Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Five Moments of Truth - Part 2

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Five Moments of Truth - Part 1

August 29, 2011

As a luxury real estate marketing professional intent on gaining or sustaining market leadership, it is important to understand a marketing term that brand experts call “the moment of truth”. There are actually five moments of truth that your clients experience in relationship to doing business with you. If you do not engage and fully satisfy their needs at these crucial moments in the cycle of client acquisition your competition will. If you satisfy all five moments of truth you will have a client for life.

Here in Part 1 of this series we identify the five moments of truth.

Moment of Truth # 1: Befroe They Meet You

The first moment of truth occurs before your prospective client ever meets you. It is when they think they have found the answer to their most pressing question or need and you seem to be someone who has the answer.

It is experienced when they are first referred to you by someone they trust. Or, it can happen when they find you on a search engine, when they find a blog post you have written, when they encounter your website or your advertisements. Perhaps, it is when they discover your yard sign in front of a substantial listing. There is a palpable feeling of relief and hope that you might be the right one to help them.

Moment of Truth #2: When They First Meet You

The second moment of truth happens when they actually encounter you in person, by phone or email, etc.. This moment affirms or disaffirms what they were hoping to discover about you. They are either satisfied or dissatisfied with their initial encounter with you. They answer the question, "should they proceed to buy or list with your assistance?". If they answer, "yes", they are convinced that they have found the right agent, that you will produce their desired result.

Moment of Truth #3: When \You Deliver Your Services

The third moment of truth occurs when your initial transaction is complete and they are satisfied that you have delivered on your promise of value. Here you have met or exceeded their expectations, or you have disappointed them. If the latter is true, the cycle of customer acquisition end right here.

Moment of Truth #4: When They Refer You

The fourth moment of truth occurs when they refer a friend to you. This further affirms their satisfaction.

Moment of Truth #5: When You Get Their Repeat Business

The fifth moment of truth occurs when they are ready to buy or sell again and they call you instead of switching brands which means calling your competition.

True market leaders have mastered all five of these moment of truth. Those who have not are definitely vulnerable to being challenged. In Part 2 and 3 of this article series we will go into more details about each moment.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Tip the Scale in Your Favor By Focusing

August 24, 2011

One of the major disruptive shifts that occurred in the field of marketing luxury real estate is the extent of market knowledge that consumers now have because of their access to the same information that was previous the exclusive domain of agents. Previously, this knowledge base was asymmetrical, meaning weighted in favor of agents. Now it is more symmetrical with consumers on equal footing. In fact, sometimes the consumer can know more than the agent if they have been doing extensive research by diligently keeping up with new listings, recent sales and listing status changes.

This is a major challenge to luxury real estate marketing professionals. But, it also is a tremendous opportunity to establish an extraordinary value proposition that can also set yourself apart from your competition. Superior, focused market knowledge can give you the competitive edge. In the corporate culture of Google, they have a mantra, “Focus Drives Results”.

Today, those agents who are generalists, those who do not specialize in a particular niche, are the ones who are most vulnerable to this shift. Trying to keep up with all the changes in all aspects of a given market place is not only a daunting task it is a waste of time. Only by narrowing your focus can you truly become an expert vs. a generalist. Focus is the key!

It should be made clear that narrowing your niche does not mean reducing your income providing that you pick the right niche. Selecting a niche that has the potential of meeting your personal financial goals is essential.

When you let go of the fear of missing out on income because you are focused amazing things begin to happen. Serendipitous encounters with opportunities become the norm. This may seem like magic, but it is actually very logical. The sharper your focus the more you are able to perceive opportunities that are right under your nose. These opportunities are not even on the radar of competitors who are dispersed, trying to be all things to all people and wearing themselves out in the process.

For example, in the top tier of the marketplace we hear time and again that many sales are conducted when top agents put buyers and sellers together, selling homes that were not listed on the MLS. Extensive knowledge of pocket listings, that is gaining information about properties that COULD be available for sale but are not formally listed, can set you apart as a true expert within your niche. This is information that consumers, especially from out of the area, could not possibly know which tilts the scales back to asymmetrical in your favor. It is also knowledge that your generalist competitors would probably not be aware of, or would not have to time to acquire.

In the new information era where consumers and competitors all a have symmetrical knowledge base, focus tips the scale in your favor. Focus drives results!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Go Fishing Where the Fish Are Biting - Part 3

August 23, 2011

In Part 1 of this article series we looked at a key strategy to reinvent yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional by refocusing your practice where sales are brisk. In Part 2, we identified the “mindset of resiliency” as a pre-condition to being able to perceive new opportunities that may not be obvious to your competition. Here in Part 3 we cover an important skill if you want to gain or sustain market leadership: Go fishing where the fish are GOING to bite, the arena in which the next “feeding frenzy” will occur.

Gain the perspective of a trend spotter. Anticipate the direction in which the marketing is heading and become the “first mover” in that new market.

We recently interviewed a successful luxury real estate marketing professional whose previous business was retail. She owned a chain of women’s clothing stores and was the only retailer in her marketplace that specialized in carrying top designer labels. Then she began noticing a trend that was a potential threat to her business. The designers were beginning to open their own retail stores.

When the local major shopping center announced that an entire new floor of the center would be devoted to these high profile designers’ stores, she knew it was time to close her business. Certainly, the shopping center owners anticipated this trend and went fishing where they could predict the fish were going to bite. The shopping center is one of the most successful in the country.

Bur, instead of being immobilized by this setback she leveraged her strong base of high net worth customers as potential referral sources and launched a boutique brokerage firm. Analyzing the market, she decided to specialize in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in her marketplace, where “the fish were biting”.

Then one of her young affluent buyers indicated that he and his family were interested in a more remote area. Proximity to the popular amenities of the city was not a priority. Privacy, informality, more open space and sandy beaches were their priorities. After extensive research she was able to find this family the perfect home in a beautiful neighborhood that was not on the radar because of its distance to the center of town.

In the process she understood a very important trend. For those younger entrepreneurs who operate their businesses via the internet, or primarily by phone from a home office, proximity to the more densely populated city was not a necessity nor was it more desirable.

She proceeded to expand her target market by adding these more remote neighborhoods as to her area of focus before her competition wised up. As a result she is the dominant broker in that niche which continued to appreciate in value as more like-minded buyers began to move there.

Anticipating trends is an essential skill for market leaders who want to maintain their position. When market leaders become complacent, they are vulnerable to challengers who see opportunities that their competition ignores. There is nothing like a setback to sharpen ones focus, the prerequisite for recognizing where the next “feeding frenzy” will occur. And, there is no fiercer challenger than the one who is bent on staging a comeback. Never underestimate a first mover, a challenger who has identified an untapped or underserved market niche that he or she is determined to dominate.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Go Fishing Where the Fish Are Biting - Part 2

August 22, 2011

The Dancing House - Frank Gehry, Architect Photo © Steve Coleman

The Mindset of Resiliency

If you are waiting for the economy to rebound so that your luxury real estate marketing practice can recover from the doldrums, you might consider trying a more proactive approach: Go fishing where the fish are biting! In Part 1 of this blog series we advised the following: 1) Find out what is selling and where; and 2) Position yourself to deliver an extraordinary value proposition to that target market that enables you to stand out from your competition. But, before you can re-invent yourself or even perceive new opportunities you must first cultivate, what we call here in Part 2, “the mindset of resiliency”. Only then will you begin to experience your full blown personal economic recovery.

Maintaining an optimistic mindset in the face of mounting evidence of a stagnant economy should be considered JOB ONE regardless of the health of your real estate practice. This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do to turn things around for yourself. It is, by far, the most important thing you can do even if your practice is thriving right now. How else to you expect to be able to perceive opportunities to spring back or sustain your momentum?

Resiliency means speedy recover from problems. It is the ability to be healthy, happy or strong again after illness or disappointment. It is hardiness, toughness, buoyancy. It is the ability to be financially successful again after a difficult period. It is the ability to weather a storm, to bounce back swiftly from setbacks. This “mindset of resiliency” is a pre-condition to being able to perceive new opportunities that may not be obvious to your competition.

In 1936, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced to a song they sang called, Pick Yourself Up in the movie, Swing Time. The lyrics to this song brilliantly summarize the mindset of resiliency:

Nothing's impossible I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off,
Start all over again.

Don't lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.

Work like a soul inspired,
Till the battle of the day is won.
You may be sick and tired,
But you'll be a man, my son

Will you remember the famous men,
Who had to fall to rise again?
So take a deep breath,
Pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again.

To maintain your optimism, look for inspiration wherever you can find it, even in old movies. Focus on those who are thriving and use this as evidence that you too can thrive under any and all economic conditions.

Frank Gehry, the famous architect, has a backlog of projects. The more he completes the more assignments he gets. The image above is a building designed by Gehry and Vlado Milunić. It is located in the city of Prague and is called the Dancing House. But, it originally was called Fred & Ginger, after the famous dancing pair.

Tough times are not tough for everyone. Nor, do they have to last for you if you have the mindset of resiliency.

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Go Fishing Where the Fish are Biting

August 16, 2011

Pricing a luxury home to sell in a buyer’s market can be one of the most challenging experiences of a luxury real estate marketing professional. It is tempting to get swept away by the allure of listing glamorous properties, those estates with the highest price tags. Sure, when they sell the commissions can be significant. But, in many markets these homes tend to sell much slower than homes in other price ranges. They are often more expensive and time consuming to market, especially if you fall into the trap of setting an unrealistic price to appease the seller.

If winning prestigious listings (and the admiration that can come with this) is more important than your bottom line you may consider reviewing your priorities. Sometimes selling a higher volume of mid-range luxury homes can yield a superior return on investment of time and money, especially if they are selling more briskly in this price range.

Take the time to become objective and analyze the sales statistics of your marketplace. Exactly what is selling and where? The first key is to discover where the fish are biting. Then go fishing there.

But, you better have a clear sense of how you can serve this faster paced market segment better than your competition. Your unique value proposition must be superior and it must be communicated explicitly through your personal or company brand.

We say, when you get your branding spot on you actually do not have to go fishing for prospects, the fish will start jumping in your boat. If you are able to clearly articulate your distinct promise of value to your target market sales should become irrelevant because you are succinctly letting them know, with certainty, that you can resolve their most pressing challenges.

While others are fighting for the prestige that comes with winning a fewer number of trophy listings, you could be out-thinking them by selling a higher volume of mid-range properties. This price range, as a niche, is often overlooked by those vying for the big fish and can thus become under-served. Develop an outrageous and extraordinary promise of value. Bowl them over with service that makes you stand out and you will have a winning formula for success.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: How to Earn Multiple Commissions from High Net Worth Clients

August 15, 2011

In the realm of marketing luxury real estate is it important to understand that the client to whom you sell a primary residence in your local marketplace can also be a buyer of multiple homes in multiple locations as well as other types of properties. The question is: Will you benefit from this by earning multiple commissions?

Good luxury real estate marketing professionals stay in touch with their clients and cultivate referrals of buyers and sellers within their own local marketplace. Great agents also take the time to discover where else their clients might consider purchasing additional homes or even other types of real estate. Then they help them connect with trusted colleagues in other marketplaces, which generates referral fees.

We recently heard a story that a certain buyer purchased several vacation homes in a very popular luxury real estate marketplace. The agent who discovered this fact realized that the buyer was a client of a friend, another agent in another state who was oblivious to her client's buying spree. Where was the disconnect that caused this missed opportunity for referral fees?

In commercial real estate it was very clear that most of our clients had the capability of purchasing multiple properties. In fact, many of them could purchase as many qualified properties as we could find for them. The trick was finding quality properties in great locations that were reasonably priced. But, this "mutliple properties mindset", whether the client's purpose was for personal use or investment, was the norm.

It just requires a slight shift in perspective to maximize the potential of your relationships with your high net worth clients. Take the time to discover the full scope of their real estate needs and interests. They may be thinking of buying properties for their kids, too.

Find out if your clients invest in commercial property or income property. If so, team up with colleagues who specialize in this arena and see what other opportunities you can develop together.

Expand your level of professionalism in terms of the depth of service that you offer. Become a trusted advisor in their real estate dealings beyond just their residence in your local marketplace and watch your own net worth increase significantly.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Customer Service that Sparks Remarks

August 11, 2011

Word-of-mouth is your best form of advertising as a luxury real estate marketing professional. However, if you want people to make positive remarks about you, your service must be remarkable.

Promoting the people and the brands you like is natural because you want to share what you value the most with the people who matter most to you. We tend to value the opinions of those people we respect. If someone you respect goes out of their way to promote something the chance is high that you will at least take the time to check it out if you also have an interest in that product or service category.

If you are in the market for a new pair of shades, you might want to check out Maui Jim. Alexandra purchased her Maui Jim sunglasses with the ultra-light titanium frames over six years ago. They are great for sports like skiing and tennis because they are feather light and they are very durable. Plus, the bronze mirrored and polarized lenses wipe out 99% of the glare and block 100% of harmful UV rays.

Recently the frame broke and the lens was starting to crack slightly. She called the company and was asked to return them for repair. Within a couple of days she received a phone call from a company rep with “aloha” spirit (even though they are based in Illinois). She was told that they would gladly replace both the lens and frame for $60, a fraction of the cost of a new pair. When they sent the glasses back (within just a few days) they were in a brand new case. Now, that was remarkable service from a company that stands behind its product.

Another remarkable retail experience occurred at Gelson’s market (18 stores in Southern California). We just love their mission statement: “To make shopping anywhere else unacceptable for consumers who value quality products, cleanliness, convenience, and personal service. Their goal is to create an extraordinary grocery shopping experience for discerning consumers”.

What was extraordinary? In our Santa Barbara store, they have a wood-burning pizza oven where they make fresh Wolfgang Puck pizzas. When we were last there one of the crew was walking up and down the aisles offering slices of pizza to customers on a silver tray, as if it was a hors d'oeuvre at a cocktail party. Costco has stations where you can stop by and sample food. Trader Joes has their version of this. But, the simple act of someone walking up to you, like a waiter, offering you a taste of something delicious and giving you a cocktail napkin, provided a “quality cue” that set them apart.

There is no mistaking extraordinary customer service because when it is out of the ordinary it is remarkable. Practice spreading the word about what you value the most to those who matter the most to you. Then, think of ways you can spark remarks and trigger word-of-most advertising for your luxury real estate marketing practice.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Is it Time to Re-invent Yourself?

August 9, 2011

Photo Courtesy of Dimrus1917

Brand distinctiveness, the way you stand out from your competition is equally important in personal branding as it is in company or product branding. When you cannot clearly, sharply and quickly articulate how you are different, how can you expect your referral sources to do so when they are asked to recommend a luxury real estate marketing professional?

Sometimes you have to completely reinvent yourself or your company to surpass your closest competitors. That is definitely the case of the Maybach as this brand faces the biggest challenge of its 90 plus year life.

Photo Courtesy of nstinia Photography

If you are in the market for a super-luxury car, and you think of the hood ornament of a Rolls Royce, (known as the “Spirit of Ecstasy”) it is hard not to get ecstatic. For some this symbol conveys the entire experience of owning the car. Others get a rush when they think of Bentley’s hood ornament or badge.

Heritage can play an important role in endearing fans to a brand. For example, the Rolls Royce is deeply associated with the Queen of England. The towns that assemble and customize the Rolls and the Bentley have an allure unto themselves. All of these kinds of factors, apart from the design and features of the cars add up to a story that the owners can tell their friends

But, what associations are made about the Maybach, manufactured by Daimler (Mercedes Benz). It was very popular in Germany in the 1920 and 1930s, but not very well known in the rest of the world. It is now manufactured at the same facility as the Mercedes S Class, not in its original town.

What does Maybach stand for today in the minds of the ultra-rich that can afford a starting price tag of $375,000 or pay $1.3M for the top of the line? How is this brand distinct from its competitors in the super-luxury car category?

Many feel that the car is too similar to the Mercedes S Class model, even though it sports many features and amenities that are not included in the lesser priced car. This lack of distinctiveness has resulted in mediocre sales and has caused Daimler to completely rethink its brand strategy. In fact, the fate of the car, its very existence, will be determined by the end of the year.

But, what a fabulous opportunity to reinvent a brand and emerge as the market leader! You have heard of the fable of the Phoenix, the firebird that re-emerges from the ashes, right? If Daimler would take a hard look at the current vulnerabilities of the Rolls and the Bentley, and zero in on providing extraordinary value, a classic brand could be reborn that could trounce the other two.

Being at the doorway of extinction can spark remarkable inventiveness. It will be interesting to see if the Maybach makes it through the threshold. Is it time for you to re-invent your brand?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Turning Tables on the Market Leader - Part 2

August 4, 2011

We cannot emphasize enough now important it is for luxury real estate marketing professionals, who are incumbent market leaders, to get their web sites up to speed technologically and also to embrace the right internet marketing strategies (locally and globally). Even if you have a significant lead in mind-share and market share, a non-obvious tech-savvy challenger can come along and catch you off guard. It is our strong recommendation that you become pro-active and cover all of your bases before you have to scramble to catch up, in crisis mode.

We have heard time after time, from disgruntled tech-challenged incumbent market leaders, how tech-savvy (yet not necessarily seasoned) agents are effortlessly capturing qualified internet buyer leads and selling their listings (not to mention earning equal commissions). In a buyer’s market, sellers are more prone to shift loyalty when presented with proven buyer acquisition results. This can outweigh years of experience, long -term relationships and a sterling reputation as a listing agent. If these buyer’s agents can also demonstrate a reasonable level of competence in marketing listings, too, they can become formidable challengers and turn the tables on you.

In Part 1 of this blog series we discussed how, in just one year, Apple and Samsung have turned the tables on Nokia, the previous market leading manufacturer of consumer smart phones. Another potential casualty is Research in Motion (RIM) whose Blackberry phones have, for years, dominated the business sub-category of smart phone.

RIM is currently in crisis mode. Many of RIM’s top sales team have jumped ship and are now working for Apple. They did not respond proactively and fast enough to properly position themselves to ride the wave of the touch screen + apps smart phone mega trend that Apple popularized.

This fall RIM is coming out with a new line of Blackberry smart phones. But, more trouble lies ahead. They acquired a very powerful operating system that could potentially compete with Apple or Android smart phones, but it will not be ready to incorporate in their phones until next year. Meanwhile, Apple is coming out with iPhone 5 this fall and several new Android phones will be released then as well. Without, the apps (RIM has a paucity of apps) do they even have what now defines “smart” phones?

Blackberry, the industry standard, became the staple of corporate America as companies purchased these devises and gave them to their employees to use primarily for work to increase productivity. Now, more and more firms are allowing their employees to use their personal iPhones and Androids at work. Note: Androids refers to the collective set of phones manufactured by a multiplicity of companies that all use the Android operating system). The result is that the very definition of the sub-category of “business” smart phones that Blackberry has dominated is becoming blurred, meaning that the difference between consumer smart phones and business phones is no longer sharply defined.

It may even be too late for RIM to stay within reach of achieving the #1 or #2 (Apple and Samsung) position in the smart phone category of mobile phones. Their market share has slipped from 19.7% to 12.9% virtually overnight. Now in crisis mode they have cut about one half of their staff. They have fallen behind the times and are slow to catch up. The tables have turned. Instead of thinking like a market leader, they must now think like a challenger.

Let this post be a sound of alarm for all who engage in the game of marketing luxury real estate. If you are an incumbent market leader, beware! If you are a tech-savvy challenger take aim directly at one of the most common vulnerabilities of market leaders—a slow response to adapt to the new technological imperatives of today’s luxury real estate marketplace.

Check out our lastest Blog Series: So You Want to Be a Market Leader

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Turning Tables on the Market Leader

August 1, 2011

To the extent that incumbent market leaders rest on their laurels, do not stay focused or do not keep up with technology, market leadership is up for grabs for any luxury real estate marketing professional with a superior value proposition and the right brand strategy. Market leaders beware! With the right brand strategy the tables can be turned on you in one year or less, seemingly, overnight.

What a difference one year can make! Take a look at what happened to the previous market leader, Nokia, in the smart phone market category. They slipped from #1 to #3. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics:

Apple's market share rose to 18.5% in the second quarter from 13.5% a year earlier
Samsung's smartphone market share jumped to 17.5% from 5.0%
Nokia slipped to 15.2% from 38.1% a year earlier.

To surpass Apple going forward, Strategy Analytics says #2 Samsung will need a three-fold strategy to:

Boost its retail presence for smart phones in countries such as the U.S., China, Japan and the U.K
Continuously upgrade its phones based on Google Inc's Android software, as well as Microsoft Corp.'s Windows platform and its own Bada operating system
Develop advanced cloud-based services

That is going to take some doing. Apple, by far, has the best customer service experience in just about any retail category. Recently, we discovered that we could not access the internet via our home WiFi on our iPad; yet we were able to connect with our laptop (PC) computer. We took the iPad into our local Apple store and encountered superlative service. They reinstalled and updated our software on the spot, free of charge, and it was fixed within minutes.

How can Samsung beat that? The idea of having this level of LOCAL service and product education for ALL of our mobile devices and computers in one place is a value proposition that simply cannot be rivaled. Apple is in the process of rolling out 24 large new stores in China, alone.

As a busy husband and wife team, who travels extensively, saving time is essential and so is the ease of sharing digital information and media. Learning to use one brand of software/hardware is much more efficient than learning to use multiple brands. Being able to instantly sync all of our data, apps and media between all devices and computers, plus having everything readily accessible online in the cloud, 24/7 (coming this fall from Apple), is an offering that Samsung or Nokia will be very hard-pressed to match.

Other brands may have some outstanding or even better product features. But, for us, Apple’s unique selling proposition is inimitable. As the challenger to the market leader (which Apple was until it became the leader) you must be able to articulate your superior value proposition in a nano-second. Here is how this plays out with Apple in just 7 words (our words):

Local Service + Total Product Integration +Wireless Synchronization

In luxury real estate marketing, when you can distill and express your distinct, extraordinary promise of value in just a few words, and those words are remarkable, people will voluntarily spread those words for you (like we just gladly did for Apple), That is how you can quickly turn the tables on the incumbent market leader in your marketplace, catching them off-guard.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Skill of Finding Your Niche

July 29, 2011

One of the most important skills you could possibly possess as a luxury real estate marketing professional is the ability to spot an underserved, potentially lucrative market niche that you believe you could serve better than anyone else in your marketplace. This is not typically something that is taught in school. Yet, it can make the difference for you in owning the lion’s share of that market niche and have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Our favorite ways of getting inspired to practice this skill is by watching Shark Tank, the ABC reality show where bright entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to competing venture capitalists including the “diva” of luxury real estate herself, Barbara Corcoran. Check out an episode on You Tube and see for yourself. Here is an example of an uncontested market niche that attracted a “feeding frenzy” of competition between the sharks.

Two gentlemen noticed a tremendous inefficiency in the recruiting process of high school athletes who have talent and show promise. Many major stars, such as Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat, were completely overlooked in high school because of the current system. These guys came up with an online system whereby parents can take control of the process and market their kid’s talents to appropriate schools and professional teams.

Furthermore, they patented a mobile app that deals directly with the recruiting restrictions. They also created efficiencies that have never existed in this segment of collegiate and professional sports. Both parents and recruiters pay a fee to use the system, which has the potential to generate a significant cash flow.

Keep your eyes and ears open for inefficiencies in your luxury real estate market place and see if you can spot some underserved market segment. Then become known as the one, the brand name that changed things for the better. Your reputation can change for the better just about overnight if you do.

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The Key to Building an Exemplary Luxury Real Estate Marketing Team

July 18, 2011

If you want to build an exemplary luxury real estate marketing team, look around you for examples of great teamwork to keep you and your team inspired. That is the key!

Evidence of exemplary teamwork abounds. In sports when two teams are evenly matched and both display extraordinary teamwork it is still a pleasure to watch the team that opposes your favorite. Take the Women’s World Cup Soccer finals. You must give the Japanese team their due credit when they defeated the USA. Even though it appeared that the American team would close it out with just a couple of minutes to go, it was extreme tenacity that enabled the Japanese to win at the end.

Also, consider the tremendous milestone of the engineering team responsible for dismantling an overpass, which is a part of a $1 billion freeway widening project in West Los Angeles. With over 500,000 cars traversing this stretch of freeway on any given weekend locals feared that it would become “Carmaggedon”, the traffic jam to end all jams, when the freeway was temporarily closed this past weekend.

Faced with potential penalties of $6000 for every 10 minutes they exceeded the deadline. The crew completed their work under budget way ahead of schedule. In fact, they received a bonus of $300,000. This was also a victory for the people of LA who cooperated with local officials by staying off the freeways and patronizing local eateries and stores. There is something about teamwork and cooperation when it all works that lifts the spirit.

It is just as easy to find evidence of poor teamwork as it is great teamwork. The choice is yours! The difference is that focusing on examples of excellent teamwork feels good and it empowers you. The members of your marketing team look to you to set the tone. If you are pessimistic, and expect mediocre results, chances are that will be your experience. If you are optimistic, eventually great results will show up. To stay optimistic stay focused on great teamwork. That is the key to building an exemplary luxury real estate marketing team.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Give Your Mouse a Break!

July 14, 2011

To achieve and sustain top-of-mind status in your marketplace as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you need a plan that you can implement consistently. Sure, you can create a publicity stunt that grabs attention and thrusts you into the limelight for “15 minutes of fame”. But, the surest way to stay in the minds of your target market is through spaced repetition of promotion. That is why some of the traditional media tools, like “Just Listed & Just Sold” postcards, still work.

When we first opened our commercial real estate firm in Beverly Hills/West Los Angeles, we started with just three listings. But, these listings were situated at high profile, highly trafficked intersections. Within days we were hearing comments like, “I see your signs everywhere”.

But, once you get their attention you need to keep it! So, here is a plan to consider.

When you get a listing you have some news about which most of the neighbors are interested. This gives you an opportunity, an entrée, a reason to communicate and a reason to be received. While a postcard may be the easiest way to stay in communicate, why not take the opportunity to introduce yourself directly to the neighbors? That’s right; if they do not live behind private gates, knock on their doors!

Nothing beats a face-to-face meeting, not even online “face-time”. Think about it! If your niche or farm has, say 2000-3000 households, you only need to achieve and sustain top-of-mind status in that many households. You only need to meet and make a favorable impression on a very finite number of people to be extremely successful. If you elegantly introduce yourself in person, the subsequent postcards that you send will reinforce that positive first encounter.

Most agents are mesmerized and distracted by social media today. They are trolling for contacts, when the most important contacts, the ones who can actually send them business are right under their noses. Give your mouse a break and grab some door knockers instead!

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: The Line Extension Trap Part 2

July 6, 2011

As a luxury real estate marketing professional if it is your desire to challenge a formidable incumbent market leader in your marketplace keep an eye on Google as they take on Facebook with their new strategy, Google +. The key to challenging the incumbent is to identify where they are most vulnerable, concentrate all of your strengths with laser sharp focus and then take aim at that vulnerability.

Google has determined that contact management (particularly the way you group your contacts) is one of Facebook’s weakest links. Google+ offers a superior contact management method that enables you to easily group your friends into “circles” that more closely mirror how you actually socialize. This is not easy to do on Facebook. Google is also in the process of tying together the various components that they have already developed (and are currently in use by billions of people) into a cohesive social strategy.

For example, when you are planning a family event you will be able to send a Google map of the event location to everyone in your family circle plus your extended family circle with a couple of clicks. You will be able to “hang out” with your circle of scuba diving buddies via their video conferencing answer to Skype or “huddle” for a chat with your circle of team members on a project at work via Google’s instant messaging software.

However, to take on Facebook the challenger must come up with a strategy that is a true social networking game changer. The first clue that Google+ may not be a game changer is in the brand name itself, which was the subject of Part 1 of this series. Including Google within the new brand name is very risky. From a branding standpoint if you have indeed created a new category of social networking, a fundamental paradigm shift, you must first name your new category. Then, you must create a brand name that stands for the category.

If social circles, indeed represents a fundamental new way to organize social networking Google needs to create a distinct brand name for this product/service that will potentially stands for the category. Calling it something like “Circles”, for example, would have made it easy for both the press and consumers to spread the word about the new category and its extraordinary promise of value. That is how Google can still avoid the Line Extension Trap we refer to in Part 1 before general release (Google+ is in beta testing now).

When Steve Jobs introduced a new category of computers (touch screen tablet with apps) it trumped the categories of net books and e-book readers. It sparked a tsunami of news coverage, triggered a massive demand for the category and also for the first and only product in the category. Overnight, iPad stood for “tablet”.

Google stands for “search engine”, not a new, superior category of social networking. Google+ could stand for “social search”, but supposedly it is much more than a new category of search. Conversely, Android, Google’s brand of smart phone and tablet operating systems, successfully stands for the most viable alternative to the iPad and iPhone.

If social circles is not a game changing new category of social networking, but is instead just a feature that can easily be imitated by Facebook, Google has fallen into another trap of trying to compete on features. Facebook just announced that Microsoft-owned Skype will be incorporated into its entire platform, which will match the same feature offered by Google+. Additionally, Facebook just announced that it now has 750 million users. Competing on features alone, with a Juggernaut like Facebook, is futile.

To take on a formidable incumbent in your luxury real estate marketplace, you must become a game changer and create a thoroughly compelling, newsworthy business model. And, you must brand yourself in such a way that your name stands for your unique promise of value. That way you make it very easy for others to spread the word about you and how you stand out from your competition.

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Personal and Company Branding: The Line Extension Trap – Part 1

June 29, 2011

Russian Nested Dolls

In marketing luxury real estate, one of the traps that market leading agents fall into is attempting to be all things to all people. They figure, for example, that since they are the expert in selling single family homes in a particular geographic farm they certainly can extend their line of work to another category of business and become the expert at selling condos throughout multiple areas. Never mind that they will have to face off with an incumbent market leader in this separate niche who is known as the “condo queen or king”, an agent who is currently enjoying top-of-mind status based on an indelible personal brand that was developed over years.

Off they go, believing that their reputation as the expert in single family homes plus their unique brand of doing business in that one area will automatically apply and extend to another, and another arena. Instead, they will need to successfully develop a second distinct brand that resonates with their new target market. Keeping the same brand name for the new category is what is known as the “line extension trap”.

Think of those Russian nested dolls that look identical but in different sizes. Using the same brand name for different lines of business diminishes the stature of the original brand. Let us take a look at how Google is about to fall into the line extension trap as they take on Facebook once again.

Do we really need another major social network? At a time when News Corp. is selling off MySpace for $30-40 Million (less than 10 cents on the dollar based on their original purchase price of $580M), Google seems to think so. Facebook, with its alliance with Microsoft, is Google’s fiercest competitor not only in social media but in search, where Google dominates. But, from a strategic branding standpoint, with the name, “Google +”, they are heading in the same direction as MySpace on a very slippery slide. Here is why.

While Google is one of the world’s most widely recognized brand names, they were wise in keeping the name, Android, for their smart phone operating system (OS) when they acquired Android Inc. in 2005. With Android they avoided this very common brand extension trap. That is, the trap of using the primary brand name as an integral part of the new brand name in the new product/service category they are entering. But, it looks like they did fall into this trap with Google +1 in the category of social networking.

It would have been suicide to use Google instead of Android for their mobile device OS because it would dilute and diminish Google’s top-of-mind status in its primary product category. Google stands for SEARCH, period. It cannot also stand for social media, like Facebook does, or anything else without diminishing the power of the brand in its primary category.

Android doesn’t just stand for the “other” mobile device operating system. It stands for an “open source” operating system that allows unlimited number of developers to contribute to the evolution of its source code. It freely licenses its OS for use by any qualified manufacturer of mobile devices.

In contrast, Android’s closest competitor, Apple, has a strictly proprietary “closed source”. This is a classic case of a challenger taking on the opposite brand position as that of the incumbent. Google created a contest between the #1 and #2 brands who, together, own the lion’s share of the marketplace. When price is equal, the majority of mobile devise consumers make a clear choice between the two opposing brands based on their personal values and the opportunity for self-expression that each of them offers.

Google brilliantly framed this two-way contest as Open (Android) vs. Closed (Apple) and summarily dismissed the #3 and #4 operating systems. This is brand positioning at its best. So far, Google has not been as brilliant about positioning itself as the #2 contender to Facebook. What does + stand for and how is it the opposite of what Facebook stands for?

Every new product or service category that a company or a service professional enters must have its own unique brand name, a name that stands for the category or niche. Google’s streaming video service, You Tube, is a direct competitor of Hulu which is owned by a consortium of companies You Tube currently stands for streaming video with free user generated content. Competitor, Hulu, is comprised exclusively of the content that is produced by its owners and is available partially for free, mostly for a fee. Free vs. Fee, user generated content vs. proprietary content. This is brand positioning.

Google means search. It does not mean TV (Google TV), nor does it mean instant messenger (Google Talk). These are examples that illustrate Google’s tendency to fall into the line extension trap. Google definitely does not mean social network. Why is this branding principle of the line extension trap so difficult to apply consistently?

Orkut, Google’s first faceoff with Facebook, means social network to 100,000,000 users primarily in India and Brazil. It is one of the most highly trafficked websites in these countries and the 96^th most highly-trafficked website in the world. It is not at all popular in the United States. But, they stayed out of the line extension trap on this one becasue the name does not include the word Google.

But, Google had a disastrous misstep when they launched Google Buzz, their second attempt to surpass Facebook. A technical glitch resulted in revealing users' address books to the public. Why on earth would they tarnish their good name in the realm of search again? What were they thinking? Trapped!

In your luxury real estate marketing practice did you ever feel the tendency to branch out into other categories of business? Did you fall into the line extension trap? Or, did you rebrand yourself for the new category?

In Part 2 of this blog series on the line extension trap, we will see how Google is compounding their troubles by falling into another trap. That is the trap of competing on features vs. leveraging the art of brand positioning.

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Personal & Company Branding: What Is Your X Factor?

June 28, 2011

Courtesy of Coca Cola

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, what does your personal brand stand for in the minds of your target market and how is that distinct from your closest competitor? What is your X Factor? This is a question that baffles even the most seasoned consumer brands. If you cannot articulate in a word or a very brief phrase how you stand out from your competition you are going to swiftly lose market share to those who can. Take head from one of the most well known brands in the world.

Simon Cowell will not be drinking Coke this fall on his new (to America) show, X Factor, like he did on American Idol. Pepsi has become a $60 million sponsor of the show as they beef up their advertising to help regain lost market share to Coke. Pepsi is now #3 (9.5%) in the beverage contest for market leadership behind #2 (9.9%) Diet Coke and #1 (17%) Coke- Classic. Pepsi is not that far ahead of #4 Mountain Dew and # 5 Dr. Pepper.

What happened to Pepsi? Pundits are blaming the shift in focus from soft drinks to PepsiCo’s healthy foods in terms of ad spending. The resulting neglect of their most important brand in the entire company has cost them plenty. The experts are basically saying, “When you snooze. You Lose”!

But, we say, Pepsi was losing way before they began snoozing on ad spending! They were losing mind share before they began losing marketing share. What does Pepsi stand for in the minds of their target market and who is their target market, today?

It used to be the brand of choice for the younger generation. At one point Pepsi’s brand strategy was spot on, the perfect strategy for the challenger. Pepsi framed a two-brand contest between young (Pepsi) and old (Coke) because they knew more young people were buying their product. Pepsi OWNED the ‘younger generation” as their brand position and they spoke their target market’s language.

Pepsi’s new ads are anything but cool or youthful. The slogan is “summertime is Pepsi time”. Does that mean anything to you? Summertime may be the biggest selling time of the year for soft drinks in general. But, why choose Pepsi over Coke?

Their new ad has Santa (an old man with a white beard) in a Hawaiian shirt drinking Pepsi instead of Coke, saying “I’m on vacation”, intimating that he drinks Pepsi in the summer (but don’t tell Coke about his secret summer passion). Pepsi is attempting to disrupt, dislodge or shatter Coke’s archetypical branding imagery, the marriage of Santa & Coke (depicted above) from the 1950s. Coke spent millions of dollars over many years to deeply imbed this notion into the minds their target market. The problem is that most of these minds are 50 years old or more. This is the very opposite strategy that Pepsi should be taking to regain market share.

Contrast this to Pepsi in their brilliant branding heyday when they had Michael Jackson singing “you are a whole new generation” (to the tune of Billy Jean) in a commercial in which he also made a personal appearance. Kids where moon dancing in the street, imitating the “gloved one” and drinking Pepsi, when Jackson himself appears in the commercial. What could possibly be cooler than that? Check out the commercial below which has been seen over 31, 500,000 times on You Tube. Click Here or view the video below.

Pepsi needs to get back to its roots and reassert its unique promise of value. It needs to amplify it’s X Factor! Otherwise, all of the advertising dollars that they are spending are going to become, as Simon Cowell would say, an “utter waste”.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, have you lost touch with your unique promise of value? What makes you stand out from your competition? What is your X Factor?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Secret of "Pull" vs. "Push" Marketing

June 27, 2011

Identifying and serving an underserved market niche better than anyone else can take the notion of sales out of your business equation, all together. In your luxury real estate marketing practice a niche may be a geographic area or a category of properties or a group of consumers with the same values such as environmentalists. The key to marketing to a group of consumers with the same mindset is to fully understand how they think. Most importantly, this includes knowing their deepest concerns or pain points. If you can clearly and quickly communicate that your service can relieve their pain you literally will not have to sell them on working with you. They will sell themselves on you.

Crafting the right marketing messaging is the art of precisely communicating your extraordinary promise of value (through all facets of your brand identity) in such a way that your target market can instantly recognize that you are the one who can best meet their needs. Essentially, you need to know their mindset or psychographics so you can speak to them in their language.

In the realm of luxury real estate you are dealing with achievers of wealth, those aspiring to achieve wealth or those who just want to emulate the wealthy. Your message to achievers will be entirely different from your message to emulators because their needs are distinct. To understand how important the right messaging can be let us take L’Oréal hair coloring products as an example.

Headquartered just outside of Paris, L’Oréal is the world’s largest cosmetic and beauty company. For a while Sex in the City star, Sarah Jessica Parker, was the spokesperson for their hair color line, which usually sells at somewhat of a premium. Ms. Parker’s character in the show is the quintessential emulator.

The question of self-worth is often a pain point for emulators. L’Oréal’s classic advertising slogan, “Because I’m worth it” spoke directly to emulating consumers. The “it” word in the slogan presumes that the product is superior and worth the premium price. Since its first use in the mid 2000s the slogan has evolved to “Because we’re worth it” because research proved that ‘we’ evoked an even higher level of consumer involvement in the L’Oréal philosophy and lifestyle. Plus, it elicited more “perceived” consumer satisfaction with the products themselves. The new slogan was further extended for the kid’s line of hair and body products with, “Because we’re worth it, too”!

Are the ingredients in the product that much better than the competitor’s product line? That is debatable. But, the perception that L’Oréal has created is one of superiority. With just four words L’Oréal has created what is known as “pull marketing” vs. “push marketing”. They are not selling hair color ingredients here. They are offering self-worth as their unique promise of value and their target market is reaching for the relief that represents.

With this “pull marketing” strategy L’Oréal does not need to compete on features that any competent competitor can copy like “foam” or “mousse” versions of the product. L’Oréal has also come out with a “mousse” version of their hair color product just to match the competition. But, competing on features alone is futile.

With one brilliant preemptive move, L’Oréal OWNED the word “self-worth” in the minds of their target market. No other competitor can stake claim to it without looking like a copycat. Test it for yourself. Just ask any woman what brand comes to mind when you say “Because I’m worth it”. This is brand strategy at its best. L’Oréal has achieved and has sustained top-of-mind status.

Pull marketing is what happens when you get your branding and messaging spot on. Instead of going fishing for prospects, the fish jump into your boat. That is because you are communicating your extraordinary promise of value to your target market with precision, in their language. You are not selling. You are solving their problem and you are relieving their pain.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, do you know the pain points of your target market? If you have not taken the time to articulate your unique promise of value in such a way that you are solving problems and relieving pain, you are working way too hard at selling. And, you are probably annoying your target market in the process.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Guess Who's Coming To Santa Barbara?

June 23, 2011

On July 9, 2011, Prince William (aka Duke of Cambridge) and his wife Kate Middleton (aka Duchess of Cambridge) will attend a Polo match at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. The duchess will be presenting a trophy specially designed for the event by Tiffany's who is a perennial sponsor of the Polo Club. This is the only event open to the public at large. The event will benefit the American Friends of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry. The funds support disadvantaged children, conservation and veterans of military families.

Tickets for the VIP tent are $4000 per person. This will give you access to chat with the royals, seats in the royal couple's section and a three course lunch prepared by Giada de Laurentis If you are budget conscious, $400 will get you in the grounds and a gourmet box lunch.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Apple, What's Your Secret? Part 2

June 22, 2011

Courtesy of Apple

We have identified the phenomenon of “complacency” as is one of the potential vulnerabilities of market leaders who have outdistanced their closest competitors by a considerable margin. There is a tendency to coast on their momentum instead of continuously reinvest in staying sharp. They tend to “rest on their laurels”, relying on the recognition of their previous achievements to stay on top. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you want to challenge the market leader this is an important symptom of vulnerability to be able to recognize and also be able to exploit.

In Steven Covey’s mega-bestselling book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he writes about the flip side of complacency which is working too hard, for fear of losing ground to the competition, and not taking the time for self renewal or “sharpening the saw”. In our strategic branding consulting practice and also as syndicated bloggers we are continuously interviewing top producing agents. We notice that the market leaders who are workaholics are equally vulnerable to being challenged as the complacent ones.

When a new idea of doing business is introduced to the complacent market leader, the response is often “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it”? When a new idea in proposed to a workaholic it is often rejected because they do not have the time to take a break from sawing in order to sharpen the saw. In both cases there is a paucity of innovation, ingenuity and imagination at the top which makes them vulnerable to challengers who are eager and willing to “think outside the box.”

In our previous post we highlighted the brilliant success of Apple’s retail stores. Clearly, Apple is an enlightened market leader that does not rest on its laurels. It continuously stays sharply focused and is an uninterrupted font of innovation. Within a year of the debut of the iPad, iPad 2 trumped its predecessor and preempted many of its would- be competitors by including superior features like two cameras and a skinnier profile.

The genius who is mainly credited for the success of the Apple stores is Ron Johnson, the Senior VP of Retail Operations, who recently was tapped for the CEO position of J.C Penny to restore its prominence as a market leader. In an interview, Johnson said, “I’ve always dreamed of leading a major retail company as CEO. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help J.C. Penney re-imagine what I believe to be the single greatest opportunity in American retailing today, the Department Store.”

A true market leader is willing to continuously re-invent and re-imagine its business model. Essentially, a great market leader never stops thinking like a challenger.

If you are a market leader and you find yourself getting complacent or becoming a workaholic these are warning signals that your health and the health of your luxury real estate marketing practice is in jeopardy. You are definitely vulnerable to being caught off-guard by a challenger who is open to new ideas.

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