Smart Luxury: Get Fluent, Get Affluent!

Uché Pézard, Executive Director and Founder of Luxe Corp    

We recommend to all those involved in luxury real estate marketing that they stay current and fluent in all aspects of the luxury economy.  This includes luxury goods, hard luxury (jewelry) and luxury services.  The more you know about luxury, the easier it is for you to relate to high net worth clients.  Our motto is:  “Get Fluent.  Get Affluent!” ™

As media partners,  each summer we cover the Club eLuxe International Summit produced by Luxe Corp.  This year the title of the sold-out event was, Smart Luxury, Taking Luxury into the Smart Age.   It was attended by executives of some of the top luxury brands in the world.

In this one-day conference, discussions were centered around the latest methods of leveraging technology to market luxury goods and services.  Some of the topics that were discussed are 3D & 4D Technologies, Smart Objects, Optical Illusions, Augmented Reality and a breakthrough in Drone technology.

We are delighted to share this video with you featuring some of the highlights of Smart Luxury: Taking Luxury into the Smart Age.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel- 

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Who Are YOU? An Apple or an Orange?

Market leaders in luxury real estate, or any industry for that matter, do not have to brag about being better than the competition.  They simply need to clearly and consistently communicate their unique promise of value to their target market with an economy of words or actions.  The self-confidence of market leadership comes from instantly articulating the difference between your apples and their oranges.

Here, in two simple sentences, Apple differentiates itself from Google and Amazon (“the oranges”) without even referencing its competitors:

“You’re in control of your data. Searches are not associated with your Apple ID and not shared with third parties”.

Gender discrimination has been a hot topic in Silicon Valley as of late, given the high profile case against the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins. Today, at the Apple WWDC 15 developer’s conference in San Francisco, there was a balance of men and women presenting.  With market leaders, actions speak louder than words.

Even if you are the challenger and not the market leader, it is mission critical that you discover how you are different and better than your competition. You will find that there are many independent thinkers out there who will give you a chance to prove yourself if your value proposition is compelling enough. Underdogs have more power than they might realize.  ASSUME the self-confidence of the market leader and you will become one, too!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Google's Anthem: Every Move You Make, I'll Be Watching You!

For those of you who are concerned about how much information Google has been collecting about you this should be good news. Prepare yourself for an eye-opening experience!  Go to https://myaccount.google.com, log in and see everything that Google knows about YOU and what you now can do about changing all that.

It appears that Google is being proactive by providing you with access to what heretofore was behind the scenes. In light of their potentially costly European lawsuits and mounting global concern about privacy, this was a very practical move on their part.

After viewing your account you will understand why there is so much concern. If you want to change your privacy protocols and delete past content be sure to be thorough as you go through your options.

Here is what was most alarming to us.  From your new dashboard, you can now easily download ALL of what Google knows about you including contacts, email, and calendars, browsing history, bookmarks, on and on. That means if someone were to obtain your Google password they could gain all of that info from anywhere in the world.

We were shocked to see that Google had kept track of every You Tube video we had ever searched for and searched for and watched while logged in. While we had nothing to hide we promptly deleted all 250 of watched videos and turned on the no-tracking feature for this. 

Google knew that we were in Boston in May and from which device we accessed our account. Add that to an exchange of email via Gmail, the web pages we visited during that time, what browser we used, and the people we interacted with the most over one “free” Google service or another (all of their detailed contact information could be viewed as well).  

We love Google search; it is an essential tool. We would gladly pay a subscription fee for its use if it were ad-free. But, as for all other Google services, we have decided to opt out and replace them with paid private services.

It is not just that they watch every move you make. It is what they can extrapolate by cross-referencing all that data to better serve you [and their advertisers, of course].

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

How to Achieve Top-of-Mind Status, Instantly!

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, you know you have selected a great brand name if your target market and potential referral base can remember your name after a single impression.  That is, after the first impression!

Yesterday we were cruising up the coast in Santa Barbara on Highway 101 and noticed a car covered with images.  As we passed by, we saw a clever cartoon graphic of a bunch of dogs on leashes dragging a person.  It was obviously an advertisement. The name was “Who is Walking Who?”. 

Can you guess what category of product or service this company was advertising?  If you guessed dog walking and pet sitting you are right!

Now, we are not dog owners.  But, if anyone were to ask us to recommend a local dog walking service one name would come to mind. It was indelibly imprinted in our brain in just one brief impression. And, we had do trouble recalling it the next day to write this post.  That company achieved has top-of-mind status for us in this category, instantly!  No doubt you will remember it, too.

When selecting your own personal or company luxury real estate brand name keep this in mind: It is possible to achieve top-of-mind status, instantly, with the right name.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Why Should I List With You?

Has anyone ever asked you at a listing presentation, “Why should I list with you?”  There are many agents wanting to list my home.  If you cannot answer that question quickly with certainty, the presentation is over.  What a seller is asking here, is what make you different from all the other agents, I have interviewed?

It definitely is not about being the best.  Every top agent can claim to be the best. You have to claim something no one else can claim. Words like integrity, computer savvy, top 1% in the company, mean nothing to the seller, many can say claim it also.    It does not differentiate you.  It just defines you as more of the same. 

For example, focusing on a niche that is dear to you, like historical homes, and learning every aspect of this area of specialization will make you stand out.   This increases your likelihood of getting this type of listing, because you will gain the reputation as the expert.

You have to claim something that is going to stick in that person’s mind and want you to represent their home.  One of our clients is one of the top agents in her marketplace: she regularly makes the Wall Street Journal’s top 100 list, as do three other agents in the community.  She is known for specializing in a neighborhood, which others can claim also. When she is asked, why should I list with you?  Her answer is, “I have sold more properties in this neighborhood than anyone else in town.” 

Checkmate, the game is over.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Earn More by Expanding Your World Beyond Real Estate

One of the characteristics of an excellent luxury real estate marketing professional is having a broad base of interests.  Those who can engage in discussions on topics beyond real estate have a greater chance of connecting with high net worth individuals and also of earning their business.  Embracing the fine arts can offer you an entire spectrum of potential topics that can help you differentiate yourself from the typical “one-dimensional” agent (We lovingly call them “uni-dems”).

In a world where we find ourselves spending way too much time in front of TV screens, movie screens, digital device and computer screens it is refreshing to go to a stage play.  Here, instead of being spoon-fed imagery, we actually need to engage our own imagination to fill in the details.

Recently we saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which received 6 Tony nominations (including Best Play of the 2014-2015 season).  The play was so good that I (Ron here) immediately read the mystery novel by British writer, Mark Haddon, upon which it was based. 

The entire story was told from the point of view of the main character, a 15-year-old boy, a genius with functional autism who is a mathematical savant. The staging was absolutely brilliant as it blurred the line between what was going on in the kid’s head and what was actually going on in the real world of the story.

Alexandra and I happened to be seated next to a woman who has an autistic boy.  During intermission she shared her own experience of coping with and ultimately embracing the gift of raising her son as a single parent. Her stories moved us to tears and enriched the experience of the play.  We wanted to give her a standing ovation like the actors received that evening.

Expand your horizons beyond your real estate expertise!  If you do, you will certainly see an increase of business and referrals.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Luxury Real Estate Branding: Finding the Perfect Brand Name for You

Finding your perfect brand name is essential to having a successful luxury real estate practice or firm. Ideally, your name should be is easy to remember and also be impactful.  Here is an example from the shoe industry.

The comfortable shoe industry is a $300 billion a year trade. It is continuing to grow rapidly. Women and men over 35 have been asking for a shoe that has both style and comfort.   Gentle Souls by Kenneth Cole is one of the latest entries in this industry.  The brand is a play on word: souls vs. soles. The word “gentle” evokes comfort and ease.

In just two words Gentle Souls communicated this brand’s entire value proposition.  The precision of communication is what makes it perfect. Not only is it easy to remember, it is also easy to share with others, thus facilitating word-of-mouth advertising.

What is the perfect brand name for you?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable,and Reflective of Your Strategy?

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable which includes your presentation materials.  These need to stand out and communicate your identity and its congruency with your target market.

This morning we took some time to do various errands, and some shopping for our upcoming trip.   We were delighted to see that one of our favorite stores from New York, Henri Bendel, had opened a small boutique in the Westfield Center in Woodland Hills.  We were both attracted to the bright display of merchandise, and the striped white and chocolate walls, which was even carried out on the chandelier shades.  Notice the display table with the polka dot border in the photo above.

We bought a gift, and the wrapping was delightful. It shows the congruency that this luxury brand has and maintains beautifully. P.S. The service was superb!

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable and Reflective of Your Strategy?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Are You Easy to Work With, And Easy to Refer?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you make it easy for your clients to work with you and you make it easy for them to refer you, you will see a dramatic increase in business. Ease is the antidote to stress and it accelerates word-of-mouth advertising.

Virgin Airlines understands the power of EASE in remarkable customer service. Their brand stands now for EASE. After booking our flights for an upcoming project via phone on Virgin, (the site was wonky at that moment) I stayed on the line to review the person that assisted me. The survey’s first question was “how easy was it to work with our team member?” on a scale of 1-4 (four being the easiest).  The other three survey questions revolved around the ease of my experience, also.

Being competent is not enough.  You need to be easy to talk to and well organized to ease the way for clients to work with you. And, like Virgin, you have to be well branded to empower your clients to easily refer new business your way.   

Are You Easy to Work With, And Are You Easy to Refer?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Thinking Outside The Box You May Find A Lemon Meringue Tart

Finding a niche in your luxury real estate practice where you can dominate is a daunting task, especially if your marketplace is crowded with competing agents.  It requires thinking outside the proverbial box. Here is an example of out of the box thinking

If you were to open a bakery/pastry shop in Santa Barbara knowing there were 19 bakeries catering to a population of less than 150,000 people, you would have to come up with a niche within this business category that is uncontested or serves a target market that is under served.

Lilac’s Patisserie a dedicated gluten free bakery and café opened recently to fill this niche market in Santa Barbara.   Since we have several gluten free friends and relatives, we have been open to trying gluten free desserts.  Some were good like Thomas Keller’s (renown chef of The French Laundry) brownie (made from a mix), and some we tossed at first bite. While I was shopping Ron walked out of the store and discovered Lilac’s a few doors up on State Street.  He bought a lemon meringue tart to test.

When Ron rejoined me, the salesperson started raving about Lilac’s telling us she tested her several desserts on here father who is not a gluten-free fan and he has loved every one of them.  Even though she is not a Celiac (not able to digest gluten), she is an ardent fan.  She was right.  Every bite was delicious including the crust.  We are looking forward to trying more of their dessert items, and having lunch there.

Will you take time to find your niche and look outside the box?  You may find the perfect way to dominate your marketplace.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Twisted Tales or Trust and Truth?

The two governing principles in running any successful company are trust and truth.  These principles are applicable to the business of real estate, if market leadership is your quest as luxury real estate marketing professionals. 

“When they trust you, you'll get truth. And if you get truth, you get speed. If you get speed, you're going to act. That's how it works.” Jack Welch, (former CEO at GE who during this 20 year tenure increased the company’s value from $14 billion to 500 billion). 

In your listing presentations, be sure that you can pass the “no-spin” test.  Twisted tales about market value, eyewash or any sugar coated facts will most definitely come back to haunt you.

Your relationships with other agents in your marketplace should also follow the same principles if you expect to be in the business for the long run.  Be accessible and insure that your trusted assistant helps to get things done ASAP.

What will be your choice?  Twisted Tales or Trust and Truth?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Are You In It to Win It?

Your Competition

Why on earth are you in the game of luxury real estate marketing if you are not in it to win it? Sure, there are plenty of agents who just want to eek out a living. But, they are missing out on all of the fun because they do not know the secret of winning the game!

The sweet spot in marketing luxury real estate is making the shift from being what we call a competent “transaction engineer” to being a true market leader. When market leadership is your quest, you become a strategist in a game where power, personal power is the biggest prize and the lion’s share of business follows naturally.  

As luxury real estate brand strategists we advise our clients to look at their competitors as if they were cartoon characters. Do not take them seriously. Factor them out of your mental equation completely and stay 100% focused on your strategy for winning the game, the inner game.

It really gets to be fun when you identify an uncontested or under served market niche that you can dominate, a niche that you can become passionate about.  Then, the competition really becomes irrelevant.  You are not out to “get them”.  You are out to achieve your personal best!

So, what is the secret to winning? Keep your eye the prize of the inner game of luxury real estate marketing-the game of self-actualization! Be in it to win it!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

The Magic of Mental De-Cluttering: The Benefit of Doubt!

In our previous post on this topic, The Magic of Mental “De-cluttering”, we advised that taking a few minutes several times a day to clear your mind enables you to see business opportunities and possibilities that you might otherwise miss. Here is a tip that can help you clear your mind so you can stay focused as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

The only thing that can stop you from succeeding in becoming a market leader (barring external circumstances that are truly beyond your control) is not taking consistent action toward your goal once you have identified your success formula. It may take some trial and error to develop your success formula, but that is all part of the game.

The number one enemy of consistent action is self-doubt.  It is self-doubts that start the process of cluttering your mind. It is you, second-guessing yourself that precipitates immobilization. 

The clutter accumulates when you allow yourself to get distracted by all kinds of people, circumstances or events.  Sure, there are some people who may try to immobilize you. But, it is only when you go into agreement with them that you use them as your excuse to slow yourself down or stop yourself from succeeding.

So, what is the remedy that can keep your mind clear, uncluttered and on track? Give yourself the benefit of the doubt! Test this out for yourself and watch how fast your mind becomes uncluttered, and clear. This will erase your uncertainty and restore your confidence. It is magic!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

The Magic of Mental De-Cluttering!

I was reading Michael Jacob's post on Active Rain yesterday about his progressive journey of de-cluttering the physical stuff in his life, which led me to thinking about something both Ron and I practice arduously on a daily basis: mental de-cluttering!

Mental de-cluttering is taking a few moments several times in one's day to clear all those thoughts that jump in and out of your consciousness that cause you to get distracted!  For example, it is that unpleasant encounter with a client who arrived late that makes you want to rant and rave to anyone who will listen, write a post about it, post on FB, Twitter, etc.  

The clutter compounds when your well meaning friends and commenters tell you all about the misery they suffered that morning. Or better yet they recount a whole string of events similar to yours.  This adds momentum to your incident, as they are in agreement with you about this client and how people today are mean, irresponsible, blah, blah,  blah!  And your outrage gets even bigger, which takes up more space in your head.

In marketing real estate, we all know that a cluttered room limits buyers' vision and diminishes their ability to see possibilities. The same is true of the mind. Mental clutter means you have less concentration and less focus available in your day.  

When your mind is clear you see opportunities and possibilities.  You may be surprised, you will find yourself working less hours and enjoying your life more. That is the magic of mental de-cluttering.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Luxury Is In The Details

We are in the process of creating the visual and graphic representation of the brand for two of our clients.  Every detail is important because it has to reflect what the brand stands for. To pass the test, every color hue, every font, every line, every photo has to be congruent with the brand identity that we previously articulated in words. It is in these details that you achieve the look of luxury.

Yesterday, we had lunch at the Honor Bar in Montecito.   As we walked back to our parking space, we noticed that the yellow trumpet flowers matched the umbrellas of their outdoor eating area. How brilliant is that?  That simple touch is vital.  It screams luxury!

"It’s the little details that are vital.  Little things make big things happen."  John Wooden

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

How to Leverage Your Strengths to the Max

Courtesy of Apple

If market leadership is your goal as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you must leverage your strengths to the max in order to dominate your niche. With the right strategy you can render your competition irrelevant.

That is exactly what Apple has done once again, not only in the new product category of wearable tech (Apple Watch), but also by reinvigorating the smartphone (iPhone) and notebook (MacBook) categories. With a move akin to martial arts, where you use your opponent’s force against itself, redirecting the momentum of its attack, Apple has put its competition on the defensive.

They have launched a new app software framework called ResearchKit that turns the iPhone into a powerful tool for medical and health research (with user permission only-Apple does not see your data).  Gathering research in real time on a global scale is a TOTAL GAME CHANGER for the medical field!

This trivialized Samsung’s slogan, “The Next Big Thing is Here”.  And, in a pre-emptive move, it beats Google (Android) at its own game by providing an open source platform for this app that can be freely used, changed, and shared by anyone.

Helping doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and more accurately creates an added value to the iPhone within the medical niche. World-class research institutions have already developed apps with ResearchKit for studies of asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and more.  Can you see how this strategy will boost sales in all Apple product categories for this target market, including the iPad and MacBook?

The new MacBook is another astonishing breakthrough in engineering and design. It is the lightest and most compact Mac notebook ever! It required reimagining every element to make it not only lighter (just 2 lbs!) but also thinner, including the keyboard, the trackpad and the batteries.

Apple has leveraged its strengths including exquisite design to the max to fortify its dominance across the board in all product categories. It is now adding value way beyond just the consumer market as it takes on the niches of science, medicine and business.

How can you apply Apple’s latest strategies to leverage your strengths to the max as a luxury real estate marketing professional?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

The Antidote to Commoditization: Become Inimitable!

Photo from Vogue Insert, March 2015. 18Kt Gold watch

If you are interested in “owning” the lion’s share of business in your luxury real estate market, or a niche therein, one phenomenon to avoid at all costs is commoditization. You know you are on a slippery slide to becoming a commodity when you no longer have a unique promise of value to offer your clients and you are indistinguishable from your competition.  To make things worse, you begin to doubt your own value, as you get lost in a sea of sameness.

Another symptom of commoditization is trying to compete by copying your competitors’ features or adding features that can be copied. Samsung’s Galaxy models (top of their line) were temporarily able to trump Apple’s iPhone by offering larger screens until iPhone 6 (and 6+) wiped out that differentiator.

This allowed Apple to regain its lead as #1 in smartphones. Now, Samsung is playing catch up by copying iPhone’s fingerprint identifier, case design and finer materials for its Galaxy 6 model. They are even offering a mobile payment service to match Apple Pay, with a copycat name, “Samsung Pay”.

Photo from Vogue Insert, March 2015

The soon to be launched Apple Watch is a whole new product category for Apple. It will be used exclusively in conjunction with the iPhone (and no other smartphone) for many applications. This will create a switching barrier for current iPhone users and also persuade many Samsung users to jump ship.  That is one key reason why so much is riding on Apple Watch.

By positioning the Apple Watch as a fashion accessory it solidly targets upper-demographic consumers in general, not just current Apple fans, sports enthusiasts and tech geeks. ALL Apple products and services will benefit from the upscale “halo effect” of the Apple Watch. 

Fortifying and strengthening Apple’s sharp upscale focus with its Apple Watch marketing is an antidote to the potential commoditization of the iPhone, even if the majority of its Watch sales are the less expensive sports models.

Marketing the Apple Watch across multiple upscale media channels helps make the Apple brand inimitable. Apple will further out-distance Samsung as an upscale brand in the minds of its target market. The Samsung brand name is scattered on products in all price ranges, which makes it more difficult to sustain a foothold in upper-end products.

Feeling the symptoms of commoditization as a luxury real estate marketing professional?  Take the antidote: Become inimitable!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

A Brand Category to Call Your Own

In the realm of strategic branding, the ultimate coup is creating and defining your own brand category and then becoming the “category killer” (think Kleenex, Scotch Tape, iPod). This is what you want to strive for in marketing luxury real estate: staking your claim on a market niche that is uncontested (virtually no competition) and owning the lion’s share of business in that category, from day one.

The Apple Watch is slated to launch in April.  Countless tech companies have already defined the “wearable” category of computing devices creating a frenzy of cutthroat competition that will inevitably end in price wars. So, how will Apple differentiate this new line of products shark-infested waters and still command healthy margins?

The answer is to create a luxury sub-category within the broader category of wearable devices that is uncontested.  In March, Apple is kicking off their print advertising campaign with a 12-page spread in the Vogue Spring Fashion Blockbuster issue.  They hope to position the Apple Watch as a fashion accessory (vs. a tech device) by associating it with ads and content featuring high-end design houses’ latest offerings. 

Apple wants you to open a new category in your mind called ‘luxury accessory device” [our words] and they want you to think of them first in this category.  This is known as brand positioning and it is exactly what we do as brand strategists for luxury real estate marketing professionals and companies.

Creating a new category creates news. This allows you to leverage traditional and social media to the MAX.  Creating buzz is key to generating the best and least expensive form of advertising: word-of-mouth.  It forces your competition to out-spend you in marketing to try and catch up, which is an exercise in futility.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

 ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

Updating Your Brand and Lady Gaga!

                                         Photo by c Sbukley

We recommend, to luxury real estate marketing professionals, that you update your brand to stay current and relevant. By doing this you will stand out from your competition, and insure your longevity in the business.  Here is an example from the music business as seen on last evening’s Oscar Award show.

The most memorable moment for us at the Oscar’s last night was Lady Gaga singing a medley of songs from the Sound of Music.  We were all expecting a Lady Gaga spectacle instead of the conservatively dressed Lady Gaga hitting every high note beautifully in a tribute to the classic movie, now 50 years old. 

This performance demonstrated her musical abilities rather than relying on weirdness and oddity. At one point spectacle becomes “shtick” and tiresome.  One can only take so much of that before boredom sets in. 

It seems to us that she is reinventing herself (updating her brand) by focusing on her talent and artistry.  She is now accentuating her musicality (instead of shtick and spectacle), as evidenced by her recent album featuring duets with Tony Bennett, which won her Grammy this year.

How you can update your own brand to stay current and relevant?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel- 

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace

Expressing Your Brand: Finding Your Perfect Pitch

In the art world there are forgeries that only trained experts can discern. But, when it comes to authenticity in your personal luxury real estate brand most people can spot a fake from a mile away. Authenticity is the key to longevity in your business. 

If you are a lover of pop music you certainly can appreciate the originality and authentic voice of singer-songwriter Adele.  She has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won numerous awards including a Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award for “Skyfall”, from the James Bond film with the same name.

This year a new talent emerged to take the top awards, Sam Smith. His golden voice is pitch-perfect.  When you hear Sam, it is clear that you are experiencing the depth of his soul. You hear his truth.

What you are striving for with your personal brand is authenticity in every communication you have with current and past clients, prospects and also with your entire potential referral base.  The clients you want are those who can discern the real deal, the genuine article.  You do not want the ones who can easily be fooled by a false front, a mask, or a people-pleasing façade.

The message from a personal brand that is phony will sound and feel discordant to those who value authenticity. It takes guts to put your authentic self on the front line.  But, in the long run you will strike the right chord with your ideal clients.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel- 

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace