service. But, you cannot own an emotion! eBay owns the word “auctions” on the internet. The only place where they do not have a monopoly is in Japan where Yahoo! owns “auctions”. eBay actually bowed out of Japan and ceded to Yahoo!   

When someone wins an auction on eBay or Yahoo! they may experience the emotion of joy. But, neither can claim the emotion as a brand differentiator. When new homeownersa close escrow on their first home can one agent claim ownership of this emotion as a means of being distinct?

Could a teenager derive more joy from purchasing her first car than a third time BMW owner?  Joy transcends demographics which is another reason why it cannot be owned as just a luxury word. Besides, do Mercedes or Lexus owners not experience joy?

The “expression of joy” depicted above is an actual canvas the size of a basketball court, a BMW publicity stunt, created by a driver “joyfully” driving on the canvas with various colors of paint. Could a joyful Acura driver not compose such a canvas?

If you want your luxury real estate personal or company brand to stand for something, make sure it is something that your competition cannot also stand for or own. Then, get your messaging on target. Otherwise, you will defeat the entire purpose of branding: “Top of Mind” in a specific category or niche.

Perhaps, a better new word for BMW to own would be "Vision".  Check out this cool BMW concept car on VIDEO! (Click on the center of the video player).

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Introducing LUXETERA, ETC.-- The Language of Luxury

LOL is both a professional networking community and a learning community. It is a place where you can gain access to the wealth of the world by acquiring social currency. That is, by becoming fluent in the Language of Luxury.

Our purpose is to help you attract and better serve more high net worth clients.

We now have a name for the language of luxury itself, LUXETERA, ETC. which is a featured category on the LOL Blog. Here we highlight luxury news from around the globe, courtesy of our LOL media partners, and also share insights from our own continuous research in the world of luxury.

Please take a moment to watch the VIDEO introducing Luxetera, Etc. Be sure to join the LOL Community and subscribe to the LOL Blog. Thanks for Watching!

Get More LUXETERA, ETC. on LanguageOfLuxury.com

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Language of Luxury Special Video Edition

LOL Special Video Edition No. 1

This is a special video edition of the Language of Luxury Blog.  Here we feature members of our LOL Team of Niche Experts & Discussion Leaders and also present popular luxury real estate marketing video tips.

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Ron & Alexandra Seigel, LOL Community Founders

LOL Intro

 Tropical Niche  Grace Lappin is the featured member of our LOL Team of Niche Experts & Discussion Leaders, in the Tropical niche.  Check out Grace:s amazing $15.75 million property on the island of Providenciales, or Provo as the locals call it in the Turks & Caicos Islands.  Watch the Video!

  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 the Viceo!

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2010: The Year to Unleash the Tiger within You

2010 is the year of the tiger. According to the Chinese horoscope, drama, intensity, far reaching changes, and massive technological advances are in store for all of us. Seizing opportunities and maximizing your personal, individual talents is advised. We believe that 2010 heralds an era when personal branding and micro-niche marketing for luxury real estate marketing professionals is no longer an option.  It is an imperative!  2010 is the year to unleash the tiger within you and embrace the unabashed pursuit of market leadership.

The internet has empowered consumers with self-service capabilities which enable them to ferret out most of the real estate information they need.  Who will fill in the gaps and effectively interpret that information-you or your competition?  When they are ready to reach for purchasing help or are ready to interview a listing agent, who will be the first to come to mind? That is the question!

Most time-starved and attention deficient consumers can only hold one, two or three brands in their minds in any given category of product or service.  The unabashed pursuit of market leadership means seizing the #1 position in the consumers mind. Coke outsells #2, Pepsi 2:1.  #3, RC Cola, is barely on the radar screen and all others colas are settling for the crumbs. 

The internet has also empowered professionals like you to potentially become “one-man or one-woman brands”, local celebrities, TV stars, radio talk show hosts and journalists.  Those luxury real estate agents who are willing to get over their fear of technology and make the time to get up to speed with this stupendous opportunity will be the big winners in 2010 and beyond.

Each micro-niche, within your marketplace, represents an opportunity to become a leading expert, the personal brand of choice and the market leader.  It could be a specific golf community or a single high-rise luxury condo.  The idea is to find an uncontested market niche that you can “own” and dominate, and serve better than anyone else. But, the key is to be passionate about whatever niche you choose, one that allows you to maximize your individual talents.

Think like a tiger this year! Be unabashed about your pursuit of market leadership in 2010.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

One of the true joys of working as a husband and wife team is that you get to spend more time with your true Valentine. Now, we realize that this is not for everyone and many couples are much better off pursuing separate careers or just being apart more of the time. But, for us, two people who are passionate about the same things, such as strategic branding and lifelong learning, it is truly a luxury to work side by side.

A key to a great partnership relationship, in addition to precision teamwork and open communication, is finding the time just to have fun.  One of our favorite romantic things to do here in Santa Barbara, California is to stroll along the beach and look for heart-shaped rocks, sand dollars, sea shells and coral.  In fact, we now have quite a collection of these Valentine stones. (See photo above).   They give a new meaning to the concept of a “private collection” because they have no intrinsic value to others. But, to us they represent the luxury of time simply to enjoy life to the fullest and to fall in love with each other all over again.

So, this weekend, take the time to do something fun with the one you love, with your family or friends. Find some reason to fall in love with life.  We wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Luxury Real Estate Branding: What Makes You So Different?

Chanterelle Mushrooms

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, can you state who you are and how you are distinct from your closest competition is a few quick phrases?  If you cannot do this, how do you expect your referrals sources to be able to tell their friends about you and what makes your personal brand different? A good way to learn this personal branding skill is by discovering what makes certain things in nature distinct.  Here is an example.

With recent heavy rains, here in Santa Barbara, California, wild mushroom season is upon us. Suddenly, the beautiful, chanterelle mushrooms, golden in color and worth their weight in gold, appear in the farmer’s market. The trumpet shaped chanterelles are often referred to as the “champagne of mushrooms” or “the queen of the forest”.  In the state of Oregon, they have been deemed the state mushroom due to their symbiotic relationship with Douglas fir trees that are so plentiful in the forests of Oregon.  

Connoisseurs consider wild mushrooms to be the true luxuries of the culinary scene.  While they have little nutritive value they have the power of enhancing the flavor and texture of certain dishes like no other food. Chanterelles, with their unmistakable aroma of apricots and delicate woodsy flavor that holds its own when combined with other food, are prized above all mushrooms by many of the world’s great chefs.

Alexandra discovered a fabulous pizza recipe with chanterelles, pancetta, radicchio and leek.  This is now a staple at our home during wild mushroom season.

Chanterelles are easily identified and can quickly be distinguished from potentially dangerous mushrooms with very little instruction or experience. Unlike many other mushrooms, once a colony of chanterelles is established, it re-emerges in the same location year after year, even when harvested. 

Summary of the unique characteristics of the chanterelle “brand” of mushrooms:

• Golden color
• Trumpet shape
• Aroma of Apricot
• Woodsy flavor that holds its own when combined with other food
• Perennial

 What are your most distinguishing characteristics as a luxury real estate marketing professional?

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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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