Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Winning the Battle of Brand Perception – Part 2

Photo courtesy of mbusa

How you are perceived by potential clients as a personal or company brand is a major factor in the decision making process of hiring you as a luxury real estate marketing professional. In Part 1 of this blog series, we showed the seven most important factors that car buyers consider when choosing a new car.  We explained that Mercedes Benz has regained its dominance over other all other luxury cars in the battle of perception.
 
Here are some examples of how the same brand perception categories referred to in Part 2 might apply to the decision making process (the factor(s) that potential clients values most) when selecting an agent to represent them in buying or selling a luxury home. You can win your own battle of perception by positioning yourself or your company as the leader in at least one of these categories:

1. SAFETY: Although the concept of Safety applies to protection from physical harm when considering the purchase of a car, for some there is a perceived Safety in numbers when it comes to selecting a service provider.  Some homeowners prefer to list their home with the biggest firm because the perception of more agents means more exposure to more potential buyers.  Other home sellers feel more secure with the idea of listing their home with a big team within a company vs. a single agent.

2. QUALITY:
Home sellers with an entrepreneurial bent might be more likely to choose a single agent vs. a team or a boutique firm vs. a large brand.  To them Quality is more important than quantity. Quality time and attention is more important than getting lost in the shuffle of a large firm or dealing with an underling vs. the team leader.  There may be more risk involved in selecting an agent based on this factor, but entrepreneurial thinkers are usually less risk averse.

3. VALUE: Some people decide who to hire based solely on Value, meaning the lowest commission rate. These people consider most top agents to be equal to the task.  They do not care as much about Safety or Quality in this context.  If you have the bent for this approach, become the value leader and dominate this category!

4. PERFORMANCE: In luxury real estate, Performance might refer to your track record. We recently heard a story from a successful agent whose website was found first via a Google search by a foreign buyer ready, able and willing to spend over $3M on a home.  This person had searched the MLS on the agent’s site on a Thursday night and identified five homes that he wanted to see when he came in town that Saturday.  The agent was told by the buyer that he checked out the Gallery of Sold Homes on the agent’s site which included several $3M+ homes. That was enough to convince the buyer to pick up the phone and request the showing appointment.  For some Performance is a key decision making factor. If you have a strong track record by all means, flaunt it!

5 & 6. ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY/GREEN & DESIGN/STYLE: Agents with a passion for all things Green or those who have a flair for Design can run circles around other agents once potential clients learn that you speak their language and share their values.

7. TECHNOLOGY/INNOVATOIN: If you have a penchant for Technology, by all means jump all over this category and dominate it in the minds of potential clients. If you use Technology or demonstrate Innovation better than anyone else in your marketplace you have a shot at “owning” this category. Those who consider these factors to be their priority value will hire you over others who are a lesser match to their values. 

If you can demonstrate that you or your company stand for one of these brand perception categories you will have a clear shot at gaining significant market share.  If you can accomplish this in more than one category like Mercedes Benz has done with Qualtiy, Design/Style and Technology/Innovation you too can win the battle of brand perception, a battle that takes place expressly in the minds of your target market. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Winning the Battle of Brand Perception - Part 1

Photo courtesy of mbusa

In luxury real estate marketing, brand perception is an extremely important determining factor for consumers when selecting an agent to assist them in buying or selling a home.  Have you taken the time to consider how you are perceived by potential clients? What do you stand for in the minds of your target market? If market leadership is your quest, you must tell people how you want them to perceive you and in which of their mental categories you want to be held.  Otherwise, by default, they will pigeonhole you themselves-accurately or not (mostly inaccurately). 

To get a better sense of how perception factors into the agent selection process let us first take a look at how Mercedes Benz is winning the battle of perception as a market leader. Then, in Part 2 we will apply the principles of brand perception to your luxury real estate marketing practice.

According to Consumer Reports’ 2010 Brand Perception Survey for cars, consumers consider the following categories to be the most important factors in buying a new car: 

1. Safety
2. Quality
3. Value
4. Performance
5. Environmentally Friendly/Green
6. Design/Style
7. Technology/Innovation 

Each of these factors becomes a brand perception category in the minds of car buying consumers; each category offers an opportunity for one brand to be a category leader, enjoying top-of-mind status in that category.  A brand perception category is different from a product category, such as economy car, luxury car, sports car, truck, SUV/crossover, or van. A brand perception category is an aspect of the product category that has relative importance and meaning, i.e., value to the consumer when making a buying or hiring (in the case of a service) decision.

Deliberately communicating to your target market that you want your brand to be perceived predominantly in a particular brand perception category is a key component of brand positioning.  This is where the real competition for market leadership takes place.  Whichever brand commands the top-of-mind position in a brand perception category wins! Mindshare precedes market share.

Here is how it works. Which automobile brand comes to mind first when you think of the word Safety?  According to Consumer Reports, Volvo absolutely dominates this brand perception category. Through years of engineering and marketing Volvo has come to “own” the category of Safety in the minds of 77% of consumers.  Volvo has deliberately positioned itself as the top-of-mind leader in the perception category of Safety, and has a stranglehold in this category.  In the physical realm of moving parts, many other car brands aim to achieve the same rigorous safety standards as Volvo. But, Volvo, the only luxury car in this category, consistently wins the battle that takes place in the consumer’s mind.

In the category of Quality, Mercedes Benz was the only luxury car in the top 5. But, Mercedes was a “no-show” in the top 5 for the Performance category; BMW and Porsche were the only luxury brands there.  BMW’s slogan “the ultimate driving machine” has reinforced their leadership in the Performance category, a brand position they have dominated for years.

Mercedes Benz is also the category luxury leader of Technology/Innovation.  Based on the Brand Perception Survey, Lexus is the only other luxury car competitor in this category.

It is important to pick your battles wisely. It is better to focus on a single category, like Volvo (Safety) or BMW (Performance) that you can dominate, rather than disperse your efforts by trying to be all things to all people.  However, Mercedes Benz has the potential to regain its status as the overall most highly perceived luxury car brand in the world and once again become a triple threat by dominating not only Quality and Technology/Innovation, but also Design/Style.

This year Mercedes Benz made a bold move by going back to their roots and re-focusing on Design/Style. They changed their slogan to “the best or nothing” to strengthen their dominance of Quality. And, they reintroduced a retro version of the 1955 classic sports car, the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing that sells for upwards of $200,000. 

While only a select segment of their target market can afford to purchase this awesome car, the value of producing it lies primarily in perception enhancement. In 2011, Mercedes Benz will most likely surpass Lexus and Cadillac with whom they are tied for the top spot in the Design/Style category in the 2010 survey. 

Be sure to check out Part 2 of this blog post series where we will discuss what it takes to win the battle of brand perception in marketing luxury real estate.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: How to Grow Your Brand Equity

If you think that creating your personal brand is not all that important, think again.  Brand equity is a term that describes the financial value of a brand, the value that it contributes to the bottom line profit of a business.  Brand equity in your luxury real estate marketing practice is the added value in revenue that your brand generates based on the degree to which you achieve top-of-mind status among potential referral sources.  The best way to grow brand equity and achieve top-of-mind status is to “own” or dominate a specific category or niche within your luxury marketplace. 

Is the taste of Coca Cola, the formula of ingredients added to sugar-sweetened sparkling water, really that much better and more valuable than Pepsi or other colas? The brand value of Coke is in the top-of-mind status that Coke enjoys among consumers. According to Business Week’s 2009 Top 100 Global Brands, Coca Cola is number one most highly valued brand in the world.

“Owning” an idea or category of goods or services, like the sub-category of ‘colas’ in the broader category of soft drinks, is the ultimate aim of branding.  Toyota is #8 on the list with the greatest brand value of all global car manufacturers.  When you think of Toyota what idea comes to mind?  Toyota owns the word “reliable”.  A Toyota is a reliable, moderately priced car.

Toyota is not a luxury car. But, did you know that Lexus, #96 on the list, is made by Toyota? They have done a masterful job of building separate sub-brands that are sharply focused on specific car categories and then dominating those niches.  Other Toyota brands (not on the list) are the Prius which is the “proven leader in Hybrid technology”, and the Scion, a winner in the youth category.

What idea or category of car does #49 Ford own?  In contrast to Toyota, the Ford brand is on so many models and categories of cars that it has diluted its brand equity. Ford does outsell all other truck manufactures in the US by a considerable margin and therefore, owns this category. 

Pick a category within your luxury real estate marketplace that you would like to own.  Build your brand around this niche. Then, watch your brand equity grow!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Don't Blow It By Being a Generalist!

Focus is the name of the game in luxury real estate marketing and branding  today, particularly because internet marketing, an inescapable component of any successful marketing plan, is all about “expertness” on a given subject or category of business.   Selecting and dominating an uncontested market niche is the fastest route to market leadership and top-of-mind status.

In business, niches are categories of products and services. The majority of people can only hold one or two brands in their mind in a given category.  What is the first facial tissue that comes to your mind?  Can you see the importance of being Kleenex, the category leader, the top-of-mind brand that commands the lion’s share of revenue in this product category?

If you wanted to gift a client who was interested in hand blown glass sculpture which artist would come to your mind first? If you didn’t know any of these artists, you most likely would ask a friend.  If your friend didn’t have an answer you would probably turn to Google.   

The glass sculpture tree depicted above by Dale Chihuly is the first image displayed on Google using the search term “glass sculpture”. Chihuly is, by far, the category leader. And, he not only is a master glass sculptor, but also a brilliant marketer.  His major exhibits are often staged outside and his publicity is extensive.

Essentially, Dale Chihuly identified an uncontested market niche that he could dominate, a niche about which he is quite passionate.  By popularizing the virtually unknown sub-category of contemporary style, he made glass sculpture more accessible and more appealing to more people than traditional, functional Venetian glass sculpture. This is Chihuly’s extraordinary promise of value that catapulted him to top-of-mind status and to high volume sales. He "owns" the contemporary micro-niche sub-category of hand-blown glass sculpture that previously was not on the radar of mass consciousness.

So don’t blow it by being a generalist!  Identify an uncontested market niche that you can dominate with passion in your luxury real estate marketing practice.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Share Your Delectable Finds

Cork bark from a Cork Tree

As a luxury real estate  marketing professional, staying in touch with your sphere of influence is of paramount importance.  One way to stay in touch is to share your newest and best discoveries as you live your life and explore the ins and outs of your marketplace.

This evening we went out to our local wine bar and bistro, Corktree Cellars.  It is located in downtown Carpinteria on our "Main Street," Linden Avenue.  We love going there because the menu is fun, innovative and puts a smile on your face as you read it. The food is great. The wine list is varied and well thought out,  reflecting the bounty of our local wine country known as the California Central Coast.

This evening we shared a char broiled romaine hearts salad with blue cheese crumbles, apples and sherry pommery (mustard) dressing.   We followed that with a Kobe burger which comes with several choices of French fries.  Anne, our  knowledgeable server, suggested the parmesan truffle fries.  We followed her advice, and were delighted with the taste.  This was accompanied by a wonderful glass of local Syrah.

For dessert, we had macaroons. dipped in chocolate  The dessert menu assures you that the offerings are fat free and have zero calories*.  As you read on the * reveals, that this is a totally false statement.  You have to chuckle!

So, share your discoveries with everyone you know. Your blog will be noticed. Foks will rush to read the latest and greatest food  finds discovered by someone who has actually experienced it.

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Luxury Real Estate Company & Personal Branding: What Is Your Claim to Fame?

Ariana Rose holding up an Amaranth,
Team Member of B.D's Earththrine Farms, Ojai, California

One of the most common mistakes that luxury real estate marketing professionals make is trying to be all things to all people.  Focus is mission critical in marketing luxury real estate and in company and personal branding as well. If you can focus on a specific niche, whether it is a neighborhood, or a demographic or a type of property and also be the best in your marketplace in that one niche, your chances of success will improve exponentially.

The idea is to become the first luxury real estate marketing professional to come to mind in that specific category of business. When you select the category that is best for you must:

1. Select something about which you can feel passionate.
2. Select a niche that is virtually uncontested, something that you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace.
3. Select an under served niche that you can dominate and demonstrate your expertise

Here is an example of niche marketing that ties all three of these points together. At our farmers market in Santa Barbara, California, there is one farm that stands out as the best in class for organic herbs. Although, BD’s Earthrine Farms, from nearby Ojai, also grows and sells fruits and vegetables, in our minds, and in the minds of many local restaurants, Eartrine stands for the best herbs in our area. We never miss a stop at their stand.

On our last trip there we noticed a rather remarkable “flower” that looked like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book, called amaranth. In talking with Ariana Rose from Earthrine, she explained that the amaranth is actually the oldest cultivated edible vegetable. We suspect that most people would buy these fascinating vegetables as ornamentals but people around the world also value amaranths as leaf vegetables and cereals.

Are amaranths a big seller? Probably, they are not. But, growing them and selling them at the farmers market speaks volumes about the breadth and depth of Earthrine’s knowledge and expertise in lesser known organic foods which is their claim to fame. Their passion for what they do is palpable. Everyone who works there smiles and they do their best to make you feel good, too.

What is your claim to fame?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: It's All About Moo!

Instantly communicating your extraordinary promise of value as a luxury real estate marketing professional is the goal of strategic branding. It is a challenge to distill your marketing message, the benefits that will be derived by working with you, into just a few words. If you can do this through humor you have the opportunity to hit a home run.  If you can do this with video, you can hit a grand slam home run because video offers the opportunity to spark word-of mouth advertising and trigger viral marketing through social media channels.

You will remember the highly successful “Got Milk?” campaign.  That expression hit a chord and became a “meme” A meme is a concept that gets passed from one person to another like a virus.  In just two words, and some very humorous situations where milk as a thirst quencher was unattainable the Got Milk? ads conveyed the promise of value that only milk could satisfy.

Today, at the bottom of the Wall Street Journal Online was a curious miniature advertisement with a call to action that said “Visit Mootopia.  Roll over to explore.”  The ad was only two inches wide by ¾ inch tall. And, the idea of scrolling over an ad was intriguing.

It was an hilarious 30 second video that extended the Got Milk? advertising campaign.  In fact there were two additional, must see, 30 second videos that were also available to view adjacent to the video player.  Each video communicated in a humorous manner three benefits of drinking milk:

1. Shinier Hair
2. Stronger Muscles
3. Healthier Teeth

 Check out the Mootopia Videos for yourself and you will see what we mean.

These videos were very funny and they were easy to recall which makes it easier to share with others. Distilling your marketing message and succinctly communicating your extraordinary promise of value is paramount in the game of marketing luxury real estate.  Tapping into this powerful opportunity of “Sharing” that social media offers can help you build your reputation more rapidly than ever before.

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Dare to Dance to the Beat of a Different Drum

Personal branding in luxury real estate marketing is all about setting your own tone, listening to your gut instincts, finding your own rhythm and dancing to the beat of a different drum—your unique brand signal. Conforming to the norm will not get you very far. Distinguishing yourself from your competition, stepping out, and making a statement will help you reach top-of-mind status in your marketplace.

Standing out from the crowd sometimes takes fortitude. Blending in is often times considered to be safer. But, it is important to understand that a weak brand signal will not attract very much business.

Switch places!  Ask yourself these questions:

1. If you were ready to sell your $1M+ home, who would you select to market your home (other than you)?
2. Who are the first three agents that come to your mind?
3. Who do you trust?
4. Now prioritize them. Who comes to mind first, second and third?
5. Do any of them truly stand out as unique?
6. If so, does that person’s brand signal resonate with yours?
7. What characteristics do each these agents possess that is distinguishable from the other two?

The goal of personal branding is to make the implicit explicit, to amplify what is unique, what is different about you, obvious.  That way people who can appreciate your unique qualities can quickly gravitate to you because they recognize that you are a match.

The common fear, when taking a unique stance is that there will be a scarcity of potential clients who will appreciate your uniqueness when you express your authentic self as a brand. The truth is there only appears to be scarcity of clients when you appear to be like everyone else.

We encourage you to follow your heart and listen to your inner voice. Tune into your unique brand signal. Dare to dance to the beat of a different drum.

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Personal Branding: Feather Your Clients' Nest with Bespoke (Personalized) Service

One of the most important words in the Language of Luxury to include in your vocabulary is “bespoke”.  It means tailored, made to order, personalized or custom-made.  As a luxury real estate marketing professional adopting a “bespoke mindset” and offering a customized service can go a long way to differentiate you from your competition.  Feather your client's nest with bespoke service. This will add another feather in your cap and give your clients a compelling reason to refer you to others.

Nothing defines your personal brand better than your own brand of clothing or your own custom-made perfume. In one of the finest men’s haberdasheries in London, Turnbull & Asser, you can find an entire department of bespoke merchandise. While it is world renowned for its bespoke shirts, a tradition for over 120 years, Turnbull and Asser now sells bespoke belts, boxer shorts, gloves, knitwear, sleep wear, socks, ties, and umbrellas.

Bespoke perfumery is an art but it is also a science. The best perfumers are usually graduates of the prominent International Superior Institute of Perfume, Cosmetics and food Aromas (ISIPCA). Perfumers who are masters of their craft can identify hundreds of smells by nose.  They often spend up to one year creating a single personalized bespoke fragrance.

Some bespoke perfume artisans take on just one or two clients per year.  Depending on the rarity and availability of the chosen oils and ingredients, the cost can be up to $70,000. It may take up to three or four private consultations to concoct your own signature scent. There is an artisan perfumer in California who can create a bespoke perfume for you by mail for $900. 

Bespoke goods benefit not only the customers, who can freely express their individuality, but also the artisan, as they are not constrained by the commercial limitations of mass production. Delivering a customized service in marketing luxury real estate can make you stand out and also offer you a way to express your own creativity.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Cultivate Existing Relationships by Planting "Forget-Me-Nots"

Forget-Me-Not Flowers

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it can take a considerable investment of time, energy and often money to acquire a new client. The key is to keep that client raving about your service long after you have worked with them, to insure a steady flow of referral business.  This involves creating a superior client experience in the first place. What does it take to accomplish this? In three words it takes: Client Experience Management.

Do you have a Client Lifecycle Strategy for managing a rich client experience  during the transaction and also for retaining your clients?  You must have a strategy for being memorable and staying  "top-of-mind".  Most agents are focused on “farming” their marketplace for new business, which is a good thing.  But, to be a true market leader you also need to cultivate new relationship by tending to existing ones and planting perennial “forget-me-nots”.

What do clients want to experience the most in a relationship with you?

1.    They want to feel cared for.
2.    They want to feel remembered.
3.    They want to feel accepted.  
4.    They want to feel uplifted.
5.    They want to feel understood.

Here are some more  questions that you should ask yourself:

1. Have I asked them for permission to stay in touch?
2. How often should you stay in touch with them after the sale? 
3. What are the best methods for staying in touch?
4. How can I show them that I still care?
5. How can I continue to contribute to them

Every one of the above questions actually presents a way to differentiate yourself from your competition, to stand out from the crowd.  In marketing luxury real estate client retention is of paramount importance. Be sure you come up with answers that are uniquely your own. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Luxury of Giving Yourself Time

Sandyland Beach, Carpinteria

In defining what luxury means, the majority respond with one word: time.  Despite the plethora of time saving devices that we all accumulate, we are still time starved.  We feel that it is important at least once a day to turn off all those devices, and get away from it all.  Our favorite is to take a walk to the beach, our conference room.  The walk invigorates us, clears our heads,  inspires us, and feeds our souls.  What will you do to get away?

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Luxury Real Estate Websites: Heidi Bintz - Vail, Colorado

 

Luxury real estate marketing is a high stakes game. Today's luxury real estate websites must be designed with a rich graphic user interface that immediately engages the senses and holds the visitor's attention.  They also need to be designed to offer a high level of satisfaction on multiple devices including those with touch screens--think iPad and Smartphones.

Here is the luxury real estate website case study of Heidi Bintz, Forbes Sotheby's #1 highest volume produce in Vail Colorado: www.VailMountainLifestyle.com.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Command the Competitive Edge—Follow Through!

Roger Federer has 16 Grand Slam titles, Photo by Mandj 98

Today, marketing luxury real estate involves a much more expanded scope of activities than ever before.  Following through on details is more challenging now, especially with the added arena of social media which can be quite daunting.  Yet, to be a champion and command the competitive edge it is imperative that you devise and execute systems that allow you to consistently follow through on all of the luxury real estate marketing fundamentals.

In sports, such as golf, tennis, and baseball, coaches insist that their athletes follow through with their swing.  From a logical perspective, it seems odd that one should continue the swing long after the ball has hit the sweet spot of the club, the racket or the bat and sails away.  However, it is that follow through on the swing (in empty air) that makes the difference between a great shot and a mediocre one, between a foul ball and a home run. 

Have you ever visited a real estate agent’s blog and found that the last time they published a post was several months prior to your visit?  This is a major clue! Even if some people do not notice this details there probably are other clues that betray this agent’s lack of follow-through and inattention to detail.

It may be unreturned phone calls, or unanswered emails, or lateness to appointments that demonstrate the absence of a championship mindset. If you are neck-and-neck with your competition, while going after the same listing, it is neglecting these details that can cost you the listing.

Follow-through in marketing luxury real estate may require that you delegate as many details as possible to a trusted assistant so that you can be freed up to do what you love the most. If a championship season is on your horizon, cover all of your bases, consistently follow through and you will be triumphant!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Mind Your Own Elephant

Seizing control of what you focus your attention upon, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, is mission critical in a challenging economy. Your personal economy is actually the result of where you place and hold your attention.  Those who seek out and consistently focus on the positive opportunities of their marketplace experience an entirely different set of financial results compared to those who “rubberneck”, i.e., continuously fixate on what is going wrong.  

Have you ever heard the story about a group of people who are blindfolded and asked to describe a different part of an elephant that they are touching?  One reports that it is a spear (while touching the tusk). Another describes a hose (obviously touching the trunk that is spraying water).  Each can say that they are touching the same animal but have entirely different experiences, and thus different realities.  None are right or wrong in relationship to the others. They are just reporting their experience from their personal vantage point. 

What is exciting to know about focus is that you actually have the power to choose where you place your attention.  However, if you do not exercise this power the results, by default, will be detrimental to your practice.  Rubbernecking is the sure way to bring your luxury real estate marketing practice to a screeching halt.

Have you ever driven in the furthest left lane of a freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic and noticed up ahead that there were flashing lights of an ambulances and fire trucks on the opposite side of the freeway in the lane closest to you?  Why did your side of the freeway come to a complete stop when the accident happened on the other side of the freeway?  The people directly in front of you were rubbernecking.  There was no traffic jam on your side.

If market leadership is your quest it is imperative that you practice the art of staying focused your own positive outcomes. Mind "your own elephant" and mind your own business.  If you find yourself rubbernecking, be sure not reprimand yourself because that prolongs the fixation on the negative.  Just do your very best to gently redirect your attention back on track.  After consistent deliberate practice without self condemnation, your attention will shift.  You will stop rubbernecking and start bouncing right back! We commend those of you who have achieved this important feat, those of you who have triumphed over your personal economy.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Of Psychographics & Honey

Is it possible to roll back the hands of time? This is one of the most pressing questions on the minds of baby boomers who are entering their highest spending years en masse.  It is the keystone of this generation’s psycho graphics or mindset. When marketing luxury real estate you can actually accelerate the sales process by speaking to this perennial need.  This is done by expressing the features and benefits of the local lifestyle of your marketplace as means of rejuvenating the spirit.  

To learn the vernacular of rejuvenation study how the major cosmetic companies compose their marketing messages. It seems that each of them is trying to outdo their competition by coming out with face serums, moisture creams and other ablutions that can smooth away wrinkles and erase the ravages of time. Take heed! With billions of dollars at stake, pitching these costly lotions and potions is luxury marketing at its best.

We have covered several top cosmetic companies each of whom is trying to best their competition. One company is focusing on this endeavor more so than others. After exclaiming that the answer to the fountain of youth lies in orchids the key ingredient in their age-reversal creams, Guerlain, has yet another breakthrough. Their latest anti-aging system is an oil-in-water emulsion called Abeille Royale Youth Serum. Abeille, pronounce “ah bay” means bee in French.

Based on honey, the serum is absorbed quickly, has a velvety-soft texture, helps heal skin and repairs wrinkles. Dr.Fredric Bonte, the Director of Guerlain Research, stated that this new product is made from pure Ouessant honey and royal jelly which is produced by the Black Bee. This insect is found on an island off the coast of French Brittany, a pollution and parasite free environment which ensures the highest quality.

In your luxury real estate marketing practice, learn the language that speaks to your target market.  That is the language of luxury.

Personal Branding: Think Iconic-Achieve Top-of-Mind Status

Madonna

Eva Perón

Personal branding for luxury real estate marketing professionals is much more than getting a new “look”.  In the realm of market leadership it involves achieving top-of-mind status not only with potential clients but with anyone who could be a potential referral source for you. To understand the territory of the mind where brands reside it is helpful to consider the concept of  “icons”.

An icon is an object of uncritical devotion by admirers. When you think of the word iconic which entertainers, politicians or companies come to mind? 

In the music industry you may think of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Stones and Madonna. In politics, John F. Kennedy may come to mind. In business, Disney and Apple are certainly iconic companies.

In real estate, certain buildings have become iconic such as the Chrysler Building in New York. The Taj Mahal in India, a mausoleum, is an icon for the entire country.

When Madonna performed Like a Virgin on the MTV Video Music Awards TV show it was considered an iconic performance in MTV history.  Much controversy ensued but Madonna could do no wrong among her devoted fans. It was no wonder that she wanted desperately to play the role of Eva Perón in the film version of Evita. When the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show in the 60’s it was iconic moment that signaled the “British Invasion” in pop music.

If market leadership is your quest, it is not necessary to become a local iconi or a living legend.  But, understanding the concept of achieving top-of-mind status is essential to this pursuit.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Romancing Your Marketplace

As a luxury real estate marketing professionals you can steadily increase readership of your blog by expressing your personal views about what it is like to live and play in your area, your local marketplace.  Expressing your voice, your viewpoint is what will make your blog interesting and will attract your readers to do business with you.  People like doing business with people like themselves.  It is, therefore, important to express your personal point of view so other with the same values can identify with you.  We call this “romancing your marketplace”.  Here is an example.

One of our favorite attractions here in Santa Barbara County is the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park.  The park encompasses 110 acres of prime ocean front land, and is reserved as a sanctuary for rare and endangered plants, birds and wildlife.  It is located within a few blocks from our home. The trails of the salt marsh, that we love exploring, meander through the estuaries that lead to the beach.

Chaparral Mallow

This Sunday, as we walked to the beach, we saw a blue heron preening his feathers, a snow white egret fishing on the banks of the waterway, a couple of cottontail bunnies hopping along our trail, and a family of mallards gliding on the water.  One of the paths was bordered with a riot of pinkish purple blooms on silvery bushes called chaparral mallows, which are native to the California seaside.  On Saturday mornings, there are docents present for those who like guided tours.

 The reason potential clients and referral sources follow your blog is because it speaks to their interests and values.  The connection and often the referral happens when they find out that you love wildlife, nature walks or the environment too, not necessarily when you tell them about the latest real estate statistics.

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Personal Branding: Does It Work to Use Your Name as Your Personal Brand?

Using your own name as your personal brand name can be tricky in luxury real estate marketing.  It may work well to help you sustain a “top-of-mind” position among sellers, if you already have achieved celebrity status in your marketplace.  But, buyers, particularly those from out of your marketplace, cannot differentiate one agent from another, especially if your website does not stand out as unique.

To grasp the significance of how using your name as your personal brand plays out in the minds of consumers here is an example in the realm of celebrity perfumes.

Last month Harrods department store in London was the “launching pad” for Jennifer Aniston’s new perfume.  The brand name of the perfume is Jennifer Aniston.  It was supposed to be called Lolavie which means “laugh at life”.   Now, that would have been an excellent brand name because Ms. Aniston is most famous for her role in Friends, a situation comedy on television and also for her romantic comedies on screen.  But, the name was changed at the last minute because another brand would have been too easily confused with her new product.  Expediency won out and the perfume now has the celebrity’s own personal brand name.

So, here is the big question for the ladies:  Would you buy a perfume with another woman’s name?  Elizabeth Taylor has her own perfume line. But, the main brand names are White Diamonds and Passion. Gentlemen, would you buy Lebron James cologne?  Certainly, if you identify with this celebrity, a better brand name would be King James. Imagine your wife or girlfriend asking you what scent you are wearing and you answer, “LeBron James”.

If you already have an established website with your name as your domain it may be wise to keep it because starting over with a different domain name may upset your current ranking with Google.   Keep the domain but create a new brand name for your blog and play up the blog brand.  However, if your current website does not rank well you are better off to begin anew with a new domain name and a brand that people can easily remember.

Luxetera, Etcetera: Celebrating Fiesta, Santa Barbara Style

The Santa Barbara Mission

Luxury real estate marketing is all about romancing your marketplace. This week in Santa Barbara is our annual Fiesta known as “Old Spanish Days”. Each community has their special events, and an opportunity for involvement.  This five day event begins at the Santa Barbara Mission, the tenth California mission established by the Spanish Franciscan monks.

The original celebration began in 1924 for the purpose of commemorating and appreciating the history, customs, and traditions of the Santa Barbara cultural legacy.  Through the years, it has been an opportunity to enjoy the culture of the American Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and the early Western settlers. 

The Santa Barbara Fiesta draws thousands of visitors from all over the world. Performers are from various part of the United States and also from s Mexico.  Historically, celebrities such as Will Rogers, Shirley Temple, Delores del Rio, William Randolph Hearst, and Charles Lindberg have participated in the festivities. Parades, food, music, and rodeos, are just some of the highlights of this exciting home town party.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Harness the Power of WOW in Your Marketing!

What if your closing gift could perpetually keep you “top-of-mind”, and create a buzz about you or your company for years after your clients take possession of the property?  If you have clients, in your luxury real estate marketing practice, who are passionate about the environment, here is a buzz marketing idea for you.

Buzz marketing is creating a remarkable story about you or your company that others feel compelled to pass along to their friends, co-workers and family. Great buzz attracts the media who is hungry for buzz-worthy stories. Online, buzz is like a virus that spreads exponentially as others share your story with a click of their mouse (or the touch of their screen). Offline, buzz is at the core of word-of –mouth advertising.  When you harness the power of WOW! you can trigger a chain reaction and unleash the driving force of  buzz!

Recently, we met with Steve Cushman, the CEO of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce.  He offered us a glass of cold purified water from a device that looked like a typical office water cooler, but without a bottle of water on top and no direct waterline.  The appliance, called DewPointe, is an atmospheric water generator that converts moisture in the air, an abundant inexhaustible resource, into as much as 8.4 gallons of filtered water per day. Now, that is a WOW!   

The DewPointe appliance was a gift to the Chamber by the Chamber member in San Luis Obispo who sells the appliance.  It is a gift that keeps giving. The buzz about the DewPointe in the Chamber office is a return on investment that keeps paying off.  

Imagine the buzz you could create if you gave your client the DewPointe as a closing gift.  Alternatively, you could attach a plaque with your company name and phone number on it and donate the appliance to a school, a service organization, to your church or temple.

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