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Branding

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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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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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.

 

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 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 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: 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: 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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Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: Capture Mindshare

 

In luxury real estate marketing, market share is typically measured in two ways: total number of transactions and total dollar volume.  In most marketplaces (or niches within marketplaces) there are two to three agents who dominate the market and account for the lion’s share of business.  This pattern appears in most categories of products and services.  What is important to note, however, is that market share is actually the manifestation of mind share.  Capturing "top-of-mind" status as a personal or company brand is imperative if market leadership is your quest.

Here is an example of how this plays out in the beer industry in the United States.

Anheuser-Busch (brands include the world’s largest selling beers, Bud Light and Budweiser) and MillerCoors, control about 79% of the U.S. beer market, according to Beer Marketers Insights, Inc. Anheuser-Bush, the market leader, enjoys 49% and Miller-Coors commands a 30% market share.  The next closest competitors are Crown Imports (Corona & St, Pauli Girl) with 5.3%, Heineken USA with 4.2% and Pabst with 2.7%.  All others share the crumbs.

What is interesting about Pabst is that they operate a 100% virtual brewery.  In addition to Pabst Blue Ribbon, they own brand names of products that include such time-worn labels as Schlitz, Old Style, Lone Star and Colt 45. But, all of their beers are brewed under contract with beer giant MillerCoors.  The company was recently purchased for about $250 million by investor C. Dean Metropoulos, who made a fortune building well-known consumer brands including Bumble Bee Tuna and Vlasic Pickles.

Mr. Metropoulos did not purchase brewing plants he purchased brand names with substantial value. These names have been “branded” in the minds of a significant percentage of beer drinking consumers who consider Pabst, Schlitz,etc, their beer brand of choice. 

Mind share translates to market share when your personal or company brand name comes to mind first. If you are predominantly a listing agent who wants to dominate your marketplace, your primary aim must be to capture top-of-mind status in "X" number of top-tier households (the number of households that comprise your marketplace).  Luxury real estate marketing is more a mind game than anything else.  That is why it is imperative to learn the rules of the game called brand strategy to attain market leadership. 

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Personal and Company Branding: Don’t Fall Into the “Chameleon Trap”

 

 

In certain cultures it is frowned upon to stand out from the crowd.  However, if market leadership is your quest as a luxury real estate marketing professional, blending in like a chameleon does to camouflage itself is simply not an option.  At a time when competition for attention is escalating, especially online, developing a highly distinguishable, consistent personal or company brand is now an imperative. 

Changing your colors to please others, to blend in or to avoid the pursuit of your competition is the antithesis of establishing your brand position and sticking with it steadfastly.   Many agents and companies fall into the “chameleon trap” because they simply do not want to make waves. But, if you have the heart of a champion, the heart of an achiever, making waves and creating news is what you live for.

In defense of the chameleon and chameleon-like behavior it is important to note that there is more to the color changing story. Recent research asserts that social signaling, such as attracting a mate, was the major driving force behind the evolution of color change. Blending in for camouflage developed as a secondary survival skill.

Therefore, changing your colors to attract more of your ideal clients in the process of luxury real estate marketing can be a good thing. The key is to display your authentic colors decisively and consistently.  

The chameleon trap that we warn you to avoid is really the people pleaser trap. Change is good providing you please yourself in the process.

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Personal Branding: Attract More Clients by Defining Your Brand Position

Brand positioning is one of the most important marketing principles and perhaps one of the most misunderstood.  Yet, to sharply differentiate yourself from your competition, as a luxury real estate marking professional, your brand position, what you stand for in the minds of your target market, must be made crystal clear. 

When you get your brand positioning spot on, it is like comparing apples and oranges. There simply is no comparison. It lets your ideal clients immediately recognize that you are a match. and your competition is not. It accelerates the speed of trust.  Portraying yourself as part apple and part orange,  in an attempt to be all things to all people, is confusing. It weakens your brand signal and your power of attraction.

When you think of Rachael Ray the author, cooking show and talk show host, what comes to your mind besides the words she coined, “Yummo and Delish”?  Rachael stands for wholesomeness; she is the archetypical “girl next door”.  As a result, Rachael is one of the most trusted personal brands in the United States.   

People like to do business with people like themselves, people who share the same values.  If you are attracted to Rachael’s down-to-earth wholesome values you are more likely to trust her advice.  Rachael has mass appeal because there are so many people who can identify with what she stands for.

Now, if Rachael Ray attempted to pull off a cooking show focused entirely on fine Italian cuisine that features traditional family recipes, she simply would not be authentic.  But, Giada De Laurentiis owns this market segment. Giada’s brand position is sophisticated/sexy. She began her professional training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, specializing in both cuisine and pastry. Her training also included positions at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Fine Dining Room and Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills.

Wholesomeness/girl-next-door and sophisticated/sexy are very distinct brand positions.  Both are unmistakable. Each has appeal. Within moments of watching either of these famous chef’s cooking shows you can grasp how they are different and what each of them stands for.

What does your brand stand for? You must take a position and make it clear if you want to attract an abundance of ideal clients, those who share your personal values.  The purpose of personal branding is to articulate your brand position with laser sharp clarity; making what is genuine and implicit about you, explicit so you stand out from your competition, instantly. 

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Personal Branding: Witty Slogans That Stick in Your Mind

 

One way to sharply distinguish yourself from your competition, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, is through a witty slogan that reflects your personality. The best slogans succinctly communicate the main benefits of your brand for your target market and trigger demand for your services. Terrific slogans also adhere to your memory.

One of the best ways to come up with a great slogan for your personal brand is to study the most famous slogans of all time. AdAge.com has named the top 10 slogans of the 20th Century.

TOP 10 SLOGANS OF THE 20th CENTURY

  1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
  2. Just do it (Nike)
  3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
  4. Tastes great, less filling (Miller Lite)
  5. We try harder (Avis)
  6. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
  7. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
  8. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
  9. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
  10. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)

The following slogans were inducted into the Advertising Slogan Hall of Fame by AdSlogans.com.  For fun, see if you can name the brand that goes with each of these slogans (see answers at the bottom):

  1. "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is."
  2. “Reach out and touch someone”
  3. "M'm! M'm! Good!"
  4. "The antidote for civilization."
  5. "Finger lickin' good."
  6. "Because I'm worth it."
  7. “Have it your way.”
  8. "The ultimate driving machine."
  9. "When you care enough to send the very best"
  10. "The Uncola."

1, Alka-Seltzer; 2. AT&T; 3. Campbell Soups; 4. Club Med; 5. KFC; L’Oreal; 6. Clairol; 7. Burger King; 8. BMW; 9. Hallmark;, 10. 7UP

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Personal Branding: Defining Your Personal Values

 

Define What You Value the Most

By Alexandra Seigel

People like to do business with people like themselves.  By making your values explicit graphically and in your messaging of your website and collateral material you will find that you can accelerate the speed of trust.  Typically, people hang out with others who have the same basic values. Swiftly, expressing your values also speeds up the rate of referrals, because there is social currency in successfully introducing you to others who appreciate the same things.  As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it helps you capitalize on the principle that birds of a feather flock together.

Part of the exercise of articulating your personal brand is defining what you value the most. Think about some of your favorite things and why they are meaningful to you. This can reveal your personal brand values.

Here is a personal example from Alexandra to illustrate how to do it:

I love going to the open air Farmers Market. I appreciate the farmers who grow the food organically. My eyes are wide with anticipation as I look at all the beautiful produce. I feel connected to the food I eat. I enjoy the vendor’s kids who are helping their parents sell as they weigh tomatoes, and tell me which ones are sweeter. I applaud the restaurants who are buying organic and fresh for their patrons. I am overwhelmed by the varieties and the choices and I am thankful to be in their midst. At home, I unpack my goodies and plan our meals. Everything tastes better.

From this, you can surmise that I probably buy organic when possible, as it is my preference and an important value. I am also likely to patronize restaurants who buy direct from the farmers. I talk about it, I write about it, and I look forward to going. I am passionate about fresh food and the care that goes into bringing it to market.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding: Maintain Your Visibility- Part 3

 

Wolfgang Puck

The Ultimate Goal of Personal Branding: Global Brand Ubiquity

When you think of Coke or Google you think of a brand that is ubiquitous which means ever-present and seen everywhere. Oprah is an example of a celebrity whose personal brand has become globally ubiquitous.  Wolfgang Puck is perhaps the best known celebrity chef in the world and he is also a ubiquitous brand. 

We first met Wolfgang Puck in the early 1970s in Los Angeles where he was both a rising star as a chef and part owner of Ma Maison restaurant. Since then he has opened countless high end restaurants, casual dining bistros and airport eateries.  In the early 80’s he catered and personally served his famous smoked salmon pizza at a special event that we attended at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. He now has catering facilities in twelve major US cities. His high profile catering gig, the Governor’s Ball at the Academy Awards, is now world renown.

With cookbooks, cookware, a frozen food line, TV shows, radio shows, internet programming, plus much more, Wolfgang Puck’s empire exemplifies what a personal brand can become.  What is truly remarkable is that he has sustained top of mind status and quality in everything he touches over such a long period of time.

Almost 30 years after our first Puck encounter, we were guest speakers at the Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate event last fall in Vail, Colorado that was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel (Bachelor Gulch).  His restaurant was featured there and so was his organic coffee, which is absolutely one of the best we have ever tasted.  When we found his coffee in our local market, here in Santa Barbara, it seemed heaven sent.

Without the Puck brand, the same coffee, could have sat on the shelf and gone unnoticed.  After all, coffee is the 2nd most ubiquitous commodity on the planet, next to oil. But, the trust factor of the Wolfgang Puck brand, his promise of value and quality that has been sustained over a major part of our lifetime has made us loyal customers.

You may not be interested in global brand ubiquity for your personal brand. But, if market leadership is your quest as a luxury real estate marketing professional, becoming a household name and maintaining your visibility over time in your local marketplace, should definitely become your aim.

Maintain Your Visibility Part-1      Maintain Your Visibility-Part 2

Personal Branding: Maintain Your Visibility-Part 2

 

The 3 Keys to Parlay Your Reputation into Celebrity Status

If you are interested in achieving market leadership in your local marketplace think of yourself more like a celebrity and think of your luxury real estate marketing business more like a media.  It may seem like a big stretch, but those who make this shift in thinking will be the big winners for years to come.

Create a plan to parlay your reputation  and personal brand into celebrity status. Here are the three keys to the plan:

  1. Develop a celebrity/media mindset
  2. Build your audience, consistently
  3. Gain and maintain visibility

Your Mindset: You need to think of your business not only as luxury real estate marketing practice, but also as a media with your brand as the star. This is not about pretentiousness; it is about becoming a savvy marketing expert.  How can you expect to win trophy listings if you cannot demonstrate to the sellers, through your personal marketing, that you are the superior choice over your competition?

Instead of being what we call a “transaction engineer”, you must become a marketing company who also processes transactions professionally. This is the metamorphosis that most agents are unwilling to do, which is why it represents such an outstanding opportunity for you, if you do it right.  High net worth clients expect you to have integrity, local market knowledge and excellent negotiating skills, just like your closest competitors. But, how will you stand out from the pack?  How will you gain top of mind/celebrity status?  Those are the questions!

Your Audience: The best way we have found to quickly increase your sphere of influence and leverage your personal brand is through a buzz-worthy blog. Blogging is a vehicle for self-publishing. As your own media, you do not need to answer to an editor. It puts you in control and enables you to capitalize on the primary promise of social media: rapidly amassing a sizable audience of raving fans. 

Your Visibility:  Managing your reputation, maintaining your star power, and staying visible in your marketplace are essentials. When you achieve high visibility you put yourself in position to parlay your celebrity status into additional revenue streams. 

In Part 3 of this series, Maintain Your Visibility, we will showcase a professional who has achieved celebrity status and has extended his personal brand to build to become an international conglomerate.  Hint: Food for Thought!

Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding:: Maintain Your Visibility-Part 1

 

It has only been a few months since the 2010 Winter Olympics.  An American won the gold medal for figure skating. Can you remember his name? Can you picture his face? Achieving top of mind status is quite an accomplishment. Staying top of mind is a whole other matter in our attention-deficient world.  Studying how celebrities maintain visibility can reveal personal branding secrets that can give you a competitive edge as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

You might remember Evan Lysacek’s stellar skating performance in Vancouver, BC.  But, just in case you forgot his face or name you can find Evan appearing on TV in Dancing with the Stars. Is it a coincidence that he is a featured dancer on the show just after his Olympic triumph?  Chances are he has hired a talent agent to keep his name and face in front of your face.

Why is visibility so important and what is at stake? Product endorsements and skating show gigs are some of the ways that Evan can cash in on his celebrity.  For luxury real estate agents, being visible and achieving top of mind status in your marketplace means more referrals. The higher your recognition and appeal factors are, the more likely you are to secure the lion’s share of the market.

In media, marketing, advertising and public relations the measurement of your familiarity and appeal is known as your Q Score.  The Q stands for quotient, as in recognition quotient (amount, share or percentage) within your target market.

An example of a luxury real estate professional who has achieved a very high Q score is Barbara Corcoran in New York. She certainly stands out as a celebrity real estate expert whose opinion is continuously sought out by the media.

With the advent of social media and self publishing through multiple media channels, the opportunity to build a personal brand and achieve celebrity status in your marketplace has never been better.  If market leadership is your quest, seize the opportunity to gain and sustain visibility. 

Authoring a follow- worthy blog that is buzz-worthy is one way to get you there.  See part two of this series for more details.

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Real Estate Agent Personal Branding: Gleaning Wisdom From Your Site Traffic Stats

 

Once you have amassed a body of blog posts, it is very important to check your site traffic through tools such as Google Analytics, to determine which posts draw the most traffic. There is much wisdom to be gleaned by doing this. After authoring over 300 blog posts on luxury real estate marketing and branding we are excited to share with you the all time winner for most popular post on LOL so far. 

This feedback confirms our intention in writing the LOL blog, which is to uplift, inform, empower, and, also to entertain. We hope you enjoy it!

 HUMOROUS SLOGANS

As a luxury real estate marketing professional do you have an engaging slogan? We have mentioned in a previous post, using slogans as a personal branding marketing strategy for real estate agents is an excellent way to differentiate you from the competition. The entire purpose of using a slogan is to engage your target market and get them talking about you. A humorous slogan is one way to accomplish this.

Here is a good definition of what a slogan is: In his book, Creative Advertising, Charles L. Whittier says a slogan:

“A slogan .should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that it is worthy of continuous repetition in advertising, is worthwhile for the public to remember, and is phrased in such a way that the public is likely to remember it."

For some agents a humorous slogan can be an excellent personal branding strategy. It is not for everyone. But, if you have a good sense of humor you can engage your target market in this manner and really stand out from the pack.

A very successful lender in Santa Rosa, California built a strong personal brand by placing a fresh ad in a popular local magazine each month, usually wearing a funny costume that evoked a movie star role or other pop culture icon. A humorous tagline that tied in the lending theme always was included. It seems like everyone you talked to in her marketplace knew her and looked forward to seeing the next installment.

One brand that exemplifies this approach is Altoids who has successfully sustained visibility over time by repeatedly coming up with new slogans and taglines. Their original slogan was "The Original Celebrated Curiously Strong Mints". To differentiate itself from its competitors in the breath mint category, Altoids has relied extensively on very funny puns. Here is an example:

The latest TV commercial from Altoids introduces their small mints. A nervous woman in an elevator talks about an upcoming “big day, a big opportunity.” To calm herself she stretches, takes deep breaths and consumes an Altoid. The slogan appears, “Are You in Mint Condition?"

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Blah Post or Blog Post? The Difference is Original Content, Part 1

 

BLOGGERS MISCONCEPTION #1:CONTENT IS KING

Recently, we have heard the term “white noise” used to describe the bombardment of information coming from countless advisors who tout the benefits of blogging. Someone we know used the expression, “blah, blah, blah, blah blog” to describe their overdose of information on the subject. Yet, if the blog was really understood for the stupendous marketing tool that it is more luxury real estate marketing professionals would bite the bullet and blog.  There is definitely a “disconnect” here that needs to be bridged.

We have identified one of the biggest misconceptions about blogging.  That is the notion that “Content is King”.  Content is comprised of articles, photos, videos and pod casts (audio clips). The misconception is that creating content in your blog will automatically attract followers and possibly advertisers.

Content is not king.  ORIGINAL content is king!  People everywhere are starving for original content to solve their problems, to entertain them, to get informed, to participate in discussions and to uplift their spirits.

When you blog you become a columnist, a journalist. But, what is a columnist without an audience?  If the content of your blog is unoriginal, it is just a “blah post”, not a blog post. If your content is unoriginal no one will take the time to make a comment. Nor, will anyone bother to engage in a discussion with you or others who leave their comments.

When your original content is remarkable, follow-worthy, comment-worthy, buzz-worthy, people naturally want to subscribe to your steady stream of articles, engage in discussion and also share your content with others.  If your content is original blogging can be like word-of-mouth advertising on steroids. Sharing becomes contagious. That is what is meant by “going viral”.

The blogging tools themselves make it so easy for people to spread the word about you and re-distribute your content. But, it is original content that people want to pass along. It is the expectation of original content that gets them to subscribe to your blog and keeps them coming back for more. Can you understand why those with unoriginal, regurgitated, “canned” content are scratching their heads, trying to figure out why no one is reading their blog posts, let alone passing it along to their friends? 

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The Reputation of Your Personal Brand: It is all about Trust!

 

As a luxury real estate marketing professional your reputation is at the core of your personal brand equity—the value of your brand.  Your reputation, your trust factor can be the deciding factor in selecting you to list a luxury property over your competition or be selected as a buyer’s representative.

Blogging is a great way to build trust over time with potential clients, providing you have something of interest to say on a subject about which you are passionate.  It is a wonderful way to build your reputation and your personal brand in the minds of potential referral sources who do not even know you personally.  But, your column must be follow-worthy and comment-worthy.  If you really want to stand out, it must be “buzz-worthy”. That is, your content must be worthy of sharing with others. To spark word-of-mouth advertising your content must remarkable.

Do you still subscribe to a newspaper? We do, but only to one: the digital edition of the Wall Street Journal where we can customize the content that we want to read and also receive news alerts of things that matter to us the most.  Personalized, customized news is readily available for free, yet we are willing to pay a nominal monthly subscription fee to WSJ for a good reason. The reason is simple: we trust the Wall Street Journal as a news source and we follow certain columnists like Walt Mossberg, whose opinion we trust. 

Walt Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday for almost 20 years.  Walt is a perfect example of a “power journalist” and a one-man-brand.  He is an opinion leader with an impeccable reputation.

Walt is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry's most prestigious annual conference, D: All Things Digital.  On allthingsd.com, Walt spells out his Statement of Ethics.  “It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out”, says Walt.

With the general trust level for real estate agents in general, blogging can set you apart as a trusted advisor.  You may not have to include a Statement of Ethics on your blog or website. But, if you set high standards like the WSJ and Walt Mossberg, not only can you create a strong personal brand, but you can also build a solid reputation that will give you a competitive edge.

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Achieve Market Leadership in the Blink of an Eye!

 

In the arena of luxury real estate marketing, the entire competitive landscape needs to be redefined.  A completely new paradigm needs to be considered that determines who the big winners in the industry will be in 2010 and beyond. Whoever wins the COMPETITION FOR ATTENTION (who stands out the most?) and the COMPETITION FOR RETENTION (who is remembered first?) will get the lion’s share of business.

In the Olympic Men’s Luge event Germany took first place, with Austria second and Latvia in third.  The athletes were so close in technical skills that what separated gold, silver and bronze was the length of time it takes to blink your eye. The difference between first and second place was 0.5250 second.   Latvia was behind #1 by only 1.002 second.   

Following this Olympic example, if luxury real estate agents competed on fundamentals alone, such as negotiation skills or local market knowledge, there would probably be very little difference among the top three agents in terms of market share.  But, in business it usually does not work that way.  Often, there is a large margin between best selling or top producing #1 and the #2 contender, with #3 being forgettable. 

Ironically, the difference may have nothing, whatsoever, to do with the quality of product or service in a given category.  In the category of MP3 players, the well-made Microsoft Zune cannot hold a candle to Apple’s iPod who dominates this category with a 90% market share.  iPod has won the competition for attention, because of its design and the popularity of iTunes.

iPod has also won the battle of retention because most people have retained only one MP3 brand in their “memory folder” for this product category. They cannot even think of a second brand name. 

Try this! Start blinking your eyes and quickly answer this question:  What is the first adhesive cellophane tape that comes to your mind? Now, can you think of a second brand other than the “category killer”, Scotch Tape?

This is the paradigm shift that needs to happen in luxury real estate marketing: the difference in market share is, in reality, MIND-SHARE! The competitive playing field is actually in the minds of the target market.  Very few agents understand this concept which opens up a tremendous competitive advantage for those of you who want to become the “break-away brand” in your marketplace.

Understanding that you are competing for the ATTENTION of your target market in a time starved, attention deficient world will change your entire approach to marketing and branding. In our strategic branding practice, we use the expression. Stand Out or Bow Out! People do not have time to pay attention to a lesser known brand that “blends in”. The agent, who COMES TO MIND FIRST, the personal brand that wins the battle of RETENTION, dominates the marketplace, period! If you have the heart of an Olympic champion it is you who needs to come to mind first, in a blink of an eye.

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