Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Telling the Story Wordlessly

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Closing Gift that Keeps Giving

March 15, 2011

Sterling Silver Roses

The most important aspect of gift giving as a luxury real estate marketing professional is understanding who your client is. l In conversing with anyone, it is easy to listen for the clues of things they like:hobbies they are involved in or ideas they are passionate about. These listening moments are a guarantee to finding the perfect gift that keeps giving.

When we were active in commercial real estate on the Westside of Los Angeles, many of our clients were avid gardeners. The majority of them loved roses growing in their gardens. Our gift to them was a selection of the newest species of roses from Jackson Perkins. This year, they have 6 new varieties including a wonderful purple rose called Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as its companion rose, Chardonnay. They usually ship them in bareroot form this time of the year. As the ground warms up you can have them shipped in pots.

On our monthly journey to Los Angeles, we ocasionally see these clients/friends and they will inevitably bring up the subject of the roses we have given them. They remark how they always think of us, when they cut them and bring them in to their home or place of business. They will comment on the exceptional quality and quantity of the blooms, etc.

We always made a point of discovering our clients personal preferences, so that we could send a gift that would say we understood who they are, and that alone reminded them of us. Our coffee experts were sent an annual subscription to some of the world's rarest coffees, and the same for the tea drinkers.

If you give someone what they really are interested in, you are a great gift giver. A great gift comes from listening to another person, and making a note under their name in your records. It is so much fun to see someone's smile, and say" Thanks, this is one the best gifts, I have ever received."

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Strategy versus Tactics

November 16, 2010

If market leadership is your quest, as a luxury real estate marketing professional it is extremely important to understand the difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy is the overarching plan to out-think the top producing competitors in your marketplace or niche. Tactics are the specific methods you use to execute your strategy or to generate more business in general.

The primary purpose of a strategy is to win top-of-mind status in a category of business or a niche within the category. Studies show that consumers can only hold three companies, service professionals or products in their minds (on average) in any given category or sub-category. Therefore, the battle for mindshare and the resulting market share really only applies to those who desire to be one of the top three contenders in any given category. That is why marketing strategies are only for those who are interested in gaining or sustaining market leadership.

Tactics for generating more business without a strategy for securing market leadership in some category can only yield mediocre results. That is because the top three contenders are targeting the lion’s share of the business and winning over the mind’s of the consumers, while all others are fighting over the crumbs. In the unabashed pursuit of market leadership the stakes are always very high and so is the level of gamesmanship, the tactics required to conquer the category.

Facebook recently announced a messaging service combined with email that could rival Hotmail (Microsoft) and Gmail (Google). According to comScore, Microsoft is currently the largest provider, with 362 million unique email visitors in September, followed by Yahoo with 273 million. But Google's Gmail is growing fast, with 193 million unique visitors in September. When Facebook launches world-wide in the coming weeks, more than 500 million users of Facebook will have access to the new messaging service.

Facebook took a look at the category of web-based email and recognized an “unfair” competitive advantage. A strategy was born to compete with the top three contenders in the category and dismiss one from the top tier. They already have all or most of your contacts in their/your “address book”. Free email like these services represent both an opportunity to promote and grow the company leveraging viral marketing as you and your friends communicate with each other. It also represents a tremendous opportunity to generate advertising revenue. The stakes are extremely high.

Facebook also learned that the younger generation, in particular, does not have the patience for email and prefers instant messaging which represents two major strength of the company (younger users and IM). The platform will be primarily used for instant messaging.

If you do not want to settle for the battle of the crumbs, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you must identify an uncontested market niche that you can dominate. Seek out opportunities that you can win, niches that you can serve better than any other competitor in your marketplace.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Beyond Online Self-Service

October 25, 2010

There is a very, very important lesson for Luxury real estate marketing professionals in the arena of e-book readers. Competing feature by feature with your competition such as integrity and market knowledge is an utter waste of time. The agent with the most extraordinary and inimitable promise of ADDED value has a better chance of winning.

Have you tried reading an e-book yet? So far it seems that the race is on for market leadership in the single purpose e-book arena between two major players: Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

The two most popular single purpose e-book readers are B&N’s Nook and Amazon’s Kindle. However, both of these companies have Apps available for use on multi-purpose devices such as the iPad, smart phones, laptops and desktop computers. But, if you are in the market for a single purpose e-book reader which one would you choose when the features on the devices themselves are basically the same and so is the price?

Barnes & Noble has a wider selection of e-books. But, it is only a matter of time that Amazon catches up. At first, B&N had a book sharing policy that Amazon did not have as a way to differentiate itself. Then, Amazon announced a similar policy. The reason that competing on features alone is such a worthless pursuit is because a feature is too easy to imitate.

Not everyone has the same buying criteria. But, for us the Nook beat out the Kindle hands down with an extraordinary ADDED value proposition that Amazon simple cannot match. First, it is a luxury for us to take our time and browse for books in our local brick and mortar B&N Store in Santa Barbara. We can ask live humans questions and get instant help there. Second you can read any e-book on your Nook for one hour via Wi-Fi while you are in the store. Amazon has the “Look Inside” feature online that is now extremely limited by comparison.

Our third reason is extremely important to note as a luxury real estate marketing professional. The store’s merchandise manager, Elliot Klement, took about one-half hour to help us set up our Nook account and give us a personal tour of the device. This was extremely helpful since we were about to travel and did not have time to read the manual thoroughly. He also offered each of us a cappuccino “on the house” from Starbucks (within the store) while he personally affixed the reading pane’s clear protective cover that we also bought.

We now have a relationship with Elliot in particular, not just B&N. Elliot assured us that we could come in any time to ask him any additional question we might have, not just go to a series of FAQ’s online. These reasons may not be meaningful to some, but they speak volumes to us and many others like us who are seeking the perfect balance between online self-service and matchless in-person quality care, which is the essence of the traditional luxury buying experience.

SEE PART 2 OF THIS POST

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Lessons from Ferrari

October 20, 2010

Photo by Olexiy Lazarevych, Ferrari 599XX, Geneva 2010

Why do some luxury real estate marketing professionals fare well in all economic conditions? The keys lie in two important words embodied by Ferrari, one of the most prestigious luxury brands on the planet: Authenticity & Certainty!

Agents who are certain about their core strengths, their internal capabilities and have a well-grounded value set do not get confused by changes in the economy. They do not question their competence. Therefore, they are able to clearly assess new opportunities, especially opportunities that are impervious to the economy. For example, relocating highly paid athletes can be a perennial source of new business.

Now is the best time to catch current market leaders off-guard, especially those who are deviating from their essential winning formulas and therefore, are sacrificing their authenticity in the process. If you are challenging the incumbent market leader you need to tap into your power, draw on your unique talents as well as your previous track record. You must offer an extraordinary promise of value that heretofore does not exist in your marketplace.

Most importantly, you must be authentic—the “real deal”- and consistently deliver on your clients’ expectations. Clients who are able to purchase, although they are more reluctant to spend in uncertain times, want to trust the brands they purchase from. That is where authenticity in personal branding becomes paramount.

This year, the luxury brands that have prospered the most have been those that have stayed true to their core values. A prime example is Ferrari who maintains its limited production in order to stay focused on craftsmanship and consistently delivers on customer expectations.

Like Ferrari, authenticity will keep you sure-footed, set you apart from your competition, and provide traction on the road to success. Maintaining your core value set will give you certainty and maneuverability regardless of road conditions.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Romancing Your Marketplace

August 9, 2010

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

July 20, 2010

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 18^th 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 18^th 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: 8 Tips for Staying Positive & Creating Your Personal Affluent Economy

July 7, 2010

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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