Luxury Real Estate Branding: Maintaining Your Sterling Reputation

 

Managing your personal or company luxury brand, that is, managing how you are perceived by your target market over time, is mission critical. You can certainly elevate your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional by studying how the market leaders in luxury consumer brands manage or mismanage their brands. The Art of Shaving is one luxury brand that has recently made a major branding mistake, in our opinion, and has tarnished their otherwise sterling reputation.

When you think of men’s shaving, what it the first brand of disposable razor that comes to mind? Gillette is by far the market leader in this category.  Their most expensive, top of the line model, the Fusion, has five blades in a single cartridge and promises the smoothest possible shave.  Top of the Gillette line of disposable razors will never constitute a luxury brand because Gillette is not perceived as a luxury brand. 

The Lexus is perceived as a luxury brand on par with Mercedes Benz and BMW in the minds of many consumers. Did you know that Lexus is made by Toyota?  They did not call their top of the line car the “Toyota Lexus”. Instead they created a separate brand name for this relatively expensive luxury car.

Recently, we were strolling through Century City Shopping Center in Los Angeles. There we found a store called the Art of Shaving.  The Art of Shaving products are the best selling men’s brand in upscale department stores. It is clearly a luxury brand based on its extensive product line including a sterling silver razor and shaving soap brush that sell for hundreds of dollars.

We were stunned to see a huge photo of the Gillette Fusion in their store window.  Why were they diluting this luxury brand by aligning with Gillette? Later in Nordstroms, here in Santa Barbara, we noticed that a new package of the Art of Shaving products had a Fusion razor right on the outside of the box.  You could not see the other products in the box. What were they thinking?  This completely reduced the Art of Shaving to the level of a non-exclusive brand. You can buy the Fusion along with the entire Gillette line of cheaper razors in any discount drug store. 

With some research we discovered that Proctor & Gamble purchased both Gillette and The Art of Shaving.   The intent was obviously to use The Art of Shaving to create a perception of “class” for the razor.  Instead, The Art of Shaving was rendered déclassé--reduced to having a lower class in the minds of its target market.   

Managing your personal or company brand is primarily about managing perception in the realm of luxury real estate marketing. If you also want to sell properties in the lower price range you may want to consider creating a separate sub-brand so that you do not confuse your target market in both categories.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Luxury is a Pink Jellyfish

It is truly important, as a luxury real estate marketing professional to examine and re-examine the meaning of luxury itself. Like beauty, luxury is in the eyes of the beholder. What we so often take for granted is the abundance of free experiences available to us, especially via the internet, experiences that are true luxuries. The wealth of free information that is literally at our fingertips is astonishing.  

For example, some many consider it a luxury to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey Bay, California. The cost is $29.95 for adults and 17.95 for children (3-18).  Students get a slight discount. Of course, there is the cost of getting there, if you do not live close by.

But, you can “visit” the aquarium for free via several live web cams (cameras) whenever you wish. There is a kelp cam, a penguin cam, an outer cam and a wading bird com that features pink flamingos.  Did you know that flamingos are only as pink as the food they eat or that penguins “fly” under water faster than some fish? 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was the first aquarium to rescue a great white shark.  They were able to keep it in captivity for 175 days until it became too dangerous for the other fish there. You can learn all about this on their website and watch videos about the shark on their You Tube channel.

Nature, the TV channel, produced a special presentation documentary on the aquarium featuring the great white shark and jellyfish.  The aquarium has one the most extensive jellyfish collections in the world. They actually breed these exquisite creatures to populate the ongoing exhibit.

Take the time to ponder what luxury means to you.  Ask your clients as well.  You may be surprised to find that many high net worth individuals consider life’s simple pleasures to be among their most cherished forms of luxury. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Visionary Thinking at Dom Perignon

KARL LAGERFELD © CHAMPAGNE MOET & CHANDON 2008

One of the most common traits of a market leader who is interested in sustaining dominance in his or her marketplace and also building a lasting personal brand, is visionary thinking. For those of you luxury real estate marketing professionals with this ambition it is wise to look to luxury brands that have stood the test of time and emulate the standards and the value that these brands embrace. Dom Perignon champagne is brand to emulate.

Dom Pérignon is part of LVMH (Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A.) family of brands, one of the world’s largest luxury goods conglomerates. Dom is a vintage champagne. This means that the champagne is not produced in weak years, and all grapes used to make the wine were harvested in the same year. 

When we lived in Napa Valley, we had the good fortune to sit next to chef de cave (head winemaker) of Dom Pérignon who happened to be dining alone.  We struck up a delightful conversation throughout our meal. 

What was most impressive about his Dom Pérignon stories was the fact that if the grapes are not perfect in a given year they simply will not produce the wine.  In the 80 years between 1921 and 2002 for example, Dom Pérignon champagne has been produced in only 36 years. Three vintage years in a row are a rarity.  This phenomenon only occurred two times: in 1969, 1970 and 1971, in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

CREATE THE “BEST WINE IN THE WORLD”, Pierre Pérignon, 1668.

In 1668, the young monk took up his post as the head of the cellar at the Abbey of Hautvillers . Over three centuries later, Dom Pérignon is the ultimate homage to this visionary spirit and to the founding work of the man who is considered the creator of champagne.

For fun, here some facts about this fabulous champagne: 

  • In 1961, Dom Pérignon Vintage 1949 was on the menu for the dinner given at the US Embassy in Paris for Charles de Gaulle and John F. Kennedy during the American president’s official visit.
  • In 1981, Dom Pérignon was chosen for the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. The magnums of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 served at the wedding had a special insignia created just for the ceremony.
  • Today, Costo sells more Dom Pérignon than any other retailer in the world.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Face Time for Business Development

While it is true that your social life can and should lead to business referrals, it is a good idea for luxury real estate marketing professionals to separate the concept of business networking and social networking.   Business networking can actually increase your bottom line faster because of its focused nature and clear intention: helping one another develop more business. What can be more clear, simple and, most importantly, direct?  

Last night, while on Linked In we noticed a profile of a CEO of a company on the east coast (we are in Santa Barbara, CA) with whom we shared common interests. There was immediate recognition of potential synergies between our companies. We are in a professional group together but we had not yet met. So, we invited him to also join the Language of Luxury group on Linked In.   Within minutes we noticed that he had joined LOL.   

By the time we woke up this morning we received a direct email from him suggesting that we connect.  He too, believed that there were possible ways to develop some business together which we confirmed in a wonderful phone conversation this A.M. Yes, we just used the “P” word! 

Phones are the missing link in online networking. In fact, the entire purpose of business networking online is to set up a phone conversation.  Between Skype, which is free, and smart phones with ridiculously low monthly fees (as compared to the cost of long distance calls in previous decades), there is absolutely no excuse for not picking up the phone.   Now, you can actually have an instant face-to-face meeting (e.g., with Skype video or iPhone 4 “face time”).

Business networking, online facilitates WARM PHONE CALLS! And, that is what most luxury real estate marketing professionals have lost sight of in this hurricane of white noise about social networking.

This very same morning, Alexandra noticed that an interesting company just started following us on Twitter.  She always looks up each of our followers’ profiles to see if there is a commonality and a reason to connect by phone.  In this case, there was, indeed, potential for mutual business.  So, Alexandra shot off a email and suggested that we connect directly. 

Within 5minutes we got a phone call from the director of business development from this company!  [Rapid response communication is one of our most highly valued business practices]. We had an excellent conversation and set up a phone meeting with the CEO of the company for Friday ( 2 days later).

Can you see the difference in the speed of concrete results between social networking and business networking online?  The key to successful business networking interactions is having it be equally important to give as it is to receive.  Sometimes there is only giving on your part.  But, it all balances out if you keep an abundant mindset, which is worth acquiring and maintaining in the field of luxury real estate marketing.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Study the Pursuits of High Net Worth Clients

 

 

Studying the pursuits of your clients is extremely important to your success as a luxury real estate marketing professional.  Although this may not apply to all of your clients or to all luxury real estate markets, the quest to possess the finest and the rarest objects in the world is definitely one of the exciting sports of high net worth individuals.

For those of you and your clients who fancy fine champagne, here is some interesting news. A group of divers exploring a ship wreck in the Baltic Sea happened upon a bottle of champagne that is believed to be produced in the late 18th century.  It could very well be the oldest champagne in the world!

The divers were hoping to determine the year the ship sank by dating the champagne.  Experts believed that, based on the shape of the bottle, it was made in the late 18th century.  They were 98% certain that it was one of the first vintages of Veuve-Clicquot that was established in 1772.

Remarkably, when the bottle was opened, it was drinkable and retained its very small bubbles.  It was suggested that the vessel was most likely on its way to St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of  Tsarist Russia.

Researching those subjects that interest your clients the most and then speaking their language can make the difference between getting the listing or not.  Knowledge is not just power.  It can translate  into gold. 

Speaking of gold, you may also be interested that a white gold covered 3 liter bottle, a jeroboam, of Dom Perignon sold for $17,000 in 2008.  At the time, it was the most expensive bottle of champagne in the world.

Dive deeper into the pursuits of your high net worth clients.  This is a requirement for those of you who seek to achieve top-of-mind status in your luxury real estate marketplace.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Shoot for the Moon!

 

As a luxury real estate marketing professionals studying examples of niche marketing done right in the luxury realm can give you tremendous insight on how to position yourself and stand out from your competition.  Luxury books are a case in point.

Amazon popularized the relatively new niche category of e-books. They announced that its Kindle e-bookstore is now selling 180 e-books for every 100 hardcover books. The sale of Kindle devices have tripled since it lowered the price, despite the competition from multifunctional devices such as the iPad.  Is there any wonder why most niche book stores, such as those that specialize in selling architectural or design books have become extinct? 

However, a handful of luxury book publishers are thriving by selling limited, innovative editions, for thousands of dollars. Taschen Books, with exclusive brick and mortar stores in upscale cities like Beverly Hills, London and Paris, has tapped into a very narrow, but lucrative, niche.   Twelve copies of their massive photography book on the lunar landing were sold with actual pieces of the moon.  One such edition that came with a lunar rock was sold for $112,500, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Although, these extravagant showcase books are beyond the reach of most consumers they create a tremendous amount of buzz for Taschen and help sell less expensive premium edition books.  For example, a $7500 book on Muhammad Ali is sold with several signed photographs of the boxer.

Shoot for the moon!  Express your personal flair.  Use your imagination to out-think your competition.  Zero in on a niche and become well known within your marketplace as the best in that niche.  This is the way to market leadership!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Follow That Poodle!

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Poodle.jpg

As a luxury marketing professional one of the great ways to promote your marketplace is to report on the local festivities.  For example, we are planning to go to the Annual French Festival in Santa Barbara, Saturday and Sunday, July 17 & 18 (Bastille Day Weekend), from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara's Oak Park.  This is the 23rd annual event, and they are expecting over 20,000 people to attend.  Admission is Free.

Some of the highlights include, a poodle parade, French chefs preparing typical French delicacies both savory and sweet.  French beer and wines as well as champagne will be available.  Also, former French colonies will be represented such as Vietnam (French Indochina) as well as Morocco and French Polynesia.

Forty acts on three stages will feature continuous entertainment of music, dancing (can-can), as well as cabaret style (Edith Piaf) to name a few. If you love anything French, it is a great opportunity to meet people, join a French speaking club, and learn about interesting trips to France.  There will be a drawing to win a trip to Paris or Tahiti. 

cancan.jpg

Another way to promote YOU is to be a sponsor for one of these events.  The sponsors are always promoted and appreciated by the organizers who have large spheres of influence and may become your ardent referral sources.  Or, you could always volunteer to help at the event.

So, follow that poodle and get involved in local community events.  It is fun and also good for your luxury real estate marketing practice.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Join Forces with Your Competitor!

 

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, seeking market leadership, have you ever considered teaming up with another superstar in your marketplace to better compete with the current market leader or to secure your market leadership position?  Sometimes joining forces can yield better results for both of you, more so than your combined production as separate players. The buzz that could be created by an announcement of your partnership may be just what you are looking for to catch the competition off guard and tip the scale in your favor.

 Are you a LeBron James fan or foe?  The latest media frenzy that centered on his “big decision” to stay in Cleveland or “take his talents elsewhere” (namely Miami) has polarized basketball fans the world over.  Like him or not ESPN scored a major coup in creating an hour long TV “special” around the decision and triggering a controversy heard around the globe. This level of hype for a sports news company has overshadowed its closest competitors. What is at stake? Being able to attract more advertising dollars both on TV and online--that is what is at stake.

To compete with ESPN, Turner's sports division is about to take control of the Web business of Sports Illustrated, owned by Time Warner's Time Inc. magazine unit. The partnership will combine Sports Illustrated's SI.com and Golf.com with a the websites managed by Turner Sports, including NBA.com, Nascar.com and PGA.com.

Time Warner estimates that the combination of websites will reach 40 million unique monthly visitors in the United States. To put this in perspective, according to comScore Inc.Yahoo was the most-popular online sports destination in May, with 35.9 million unique visitors. ESPN, which is owned by Walt Disney Company, had 25.4 million in the same period.

If joining forces with a competing luxury real estate agent indicates to you as a good decision, be very careful how you brand your new team. "Turner/SI Digital" is nowhere close to being as powerful as simply Sports Illustrated Digital. Perhaps this is just a working name for now, but brand name recognition should be of paramount importance in your “big decision”.

You will notice that the photo above is not LeBron.  It is five time NBA World Champion, Kobe, the undisputed MVP in our book.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Luxury of Pursuing Your Passion

 

Luxury is pursuing your passion. If you are truly passionate about luxury real estate marketing it is likely that you will enjoy a tremendous advantage over your competitors.  And, great things must unfold in your practice.

For inspiration, just look to others outside of the realm of real estate, those who are passionate about their careers. Some people are passionate about collecting art; others collect vintage cars.

Enzo Enea, a Swiss landscape architect, is also one of the world’s most famous tree collectors.   His tree collection will be on display at the Tree Museum  that he developed. It opened in June, 2010 near Lake Zurich in Switzerland.

What is extraordinary about this open-air museum is the series of open spaces delineated by stone walls that create outdoor “rooms”.   About 120 trees will be on view at a given time, in this 75,000 square meter environment, there will be exhibit themes such as different types of trees and various ways of shaping trees.

The techniques of transporting mature trees is Mr. Enea’s particular claim to fame, techniques that were inspired by his study of bonsai. He is most passionate about weeping willows and Japanese maples in particular. 

Most of the trees in Mr. Enea’s collection were given to him.  For example, a tree was about to be cut down in a property renovation and Enzo asked if he could remove the tree for his collection instead.

Discovering these kinds of opportunities that others overlook is the sign of a passionate person.  It is the same in marketing luxury real estate.  When you are passionate about your work not only is it a luxury, because it makes you feel alive, but it is also gives you the competitive edge.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: 8 Tips for Staying Positive & Creating Your Personal Affluent Economy

 

 

Affluence begins with an affluent state of mind. One of the best ways to stand out as a luxury real estate marketing professional is to hold the vision of a vibrant economic future, yours in particular. View the present marketplace as a place of opportunity rather than focus on the reality as presented to us by the media and other naysayers.  What is true is that some luxury homes are selling in most upper tier marketplaces. The question is, “are you in this rosy part of the picture?”

Maintaining a positive point of view definitely requires continuous practice. It is not like you need to hide from the negative, the trick is not to DWELL on it and “accentuate the positive”, as the song says. 

Here are 8 tips to get you back on the positive train of thought and keep you there more often.

1.  Appreciate someone or something around you.

2.   Focus on something beautiful such as your pet, a flower, a tree, or the abundance of cherries that are currently in season.

3.   Distract yourself with a few deep breaths

4.   Take a walk around the block, or exercise

5.   Give a sincere compliment, or two, or three.

6.  Share some good news

7.  Make maintaining a positive viewpoint a top priority in your life

8.  When all else fails, lie down, pull the covers over your head, and don’t move till you feel better. In other words, keep a good sense of humor. And, remember that life is just a bowl of cherries.

 Here is an excerpt from today’s post in the Mayo Clinic blog regarding the advantages of positive thinking for your health:

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

  • Increased life span
  • Lower rates of depression
  • Lower levels of distress
  • Greater resistance to the common cold
  • Better psychological and physical well-being
  • Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
  • Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

Think more positively!  It not only is good for your personal health, it is good for your personal wealth, your personal affluent economy.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Express Yourself!

 

You have certainly heard the expression, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.  As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to tune into the tastes and preferences of your client when selecting properties to show them, properties that they may like.  Some homes may not appeal to you personally from an aesthetic standpoint. And, that is why you need to put aside your own standards to be of maximum help to your clients. 

However,  when it comes to personal branding, that is the time to get personal and express yourself.  Your personal brand, from an aesthetic perspective must reflect your own tastes, your core values and your own personality.   Yet, you must take into consideration your target market.  That is, who you intend to attract as ideal clients. 

Who are your ideal clients? As it turns out, when you really think about it, your ideal clients are people who share your values.  For example, if you value a lighthearted sense of humor, your ideal clients would definitely not be curmudgeon s, killjoys or wet blankets.   

In our strategic branding consulting practice our job is to help luxury real estate agents and companies dial into their unique DNA (different, not alike) and also dial into their target market.  Then, we find a brand signal that can be expressed as a fusion of the two. 

Too many luxury real estate marketing professionals are so busy trying to please others that they disregard their own very important personal perspective.  As a result they attract clients who are less than ideal. Others go to the opposite extreme and disregard their target market altogether.  For example, their chosen brand identity is too formal for a relaxed vacation destination where second home buyers want to leave the formality of the city behind them. 

What is amazing about this process of personal branding is that there is always a way to articulate your personal brand signal so that is harmonious with your target market without compromising your DNA or your integrity.  The key is to express yourself fully and have fun in the process.  Your ideal clients will have a much easier time finding you that way. 

If you want to have a really fun time practicing the art of self expression go to: http://artpad.art.com/artpad/painter .  We created the image above on the fly for free at this site and it was a blast.  It may not be art to you.  But, for us art is having fun at whatever you are doing.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Food of the Gods

 

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is a great place to buy a second home.  XocoDiva, a fabulous artisan chocolate store in PV is just one of many reasons why the lifestyle there is so appealing.  We visited Ron Morgan there last week. Ron is a luxury real estate marketing professional who is passionalte about this exciting marketplace.

Check out this VIDEO on the chocolate truffles at XocoDiva.  Yet, more proof that chocolate is food of the gods.  If you are visiting a client or going to a dinner party, a small box of chocolate truffles makes a great gift!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip #4

We recently took a stroll on Carpinteria Beach here in the Santa Barbara, California area which is considered to be one of the safest beaches in the world.  We were very impressed by an innovative promotional idea that could easily apply to your luxury real estate marketing practice.  The Department of Parks and Recreation in the City of Carpinteria has partnered with Carp Yoga to offer yoga classes on the beach.

The cost of each class is $10 which contributes to maintaining this wonderful beach.  Carp Yoga gets to promote their classes and onlookers benefit simply by learning about this outstanding form of exercise.

If you like to do yoga or tai chi or some other form of exercise why not sponsor an introductory exercise session in your local park?  Invite your entire data base of contacts.  50 guests will only cost you $500. Do not forget to take picture that you can send to your contacts as a follow up promotion. And, of course, be sure to write a blog post about this!

There are so many ways to trigger buzz about you or your company and generate referrals in the process.  The key to achieving market leadership is to gain and sustain top-of-mind status. Think of ways you can spark the best form of advertising on the planet: Word-of-mouth!  And, remember, your goal is to out-think not out-spend your competition.  Do more with less. Less is more.  You can enjoy our beach by checking out the webcam.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip#3

 

 

Do you have a local movie theatre in your town that is not owned by a large chain? Here is another in our series on low cost promotional ideas that can yield big high quality results and make you stand out stand out from your competition as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

 Most people, young and old, love the movies.  Quality movies that the entire family can enjoy together are few and far between.  When you get wind of one of these gems coming to your town, contact the owners of your local theatre and arrange a sneak preview of the film for a guaranteed number of sold seats.

When one of Harry Potter films was about to be released one of our clients invited a select group of past and present clients to a sneak preview of the film.  At an average cost of $7.50  per seat she was able to guarantee 200 sold seats ($1500) which she prepaid.  Then she found a non-competing service professional, an estate planner, to split the costs and invite 100 of their clients (including kids). Her total cost was $750.

In addition to thoroughly enjoying the show, the guests got the bonus of “bragging rights” about seeing the latest Harry Potter movie before it was released.  Just prior to show time both hosts introduced each other to their clients in the audience which instantly expanded their sphere of influence.  They outwardly endorsed each other as trustworthy service professionals, which led to future business.  The theatre received additional cash, plus the take from all of the concessions they sold before and during the showing.  It was scheduled in the morning before the theater normally opened and a few days before Harry Potter debuted.

There are so many ways you can stay in touch with your core data base of contacts that will turn them into raving fans. Leveraging the buzz of a Harry Potter caliber movie you can trigger massive word-of-mouth advertising ABOUT YOU OR YOUR COMPANY and also generate a tremendous amount of good will.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip #2

 

It is a really good practice, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, to keep track of the interests of your contacts. Are you a wine enthusiast?  Do you enjoy sampling unique cheeses?  If so, chances are you have some previous clients and others in your contact database who feel as you do.  Here is a low cost idea that leverages common interests and can generate meaningful marketing results.

Here in Santa Barbara there is a wine store called East Beach Wine Company.  It is Santa Barbara’s largest specialty wine store.  Each Friday night they have a special wine tasting often with guest vine makers to personally pour and talk about their winery.  There is a different theme each week.  It is quite educational and it is likely that you will meet some fun and interesting people at the tasting as well. Typically it costs about $10 per person and that includes some delicious cheeses that are paired with the wines.

A great way to stay in touch with your contacts is to invite them as your guests to wine tasting such as this.   Perhaps you could arrange a discount for covering the cost of a large number of guests. Even at full pop, it only would cost $500 for 50 guest and the buzz about you and how you stand out from your competition would be worth many times that amount.  Most important it gives you the ability, as a luxury real estate marketing professional to stay in touch with clients in a unique way when you are not just pitching real estate.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip #1

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Children at the Louvre Museum in Paris

Marketing ideas with zero or low cost are easier to conceive when you follow your passion. Anyone can develop business in their luxury real estate marketing practice with money.  But, some of best results can be achieved without spending a dime.  Here is an example of a low cost promotional idea that cost an agent very little but yielded big results.

A very successful luxury real estate marketing professional in Chicago was on the board of directors for the local museum.  Her passion was engaging kids in the world of art.  When the museum created a special interactive event for kids she sent out event invitations to all of her past clients and her entire sphere of influence offering to cover the admission cost for their kids.  At $10 per child she spent only $500 for the 50 that showed up WITH THEIR PARENTS!

The positive response was unanimous.  The kids had a blast, learned new things and made new friends.  The adults appreciated the opportunity to meet new community members.  Several of the parents joined the museum because of the quality of the children’s program. She generated a tremendous amount of good will not only from those who attended, but also from  those who were impressed with the invitation and could not make it.

She also received several referrals shortly thereafter which converted to significant commissions that made the $500 investment a drop in the ocean.  What contributed most to the success of this marketing idea was her passion for getting kids excited about the arts. This is part of what her personal brand stands for. When you tap into your passion and tie it into your work everything aligns to this core principle that makes marketing a joy.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: When Should Your Name Become Your Personal Brand?

 

Coco Chanel on Left - A Chanel Chapeau (hat) on Right

There is a debate that still continues about using your name as your personal brand in luxury real estate marketing.  Here is the best test to determine when it is advisable to do so: Ask yourself, “Are you ready to achieve celebrity status in your marketplace?”  If you are prepared to have your name stand for a particular market niche that you can dominate, we say, “Go for it!”

Think of some of the most recognizable personal brands:  Martha, Seal, Sting, Cher, Lance, [the] Donald, Kobe, and Coco.  What category of celebrity comes to mind for each?

Channel is one of the most famous fashion design houses in the world.  And, the company founder, Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, was one of the most highly recognized personal brands in her time. In fact, she was the only person to be named in the field of fashion on the Time [Magazine] Top 100: The Most Important People of the [20th] Century.  Coco was a modernist who stood for the pursuit of expensive simplicity which is the most enduring core value of the Chanel company brand

Coco’s design standards were exacting. And, she was a task-master who insisted that her clothes reflect her personal, exacting impeccable standards.  We know this first hand as Alexandra’s grandmother was a master finishing seamstress for Chanel in Paris as young woman.  The attention to detail was relentless.

Clearly, Coco enjoyed top-of-mind status in the field of high fashion as a personal brand, a status that extends to the company brand as well, to this day.  Top-of-mind is the goal of any luxury real estate marketing professional who is aiming for market leadership and celebrity status. 

Are you ready for celebrity status in your luxury real estate marketplace? If not, you might want to consider a different tact when approaching your personal branding, other than using your name as your brand.  

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Tap Into the High Net Worth Mindset

 

It is important for luxury real estate marketing professionals to follow the luxury trends outside of real estate.  The more you tap into the mindset of potential high net worth clients the greater your chances are to gain their trust and their business.

For example, researchers specializing in the world of cosmetics are finding that the luxury beauty product industry has grown at an annual rate of 6% since 2004.   Trade publication, Global Cosmetics Industry, cites that beauty products generate approximately $230 billion in global sales.  An emerging trend among consumers is that they are growing more knowledgeable about ingredients and are favoring natural-based products. The women in emerging luxury markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Russia are now sold on skin care and makeup, and have become savvy, eager consumers.

The house of Guerlain, a premium perfume and beauty brand had embarked on developing a new brand of skin care to meet the needs of an aging population. By researching orchid plants, that take an inordinately long time to fade after they bloom, they came up with a proven anti-aging formula.  To facilitate their research they built an “orchidarium” (a French term) to study 30,000 species of orchids. 

Guerlain’s marketing message is targeted specifically to highly informed consumers:

After “Ten years of research within the Guerlain orchidarium, three new orchids selected among 30,000, revealed the secret of extraordinary longevity”.  

According to their research, Guerlain’s new orchid extract has the power to turn back “cellular” time.  The initial tests by a reputed dermatologist, showed a 54+% in skin improvement in two months based on rigorous standards, and the research continues.

Following trends in other luxury industries, such as the luxury cosmetic industry, can not only yield insights into the mindset of high net worth consumers, but also offer you social currency to engage in meaningful conversation.  Holding your own in social situations in this way builds trust and your bottom line.

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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!

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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.

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