In luxury real estate marketing and in business in general, market leadership is measured in sales volume and market share. It is also measured with an equally important indicator, “top-of-mind status” because mindshare always precedes market share. Here are the two keys to becoming a market leader.
The First Key to Becoming a Market Leader
If you want to be a market leader, the first key is to identify an uncontested or underserved market niche or category that you can serve more effectively than anyone else. Then become the dominant player in that arena.
Your marketplace does not have to be an entire town. You get to define the scope of your market segment. It can be as narrow as you want as long as it has the potential to fulfill your financial expectations. You can achieve top-of-mind status in a three block section of a suburb or a community of just 500 homes or by specializing just in waterfront properties or condos.
The Second Key to Becoming a Market Leader
In any category or niche the battle for market leadership is actually a contest of ideas, and the prize is top-of-mind status. Therefore, the second key to achieving market leadership is to seize an idea that you can stand for authentically and own like “the waterfront expert” or “condo king”.
Do not waste your time copying what the current market leader is doing. And, do not try to compete by using your opponent’s idea. As the famous chef, Emeril Lagasse, said, “Get your own show!”
We have a client in Florida who takes prospective buyers on boat tours of waterfront properties in her marketplace. She not only owns the boat she “owns” this idea of boat tours. To compete with a market leader like this, it would be futile to copy boat tours. Instead, you would need to stand for and own your own idea.
Consider the top wireless carriers. Today, both AT&T and Verizon offer the iPad and the IPhone. The price is the same. Which one would you choose? Verizon stands for and “owns” the idea of “coverage & reliability (fewer dropped calls)” AT&T cannot compete on this attribute. However, it is attempting to acquire T-Mobile so it can compete in terms of size which may translate into “faster product availability” because of the deals they can strike with manufacturers, or “deeper selection” (of bundled of services) down the line. Sprint has the first 4G network; it currently “owns” the idea of “speed”. But, 4G is just a feature that all wireless carriers will eventually have.
So, you want to become a market leader? Find an uncontested or underserved market niche. Then, find an idea you can own in the minds of your target market. Remember that marketing is a contest of idea and top-of-mind status is the prize!
In our luxury real estate marketing consulting practice we work exclusively with incumbent market leaders or their challengers. We do not work with direct competitors within the same marketplace. Our ideal clients are those who realize just how much is at stake in terms of market share and revenue at this level, when you achieve top-of-mind status. If you have the heart of a champion and are keen on “the unabashed pursuit of market leadership”, give us a call for a complimentary consultation! 805.684.8180
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