As we were waiting in line for Arigato, our favorite Japanese restaurant, to open their doors, the gentleman in front of us asked if waiting in line for the doors to open a common sight for this restaurant. He told us this is common in Japan at famous sushi places. Three minutes after we were seated at the bar, he and his companion sat next to us.
Conversation flowed, and when he heard what we do, he asked if we knew how the word "strategy" as drawn in Chinese characters meant 戦 略. He explained: The first word drawing means "effort", The second means "without". Strategy means working without effort.
Simply stated brand strategy is defining how you are planning to communicate with your market, now that you have defined your brand. This means marketing your brand, so that you are known for what your specialty is whether it is in real estate or any other business. Here is an example of a brand strategy we created for a home health care company to achieve their goal in building their brand.
When we asked the co-owners, who is their ideal client, they kept talking about their patients, young and old who needed in-home care. They described their patients, the young man with a broken leg, old people who needed home visits for grocery shopping, and making sure they were faring well. They kept describing their services, and the excellent trained staff they have which were all bonded.
Finally, they realized that it was the parents of young and grown children of the old who were contacting them...Those who made the call were their target market. The parents of the young man who broke a leg in the football game called them to give their son home care, while they were at work. The son or daughter of the aging parents were the ones inquiring and home health care for their loved ones, while they also were at work, or needed time off.
The brand strategy made marketing easier. They knew who to target, and they realized that they were selling time/relief for those who needed it. They were now working without effort. That focus created their brand strategy and their income stream. Within 5 years, they sold their company and retired.
In real estate speak, this is why we harp on finding a niche or several niches as a brand strategy. Instead of trying to serve all who have real estate needs, why not pick one or several that you can excel at and be good at?
Just make sure, that you will enjoy it, as well as the people you serve...In our opinion having a brand strategy in place makes work fun/without effort--with a strategy in place to build your business. Do you have a brand strategy that does not involve effort?