Luxury Real Estate Marketing Brand Strategy: How to Erase Your Unwanted Online Tracks

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Many Faces of Luxury

August 30, 2013

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to understand the many faces and accompanying personalities that define a luxury brand. The above Beverly Hills camouflage is on Rodeo Drive which is "the" street for the big brands, and now for the soon to open Tory Burch store. This particular store front camouflage billboard shows the color of the brand and the image of the brand. We would refer to it as sophisticated luxury, as are the next door neighbors, Cartier and Roberto Cavalli. In luxury real estate marketing materials, this type of look translates well to metropolitan and urban areas.

This next camouflage facade is located on Beverly Drive, which is one street beyond Rodeo Drive. Beverly Drive retail differs a different experience from Rodeo Drive. We would refer to it as casual hip relaxed luxury. It makes sense that Lucky Brand chose to locate there, right next to Nate N Al delicatessen, which has been a Beverly Hills icon for over 65 years. The other side of the site is Z Gallerie, a contemporary furniture and home accessories shop. In marketing materials, this type of look would translate well to the mid luxury range which differs in each marketplace.

In future posts, we will point out more luxury faces and brand personalities.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Luxury is Attention to Details!

August 29, 2013

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to pay attention to details. Attention to details is what give an item or a marketing piece that luxurious feel...

Whenever a store is remodeled in Beverly Hills, the business creates a beautiful structure to camouflage the constructing inside. Here is the Hermes version on Rodeo Drive which is one of the famous luxury retail streets in the Beverly Hills triangle.

Hermes is one of the finest luxury brands known for their uncompromising craftsmanship. They started as a saddle shop in Paris in 1837. Because of their exquisite work and their royal clientele, they became known as the “saddle makers of kings.” Since then they have expanded into fashion, lifestyle and home products.

One of their specialties is silk scarves. The scarves have hand rolled edges and the same intensity of color on both sides, their attention to detail is unparalleled. They often issue a limited number for a special celebration or country, and their most recent scarf celebrates the Indian look of the maharajahs.

This barricade is a large scarf, three stories high with palm trees which celebrate the look and feel of Rodeo Drive. Note how the palm trees on the scarves blend in with the real palm trees and create a harmonious look of painting and reality.

The brilliance of erecting an aesthetically pleasing camouflage is that it creates visibility and anticipation for the new store. At the same time it markets the Hermes brand in a way that clearly defines their luxury brand strategy! The picture above is from November 9, 2012.

Here is the pre-grand opening shot. The windows are detailed to look like they are frames to accent their beautiful products. The attention to details says it all. Next month, we will follow up with the big reveal when they are ready for their close up!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Courage of Kindness

August 28, 2013

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see” Mark Twain

Whenever we are asked to define what it takes to be a great luxury real estate marketing professional, our answer is: “Cultivate the courage of kindness”. Kindness (and a good sense of humor, of course), is the ultimate luxury.

Courage is defined in the dictionary as: “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.” Kindness is defined as: “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.”

It takes courage not to react when someone is disagreeable, or to automatically assess someone as being less than you, incompetent or one of “those” people. Our minds are constantly labeling and pigeonholing people and situations into categories.

For instance, while driving. someone honks at you or tries to cut you off. It is natural to react by honking back and letting out a stream of expletives, etc.

How can you stop your mind from doing that? Perhaps, you could entertain the thought that the reason they are going crazy is that they may be having the worst day of their life. It does take courage to for you to let them pass you, instead.

Here is an example of the courage of kindness in luxury real estate.

One of our clients sold a lovely estate to a couple. The couple was very happy. Several months later our client received a call from the wife saying the house was haunted! The ghost was telling her, in the middle of the night, “Get out of my house, or else!” She wanted our client to put the house on the market, immediately. Her husband did not want to sell; nor did he hear the ghost.

Our client knew that selling the home would be a colossal mistake. Instead of trying to talk her out of the sale, she came up with a brilliant solution. Knowing the wife was a devout Catholic she sought the help of the local priest. With the client’s permission, the priest came over to bless the house. After he did that, the ghost disappeared.

This instance of courageous kindness developed its own momentum. Our client regularly gets referrals from the couple, as well as from the priest, even though she is not a member of his church.

Taking a moment to practice kindness by overriding the mind’s automatic evaluations, takes courage. In the long run if we all did that we would be better people for it. We would also become outstanding luxury real estate marketing professionals.

“There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.” Dalai Lama

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Do You Have a Local Brand Strategy?

August 26, 2013

In presenting your luxury real estate marketing plan to your sellers, you should emphasize your strategy for marketing locally as well as globally. Do you have a local brand strategy?

We have found, in working with luxury real estate marketing professionals, that even in the most desirable luxury real estate markets, the global buyers represent a miniscule percentage when compared to local buyers. There is no question that there is an increase in global buyers especially in Hawaii, Florida and some major US cities. But, the global buyer statistics are not commensurate with the emphasis that much of the luxury real estate media is touting.

To win big in luxury real estate marketing, concentrate on building your local brand! Aim for achieving top-of-mind status.

You may have heard of the Central California wine brand, Firestone. It was made famous when the son of the winery owner was on the TV show, The Bachelor. Firestone originally produced only beer, and then branched out into wine. Recently, they sold the winery, but created a new local beer brand, “805” which is the telephone area code for the three adjacent counties that include Santa Barbara.

Focusing, with laser sharp precision on the local market, 805 signs are starting to be proudly displayed in local restaurants, in the local Trader Joes markets and on local billboards. Achieving brand recognition at an accelerated pace is what great brand strategy is all about. The entire exercise is geared to catapult a brand with zero brand recognition to top-of-mind status, fast!

How can you accelerate the pace at which your local brand achieves top-of-mind status?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Even Beans Have Brands

August 22, 2013

In marketing luxury real estate and working with luxury real estate marketing professionals, we constantly look for opportunities to illustrate what a brand is. Several dozens of books are annually written explaining branding, because,it is one of those obvious things that are not noticed and therefore hidden from our consciousness.

This past Saturday, we were drawn to these beautiful cranberry beans. It is one of the many variety of beans. What you are seeing in the photo is their outer shell and the inside bean is white with deep red specks. They are mild tasting and may be compared to chestnuts. When they are in this fresh state, they are wonderful cooked slowly in liquid, and seasoned with garlic, lemon and anchovies.

So, in defining your brand and your brand preferences, stop a moment and look how nature shows her brands...and your reaction to it. It should give you clues on defining your own brand.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power of Top of Mind Status Part 2

August 20, 2013

As we stated in part 1, those luxury real estate marketing professionals who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership, achieving top-of-mind status is the ultimate goal. The first brand name that comes to mind commands the lion’s share of the business in a brand category within a given marketplace or niche therein. But, dominating a brand category requires the consistent execution of brand strategy.

In our recent travels, we noticed how people are willing to wait in line for a particular brand or service. The first shot was taken at the Louis Vuitton store in Paris on a Sunday afternoon. This was the second time we had seen lines there. No other luxury brand had a line. The Louis Vuitton brand is the #1 brand in the world. Buying a Louis Vuitton product in Paris (the origin) means even more to the people standing line, than buying it in their hometown, even though Louis Vuitton had stores worldwide including one in Outer Mongolia.

This shot was taken on Rue des Rosiers at “The Ace of Falafels” whose slogan translate as ”always imitated, never equaled”. We had read in several guidebooks about this restaurant and rave reviews abound. Just to make sure of the accuracy of these reviews, we asked one of the local merchants, and she was equally enthusiastic about this place. So, we got in line and had one of the best Middle Eastern lunches. Waiting in line was worth it. Right across the street was another falafel place, and no one was waiting there.

Lines create buzz. It makes one want to find out what all the fuss is about. When Krispy Kreme was at its peak, and went public, we reported that people were lined up outside at their stores, and prior to the opening of the store in Australia for 48 hours. Those lines are gone now. Was it a fad? Or, Was it a lack of consistently executing brand strategy? What do you think?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power of Top of Mind Status

August 19, 2013

As a luxury real estate marketing professional bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership, achieving top-of-mind status is the ultimate goal. The first brand name that comes to mind commands the lion’s share of the business in a brand category within a given marketplace or niche therein. But, dominating a brand category requires the consistent execution of brand strategy.

In the California Central Coast wine country (Santa Barbara to Monterey) one winery, Palmina, stands out as a category leader. The category is Italian varietals. Palmina applied the winning branding formula to achieve market leadership: They selected an undeserved, potentially lucrative market niche about which that they are very passionate and knew that they could serve their target market better than anyone else.

Recently, we took off for an adventure to the Central Coast wine country to visit a town called Lompoc (45 minutes up the coast, north of Santa Barbara). You may know Lompoc as the home of Vanderberg Air Force Base where a space shuttle landed a few years back.

In search of the best restaurant in town for lunch, we decided to stop by one of the local wineries, thinking that they would likely be “foodies” too and have a suggestion for us. Driving along the “Wine Trail” we spotted Palmina, a brand we know and trust. The choice was clear. We did not need to look further. And, we were right; they recommended Floriano’s, which had absolutely fabulous fresh Mexican food.

Delighted with our meal we returned to Palmina for their wine tasting which was excellent. The man who poured our wine was very passionate and knowledgeable about his wines and Italian varietals in general. He told us the entire Palmina brand story, which is rich with local lore.

We left with three bottles of outstanding wines that we look forward to paring with the types of meals he recommended. Now, we are “brand ambassadors” who are eager to share our experience of this fine winery.

In a sea of wine brands, one name stands for the category of Central Coast Italian varietals, in our minds. Now that we have visited the winery, Palmina also stands for remarkable hospitality simply based on our personal experience at the winery itself. And, that is the power of achieving top-of-mind status.

Who are Your Brand Ambassadors?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: The Value of Unexpected Appreciation

August 15, 2013

Many successful luxury real estate marketing professionals have a core referral base. It is important to acknowledge these individuals often and thank them for their patronage and support.

Here is a case in point:

Yesterday, at our front door, we found two packages, addressed to each one of us, from Fed Ex. We were delighted to each receive a books specifically selected for each of us. The books were a gift from the service professional that we work with. The accompanying note, written on beautiful linen stationary read:

“I am pleased to share with you one of (the company’s) favorite traditions, the Summer Reading List. This year’s selection represents some of the most compelling titles of the past year ranging from art, learning to lead, finding success and latest trends, as well as stories of giving back, rising to the top and survival. The books were chosen from hundreds of submissions from our colleagues around the world, and as I looked through the list, I thought you (Alexandra) would enjoy Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg”. Ron’s note read, “ I thought you would enjoy The Soundtrack of My Life, by Clive Davis”.

It was an unexpected appreciation for the value we bring to this person and his company. We did not need a gift to continue to treasure this relationship, however, this gesture was a reflection of the value we bring to each other’s lives. We loved the fact that he took the time to make an individualized selection. Receiving a hard cover book in the day of e-books made it a stand out.

What can you do that is an unexpected appreciation those who comprise your core referral base?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Let Them Eat Cake, And…

August 14, 2013

We are often asked for creative luxury real estate marketing tips. One of the ways to get new listings or buyers is to create an event. Among the many emails we received this morning was this one from Williams-Sonoma. Here is an excerpt:

Happy Birthday, Julia

Join us in celebrating Julia Child’s 101^st birthday, August 15th, with all-day tastings of Beef Bourguignone and birthday cake! The legendary chef was a frequent visitor of Williams Sonoma store and a good friend to our founder, Chuck Williams.

Julia Child is an iconic figure in the culinary and foodie world. Many credit her for bringing French cuisine to America.

“Her first cooking show on television in 1963, was called, The French Chef on WGBH. The show ran nationally for ten years and won Peabody and Emmy Awards, including the first Emmy award for an educational program. It was also the first show captioned for the deaf.” Wikipedia

Here is great example of a fine luxury real estate marketing event that generates great results for one of our clients. One of our wine country clients has a regular wine and food event in their office. Local chefs and wineries are invited to create a hors d’oeuvres party, and pair wines with those morsels. Even if your marketplace is not in the wine country, this type of event can produce great results providing your clientele enjoys wine and fine cooking.

What will you do for your next event?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Do You Know Your Core Value Proposition?

August 12, 2013

If you are a luxury real estate marketing professional who is intent on gaining or sustaining market leadership ask yourself this important question: “What can I do better than anyone else in my marketplace?” Tap into your core value proposition and you will discover how to out-smart your competition.

Facebook’s stock recently jumped 30% because they are getting their mobile advertising act together. Ad revenue jumped 75% over the previous quarter. Google has seized market dominance with their Android operating system with over 70% market share. This enables the company to put more ads on more screens, which is their core value proposition.

Smart phones enable advertisers to find you based on your present location. Geo-positioning makes smart phones the perfect vehicle to deliver local ads (and special offers for goods and services available locally). We think Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, is concerned about that! And, that is why he is willing to personally spend $250 million on the Washington Post.

Mr. Bezos must have asked himself the key question about the strengths of Amazon in relationship to Facebook and Google when it comes to local commerce via mobile devices because both of those companies have the potential to siphon off Amazon’s core business—ecommerce. Billions of dollars are at stake here!

Traditionally, the bread-and-butter revenue of newspapers has been classified ads. Intermediaries, like Craig’s List, demonstrated that they could get consumers to go directly to their brand of classified ads FIRST. With a singular focus, Craig’s List became synonymous with classified ads and was catapulted to top-of-mind status in that advertising category.

NAR conducted a study years ago that demonstrated that homebuyers are more likely to work the first agent they contact when they were ready to buy a home. That is why Trulia and Zillow want to be the FIRST place home buyers go to search properties rather than on YOUR website. Agents pay these companies to get these leads before you do.

What if Mr. Bezos could convince local merchants to set up stores on Amazon’s affordable Webstore platform (Amazon’s no long-term obligation, robust, eCommerce technology and fulfillment services) and monetize the journalistic content of the Washington Post with transaction-based advertising? A profit sharing model between Amazon and the Post would drive revenues for the newspaper.

Already built into Webstore’s platform are available features for consumers to opt-in to special offer alerts, coupons, etc. Amazon’s peer rating system allows consumers to know which local merchants to trust and ranks merchants based on best current prices on a particular item. Consumers who already have Amazon accounts could go shopping locally with one click or create a new Amazon account.

What if the newspaper's act of championing the "Shop Local" cause attracted all of the top local merchants? What if the Washington Post e-commerce/mobile commerce/local commerce model proved to be a fiscal winner in the long run? Wouldn’t other local newspapers around the world beat a path to Amazon’s door?

Contemplating your core value proposition and focusing on what you do best as a luxury real estate marketing professional can give you the competitive advantage. Your market leadership is at stake, here!

Do you know your core value proposition?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Strategy: How to Take Care of a Brand Crisis

August 7, 2013

There are times when employees or agents in a luxury real estate marketing company do not comply with the ethical standards set forth by real estate governing bodies and your brand becomes at risk. As a company owner, how are you going to handle this crisis? Take a page out of Apple’s play-book when it comes to crisis/risk management. A recent event in China is a case in point.

Some Chinese entrepreneurs are manufacturing and selling faulty, counterfeit Apple power adapters. One woman was electrocuted as a result of using a counterfeit charger and another is in a coma. Is Apple at fault? No, however, their brand name is stamped on the faulty products!

Apple treated this crisis as an opportunity to turn a rotten apple into a golden public relation coup. The following excerpt from their website announcement applies to anyone in the world who has encountered a counterfeit Apple charger:

“Starting August 16, 2013, if you have concerns about any of your USB power adapters, you can drop them off at an Apple Retail Store or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider. We will ensure that these adapters are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.

If you need a replacement adapter to charge your iPhone, iPad, or iPod, we recommend getting an Apple USB power adapter. For a limited time, you can purchase one Apple USB power adapter at a special price — $10 USD or approximate equivalent in local currency. To qualify, you must turn in at least one USB power adapter and bring your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to an Apple Retail Store or participating Apple Authorized Service Provider for serial number validation. The special pricing on Apple USB power adapters is limited to one adapter for each iPhone, iPad, and iPod you own and is valid until October 18, 2013.”

They know that moaning and groaning about these counterfeiters will accomplish nothing. Instead they understood that the reputation of the brand is at risk. With this brilliant move, they have proven that Apple products are the gold standard and have insured customer loyalty.

Crises do happen! Manage the risk of a tarnished brand by demonstrating the best of your company values, thus creating a public relations opportunity.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Safeguarding your Client’s Privacy

August 6, 2013

No matter what price range of real estate you are selling, it is very important to safeguard your client’s privacy. As a broker or agent, you have a fiduciary responsibility. The dictionary defines it as “An individual in whom another has placed the utmost trust and confidence to manage and protect property or money.”

In our practice of commercial real estate, there were many times when were asked by building owners and developers to sign a “non-disclosure” agreement. They did not want any deal points or numbers to be disclosed to anyone. Similarly, when a high-end property is sold, the buyers have asked some of our clients to also sign an agreement to not release the final sales price. Some buyers maintain anonymity by having the title held by a corporation or trust.

It is tempting when one has closed a transaction with a high profile individual or company to tell all, and show off one’s feathers in the process. We would often get calls from newspapers asking us for details. However, even the slightest whispers or insinuations have a way of getting back to those involved, and your reputation can instantly be damaged. And, that can have a significant impact on future business.

As a luxury real estate marketing profession gaining a reputation for discretion can pay hefty dividends. It can also give you a competitive advantage.

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Luxury Brand Strategy: How to Stop Companies from Tracking You Online

August 5, 2013

Courtesy of Firefox

Privacy is a luxury, especially when dealing with luxury real estate buyers and sellers. Here are some ways that you can insure it, at least for yourself.

According to a CNN article, we discovered that Internet “BIG” Data Mining & Brokering companies now represents “a $300 billion-a-year business that employs 3 million people in the United States alone” according to McKinsey Global Institute. Focusing more on big data is most likely an important reason for merger talks between the 2^nd and 3^rd largest global advertising firms, so they can better compete with the likes of Google and Facebook—the biggest aggregators of personal information on earth.

The largest company, Acxiom, provides “analytical services” on 144 million households. They are aware of your name, your phone number, where you live, your buying habits and much more. You may wish to have Internet sites know your personal preferences, with your deliberate permission. That way they can recommend products and services to you. But, there are now hundreds if not thousands of sites that are potentially tracking or even stalking Internet users (and their kids), sites that they may not know about.

Do Not Track

To get a better idea of how this phenomenon has grown exponentially in recent years please watch this brief TED Talk video, by Firefox CEO Gary Kovacs. Prepare to be amazed! Fortunately, there is something you can do about this on Firefox (click here).

Delete Me / Mask Me

The CNN report also pointed us to Abine.com that has tools to delete your personal information on the Internet. According to Abine, “Nearly everything you do leaves a trace, and data brokers collect this information to create and sell public profiles about you”. Their subscription based service, DeleteMe, removes:

Your public profile from leading data sites
Contact, personal, and social information
Photos of you, your family, and your home

You can also stop giving out your personal information online altogether, with their other service MaskMe. Says Abine, “No company can guarantee that they will keep your data private. If you give out your email, phone, or credit card number, you now have to assume it's recorded and potentially shared, lost, or stolen. Now you can simply stop giving it out with MaskMe”.

Beware of companies that pretend to offer a “do not track” service. Some are actually tracking companies in disguise. Privacy is definitely a luxury. But, it is up to you, individually, to protect your own.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Impeccability--Are You Up to the Challenge?

July 17, 2013

A touchstone is a benchmark or a mental yardstick that one uses to see if things or experiences measure up to this standard. Dining at Les Crayères, in the Champagne region of France is one of our touchstones for excellence in fine dining in a majestic setting with impeccable service.

We first heard about Les Crayères just one year after it opened in the 80’s, and stayed in one of the 20 rooms at this fully restored classic French Château for a weekend we have never forgotten. On our recent trip to Paris we returned to Les Crayères to celebrate Alexandra’s birthday, just for lunch. The trip took under one hour from Paris via the amazing TGV train traveling at about 250 miles per hour.

When we arrived we were graciously greeted and escorted to the outdoor patio that overlooks a spectacular park with acres of lawn. We were served some delightful tidbits to amuse our taste buds and to accompany a wonderful glass of Bollinger Rose Champagne from the region.

Then we were called indoors to the dining room to indulge in a French gastronomic extravaganza that exceeded our extremely high expectations and our memory from of our first experience there.

The meal was sublime and the service was, once again, impeccable. What we appreciated the most was the level of consistency that has been maintained over time by this fine establishment. It was as if time had not elapsed between visits. And, that was remarkable!

As a purveyor of luxury goods or a provider of luxury services impeccability is a standard worthy of striving for in your business or profession. To embody this standard requires a commitment to excellence over time. Are you up to the challenge?

Luxury Marketing Tip: NO MONEY, NO HONEY! What if We Had Baidu?

July 16, 2013

Photo by flylosky

When we attended the Club eLuxe International Summit in Paris, we learned about the Baidu business model. Baidu,Inc (pronounced By- doo in English) is the Chinese equivalent of Google whose user interface is very similar to Google. The name “Baidu”, according to the company, was inspired by a poem that was written during the Song Dynasty, 800 years ago. The literal meaning of Baidu is “hundreds of times represents persistent search for the ideal.”

Baidu ranks as one of the top 10 sites in the world according to Alexa.com, with a 98% share of the Chinese market. In December of 2007, it became the first Chinese company to be included in the NASDAQ-100 Index.

Just today, Bloomberg said the company has struck a deal “for $1.9 billion to acquire the majority stake in China’s most popular third-party store for smartphone apps. This move mimics Google Inc. when they backed the Android operating system and started its own app store to gain share against Apple Inc.”

Their business model is very simple: “No Money, No Honey!” There is no search engine optimization with Baidu, no convoluted algorithms, no “natural”, or “organic” search engine or social media contortions to gain a higher ranking. Baidu generates revenue from its pay for placement platform (P4P). The P4P platform is an online marketplace that introduces Internet search users to those businesses who bid the most money for top placement with defined keywords.

From our perspective a Baidu business model could be a colossal time saver. Many would be writing blogs for enjoyment, instead of writing posts for search engine robots and artificial results. Social media as we know it today would be social and not another means of high ranking on Google.

Perhaps, there are many people who do not realize that time is money. The belief is that it is “free” to write unoriginal, keyword-laden blog posts, and “free” to keep up with Google’s ever-changing algorithms, an exhausting pursuit. Also, one would not need to be present and accounted for on every social media platform.

How much is your time worth? That is the real question. Would it be easier and ultimately less expensive to just pay to be #1 on Google, free up more quality time for yourself, your friends and your family where the real honey is? What do you think?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Is There a Niche for YOU?

July 15, 2013

luxury marketing, luxury real estate marketing

Whenever we write or talk about finding an uncontested luxury real estate marketing niche in which to excel and dominate, the response often is, “this is so hard to do, or all niches have already been taken”. Here is an example of something we discovered yesterday.

Brix Chocolate for Wine was invented by pulmonologist (lung specialist), Dr. Proia, from Ohio who felt that ordinary chocolate did not pair well with wine. So he researched chocolate and found that a chocolate grown in Ghana was perfect when blended with confectioner’s chocolate. A niche in the chocolate business was born.

The word “brix” used as the brand comes from a term used in the winemaking industry. It means to measure the percentage of sugar in the grape, which determines when the grapes should be picked. In winemaking 55-60% of sugar becomes alcohol. The ideal brix is 20 to 25, which results in a wine with about 11% alcohol.

Brix makes 4 types of chocolate. Each has recommendations for wine pairing. For instance, extra dark (70% cacao) pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Barolo and Malbec. If you are not a wine lover, you can pair it with Brandy, Cognac, or Armagnac.

The difficulty that many luxury real estate marketing professionals have in identifying an uncontested market niche is thinking outside of the box. These niches are just not obvious. If they were, they would already be taken by the competition. That is where a strategic branding expert becomes invaluable.

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-Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Concierge Service -The Real Deal

July 8, 2013

Concierge service is a concept that has been so over-used among luxury real estate marketing professionals that it has almost lost its original meaning. Pronounced, cone-sea-air + a soft ‘g’ (like the g in judge), the term concierge originally meant “the keeper of the candles” who tended to visiting nobles in castles in the medieval era.

Today a concierge at a hotel is able to advise guests on restaurants, nightlife, sporting and theatrical events, sightseeing shopping, etc. He or she is an important resource for both vacationers and business travelers.

When we attended the Club eLuxe International Summit in Paris, the concierge at the Meurice Hotel saved the day for me (Ron, here). I had forgotten my reading glasses at our apartment. So, I asked the concierge if he had an extra pair. He did not. But, he sent someone out to a store to purchase some glasses and brought them right to my table at the event within 20 minutes! They fit perfectly, were appropriately stylish and reasonably priced.

Les Clefs d’Or, pronounced, "lay clay door," is the international concierge professional association. The English translation of this French term is the keys of gold, which is symbolized in the gold crossed keys, a pin proudly worn by its members. Years of hard work and dedication to quality service are represented in this symbol.

Les Clefs d'Or concierges are motivated by a genuine desire to serve. This level of service cannot be faked. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you claim to offer this level of service you had better be able to back up your claim. Otherwise, those clients who have experienced the “real deal” will see right through you.

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