Luxury Is In The Details: Are You Paying Attention To Details?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, one of your mantras to repeat is “luxury is in the details.”  Details are the quality cues that make the difference in how people perceive you.  It is what makes you unforgettable, and easy to refer.  Here is an example:

When Kanaloa, our fishmonger, decided to move to downtown Santa Barbara, they planned to also open a café within the store with an outdoor seating area.  This was a natural for them, as one of their employees is a chef. 

Yesterday, we had lunch there.  We both ordered an assortment of fish tacos (the tortillas are hand made on site).  After the first bite we were both delighted by the freshness, spicing, delicate crispiness and taste of these tacos.

As we enjoyed our tacos, we noticed so many details that made the meal even more enjoyable.  Our tacos came on a biodegradable cardboard rack/holder (pictured above).

When we asked our hostess as to where they bought the taco racks, she told us, they had them made.  This makes eating tacos easier.  It does not fall apart and make a mess on your plate.  We have seen the plastic and metal versions.  However, in keeping with their sustainable and eco friendly mindset, these cardboard racks are recyclable.

This attention to detail is what keeps us coming back, and telling everyone about them.  As we were waiting for our yoga class to start yesterday afternoon, we told everyone gathered about our experience at Kanaloa. 

Are You Paying Attention to Details?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Having The Last Word

From your first introduction to your parting words, "ENJOY", after the sale of your luxury home listing your primary intention is to uplift the spirits of your clients.  All luxury real estate agents, who are worth their salt claim to provide excellent service.  However, if you consistently reassure your clients every step of the way and provide them peace of mind you  are more likely to get their repeat business.  

Transactions can often be stressful.  Your job is to minimize stress and maximize the joy of buying or selling the home. The end of the transaction should be like the dessert course of a fine meal.  Your wish for the buyer is to enjoy their new home.  Your wish for the seller is to enjoy the next chapter in their life.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Are You Lost On the Sea of Sameness?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, are you perceived as the market leader or a serious contender? Or, are you lost in the sea of sameness, blending into the crowd?

Your market share is the percentage of the total sales in your marketplace or within your niche that is earned by you over a specified time period. It is that portion of the market that YOU control.  If you are “in it to win it” (the lion’s share that is) you must seize control of how you are perceived.

By controlling how you are perceived, we are not implying that you need to be a “control freak”.  We mean that you need to be DELIBERATE in projecting your brand message, both verbally and through your graphics, so that your target market perceives you, on your terms, as distinct from your closest competitors. 

There are dozens of restaurants in Santa Barbara.  Yet, when asked which ones we would recommend to visitors looking for a great dinner, only a select few come readily to mind. 

Opal on State Street is on our short list.  The comfortable décor and the menu are reminiscent of the wonderful bistros in Paris and Lyon.  The prices are reasonable which makes us want to keep coming back to try new items. The Bouillabaisse is better than what we have sampled in Marseille.  And, they bake fresh artisan bread daily. 

Although we would not hesitate to dine at Opal for a special occasion, in our minds this is a “neighborhood place” to frequent regularly. Apparently, others feel the same, as there was a line out the door the last time we were there.  When we spoke to the manager about how we perceived the restaurant in this manner, he smiled from ear to ear because that was exactly the brand message that Opal deliberately projects.

Are you lost on the sea of sameness or are you in control of how you want to be perceived by your target market? Seize control and watch your market share increase.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Are You Letting Ants Get In The Way of The Elephant?

Do not let the ants get in the way of the elephant. This means keep your eyes on the big goal (elephants-new listings and sold properties).  Don’t let minor distractions (ants) become impediments to your big goals.  Distractions come in many forms. Often agents focus on what is going wrong rather than holding the vision.  

Here are some common examples of distractions that take your eyes off target.

Ranting and raving

Incompetent agents

Hard to please clients

Lenders and inspectors

These are just the ants getting in the way of the elephant. Focusing your energy on these moments is a waste of your precious time. 

Another time waster is writing blog posts about these ants and having your readers sympathize with you.  It hooks them in and gets them distracted too. Recounting their ant stories adds fuel to the fire and fortifies your position of suffering as the victim of the ants.  The trouble with continuously focusing on these minutiae is that you wind up attracting ants deal after deal.  It becomes the norm in your transactions.

By the way, given that our constant change in weather has created ant invasions all over Santa Barbara, we recommend that you have a supply of Terro Ant Baits.  It really works!  It keeps them out of the way of our elephants! This is not recommended for “human” ants, however.

Are You Letting Ants Get In The Way of Your Elephant?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Does Your Eye Candy Leads to More Sales?

The business of marketing luxury real estate on the Internet and in print is all about capturing and holding the attention of your target market. Stunning photography of your luxury listings is like eye candy. It leads to more sales and can also help you gain more market share because it demonstrates your marketing savvy.

Selecting an attention-getting lead image for your blog posts can also help you develop more readership because it compels them to follow you.  A recent study by Shift, a marketing firm, confirmed that adding a picture to a tweet increases the likelihood that readers will click on an embedded link, by five times.

New technology is surfacing that analyzes which images grab the most attention.  This will be a boon to advertisers who seek a bigger piece of the $1.6 Trillion e-commerce market.

If you want to be a leader in your luxury real estate market, you may not need this technology.  You just need to find a photographer who can work at the level of Architectural Digest. Think of your primary listing photo being good enough to make it on this magazine cover. Eye candy attracts more attention and leads to more sales.

Does Your Eye Candy Leads to More Sales?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Is Your Blog Grammatically Attractive to Your Target Market?

Luxury real estate marketing is like matchmaking. If you are going to write a blog as part of your strategy to attract clients, make sure that your posts are grammatically correct. Studies have shown that grammar is very important if you want to have a large following.

A recent lifestyle article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “What’s Really Hot on Dating Sites? Proper Grammar”, inspired this post. It cited an example of a gentleman leery of meeting his date for drinks, because her reply read”  “I will see you their” instead of “there.”  He was right: the date did not go well. 

Match.com surveyed over 5000 of their members asking for the most important criteria for assessing a potential mate.  The results revealed that 88% of women, and 75% of men judged a date based on the person’s grammar.  One the respondents commented, “When you get a message that is grammatically correct, it is very attractive”.

If grammar is your weakness, there is an app for you called The Grade that rates messages for typos and grammar errors.  And, it assigns the message a letter grade from A+ to F.  There is also a site called Grammarly that claims to “find and correct up to 10 times more mistakes than your word processor”.

A well-written post reflects the amount of care and effort extended in your writing.  It may well be the deciding point when it comes to hiring you to list a luxury home, or represent a luxury buyer.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

High Touch Equals High Trust

We have always been proponents of high touch.  High touch equals high trust.

Early in our commercial real estate career in Beverly Hills, California we developed a high touch system with our listing clients and our buyer clients. We were one of the first real estate firms to use computers throughout our entire organization. We bought ACT (considered the best at the time) as our customer relationship management software to help us manage our time and stay consistently in touch with our clients.  

ACT replaced our tickler file system. But, we knew it could not replace us.  We knew we still had to have face time and phone time with our clients.  When we took on a new listing, whether it was a sales listing or a leasing assignment in an office building or retail project, we sat down with our clients and discussed their preferred way to communicate, the best time to reach them, etc. 

We also produced a report each week for each listing.  We kept track of all the showings, the cooperating agents, and their client’s names.  We also discussed our follow up and the likelihood of getting a purchase offer or signing up prospective tenants. This included our suggestions for improvements in our weekly face-to-face meetings with our exclusive listing clients.

On the sales listings of commercial building, many of our sellers wanted to hear what happened at each showing, and we would call them after each showing. When an offer came, we moved at lightning speed to present and write the counter. We kept everyone in the loop, agents, attorneys, title, escrow, etc.  Everyone stayed informed throughout the whole process.

Today, as brand strategists for the luxury real estate industry, our clients are luxury real estate firms and agents.  We maintain the same high touch mindset. We always travel to our client’s marketplace, anywhere in the world, and spend at least a day with them.

In developing a brand strategy we produce a logo, a brand position statement, a brand identity statement, a marketing strategy, and a website. We use the online collaborative workspace of BASECAMP to coordinate the project. Everyone is actively involved with us on each project: our web developer, our SEO expert, our graphic designer, and our clients.

We talk to everyone at least once a week, and more often as we decide on the final version of various items.  High touch equals high trust.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Are You Staying True To Your Brand?

The ancient Greek aphorism, “Know Thyself” could be restated, “Know thine own brand”.  Your brand is your DNA, the unique code or soul of your business. You cannot remind yourself enough of this sound advice.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare’s character Polonius advised his son, "To thine own self be true".  Our advice is this: “To thine own brand be true”. Stay true to your unique code, your distinct brand DNA.

Are You Staying True To Your Brand?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Are You A Know-It-All? Or Do You Have A Brain Trust?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you have embarked on what we call the “unabashed pursuit of market leadership” you are either an incumbent market leader or a challenger. To gain or sustain market leadership you need to be on the leading edge. And, that is why you need a “brain trust”. It is impossible to be a know-it-all.

The term brain trust originally referred to a group of close advisers to a political candidate or incumbent, prized for their expertise in particular fields.  A New York Times reporter, who wrote about the presidential advisers to Franklin Roosevelt, coined it.

Unless you are dominating an uncontested market niche, having a brain trust is essential because it is always a battle between incumbents and challengers. To be proactive you should have a brain trust to stay ahead of the competition even if no challenger is currently on the horizon. So much is at stake at this level of the game, where owning the lion’s share of business is the prize.

Recently, we had a conference call with our web developer and our partner who consults us on search engine marketing and optimization. He is the leading expert in the field of luxury real estate SEO.  Google is up to its old tricks again of changing algorithms that can affect everyone’s rankings.  So, we continuously need to stay up to speed and pool our knowledge.

After, thanking my team of experts for the call, our SEO partner said, “this is the way it should be; we have an awesome brain trust, here”.   There is no way to stay abreast of all of the important topics on our own.

If market leadership is your quest, surround yourself with the best talent in your field. Get beyond trying to be a know-it-all and form a brain trust.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Know Your Target Market: Who Can Buy A 100 Million $ Plus Property?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, you have to understand who the most likely buyers are for you high-end properties. Who can afford to buy them?  It makes sense that in order to afford these homes one must have a net worth of at least a billion dollars. 

Globally, there are 2,325 billionaires, based on the 2014 census done by UBS Warburg and Wealth X.  North America has 609 billionaires, Europe 775, Asia 569, Middle East 154, Latin American 153, Africa 40 and the Pacific 34. 

The psychographics of the target market narrows the potential buyers. The average age of the billionaire population is 64.   60% percent of these billionaires are self-made.  Those who are self-made are not necessarily interested in trophy acquisitions.  26.9% inherited and increased the inheritance by hard work and have the same ethic that self made people do.  13.9% have inherited their wealth.

Among the billionaire population 35% do not have a university degree, and 65% do.  The three top career paths are finance, banking and investments, industrial conglomerates are second, and real estate is third.  63% of billionaires businesses are privately held, and 31% are in publicly held companies.

Know your target market and be prepared to hold on to these 100 million dollar plus listings for some time.  Your target market is very, very narrow!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Being In Alignment: The Difference Between Night And Day!

As autumn is upon us and 2016 is just around the corner, now is the best time to reaffirm or reassess your bearings in your luxury real estate practice.  This is the perfect time to check in and become acutely aware of where you stand in relationship to your surroundings, meaning your target market and your competition.

If you have lost your perspective or are not 100% confident that you are on track to reach your goals, take the time to regain your balance and re-align yourself.  Let Nature inspire you and set the tone of realignment.

The autumnal equinox will begin on September 23rd, at 1:21am PST.  This marks the moment when the axis of the earth and sun begin to align to their respective equatorial lines. This will occur on September 29th, when the sun will rise at 6:59 am and set at exactly 6:59 pm.  It is the moment when night and day share equal time.

To begin this process, ask yourself, whether or not your value proposition is crystal clear to your target market and sharply differentiates YOU from your competition.  The operative word here is YOUR VALUE.  If this is in question, make a list of all of your strongest attributes.  Don’t be modest.  Take the time to really appreciate yourself.  This will bring you into alignment.  If you are already there,  it will just strengthen your position.

You will see that being in alignment will change your perspective.  It is the difference between Night and Day!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Is Your Visual Communication Eye-Catching, Immaterial Or Both?

Recently we were viewing a site that had an introductory video to the community it was serving.  We were surprised to see a few shots of large plump table grapes for an area that grows wine grapes.  There is a distinct difference in appearance between the two grapes. In luxury it is these details that make the difference. 

While strolling on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, we noticed this eye-catching window by Dior from across the street.  On closer inspection, we had no idea what they were trying to communicate.  The purses on the mannequins are all the same; the difference is in the color and in the direction of the stripes on the flap.  What were they selling?

A few doors down is Rimowa luggage.  Their window tells the story of what they are selling. On top of the luggage they are featuring their matching covers for mobile devices.  Even the exterior of the building has the same grooves.  The theme of their brand is represented throughout the store, and also on their website..

Excellent visual communication is one of those important selling points in marketing luxury real estate.  This is why we insist on Architectural Digest level of photography for all listings and community photos.

Is Your Visual Communication Eye-Catching, Immaterial Or Both?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Will Your Target Market Block Your Ads Online?

One of the recommendations that some real estate advertising experts have made to luxury real estate marketing professionals is to buy online ads on social media sites to market homes. If you are thinking of using this mode of advertising, take a moment to read these statistics, because this report by Adobe and PageFair may change your mind

Ad blocking has increased by 41 percent worldwide

45 million online users in the United States have blocked ads in the second quarter of 2015, predominantly on social media, technology and gaming sites.  Ironically, these sites are frequented by those advertisers are trying to reach, the young tech savvy demographic.

This fall Apple will be releasing iOS 9.  Apple has told developers that in the name of privacy and user preference, it is adding ad-blocking capabilities in its upcoming release of their latest software.  “This is to let users decide what should load and not load, who can track them, what should be visible on pages, etc. The software will also allow them to install “blacklist” apps that can block certain links from ever activating.”

Ask yourself; will your target market block your ads on line?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Trophy Listings: Gold Stars or Gold in the Bank?

Do you look at other luxury real estate marketing professionals who list “trophy” homes with envy? Or, do you believe that you create your own luck?

Many luxury real estate agents make the mistake of chasing after “trophy” listings.  These are the high profile homes that are architecturally significant, belong to a celebrity, or simply are the highest priced homes in the marketplace.

Sure, having these listings can shift the perception favorably about you in the minds of your target market and help you attract more of the same.  While these listings may bring you publicity, they may also come with a high cost, a high marketing cost, that is!

Owners of trophy listings often expect you to spend lavishly in terms of print ads, video production and other promotional activities.  It is rare that the trophy home seller is realistic about the true market price of the home. Once you have gotten your big burst of publicity and notoriety as the listing agent the price of fame can mount quickly as these trophy homes languish on the market.

Instead of being envious of those agents who list unrealistically priced trophy homes focus on acquiring more luxury listings that you can price to sell in the shortest time frame.  This will build a momentum of sales and a strong track record for you, and gold in your bank account.

Stop reaching just for gold stars so you can be the envy of your competitors. Start creating the luck of attracting trophy listings owned by sellers who are realistic about pricing.

So what will you choose, Gold Stars or Gold in The Bank?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

LEAVING YOUR COMPETITION IN THE DUST!

If you follow our logic of our previous post, that marketing luxury real estate is really a matter of pricing the home correctly, you will see that there is very little strategy involved here beyond a pricing strategy. When motivated sellers are willing to price the home correctly, and the property is exposed to the max a qualified buyer will eventually show up.

So, what then is marketing strategy? First you need to know the goal of marketing. Then you need to know how to get there in the soonest time frame. 

Strategy is calculating how you can attain top-of-mind status for listing luxury homes in your marketplace, and swiftly leave your competition in the dust (your goal).

The more focused you are and the faster you can convey that your value proposition is superior to your competition, the faster you will reach top-of-mind status among your entire potential referral base. It is your CERTAINTY of your extraordinary promise of value that gets customers chasing after you instead of you changing them.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Want to Get Ahead of the Crowd? Try Marketing You!

Let’s dispel the mystery of marketing luxury real estate.  The truth about marketing is pricing the home right.  Then showing it off in the best light.  That means providing the best possible presentation packaging and using those exposure tools to reach buyers and agents who represent them.

The real marketing challenge is getting the listing in the first place.  That means marketing you. It is doing what it takes to achieve top of mind status.  You, the brand, has to come to mind more frequently than anyone else. It also means doing what it takes to facilitate word of mouth advertising. And of course, you have to live up to your promise of value.

That way, they will be chasing you, not the other way around.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Mindless Mindfulness: Try It, You Will Really Like It!

Recently one of our good friends who is a highly sought after executive coach to the Fortune 500 companies, mentioned that the world of executive coaching is focusing on the subject of mindfulness as part of training successful management teams.

We have always felt that mindfulness is one of the most important aspects of developing and maintaining successful relationships, personal and business.  Real estate is a relationship business, and practicing mindfulness is of paramount importance if you intend to be the market leader in your community.

Mindfulness is the ultimate state of focus.   As defined in the book, You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, and written by Thich Nhat Hanh (A Vietnamese Buddhist monk highly praised by the Dalai Lama for his work),

“Mindfulness is first of all the ability to recognize what is happening in the present moment.  It is simple recognition—without judgment or criticism, without suppression or attachment.”

Practicing this type of focus empowers you in a listing/listening presentation.  You are at the listing/listening table able to understand what is being said without the common filters of judgment or criticism.  What exists in that moment is your enhanced ability to really hear what the seller needs.  The same is true with a buyer you are working with. 

When you are with them, your thoughts stop.  We refer to it as a state of mindless mindfulness.   You hear everything, no details get past you, answer questions appropriately, and more often than not, you will get the listing and find the perfect home for your clients.

It is easy to achieve a state of mindfulness.  Like a muscle you have to exercise it daily.  It can be as simple as washing the dishes focusing on each moment, driving your car, taking a walk, pulling weeds all in a state of appreciating every moment of whatever you are doing.  It can be sitting down to mindfully breathe, fully filling your body with breath, and fully exhaling.   

Try it, You Will Really Like It.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Localism: Take a tip from “CATstantinople” AKA Istanbul!

Writing blog posts on local stories that really matter to the locals in an excellent way to become known as a luxury real estate marketing professional who is a genuine human being. This is known as local journalism or localism.

 Think like a professional journalist. Take a tip from from newpapers and other publications who have a lifestyle section to fashion your own localism posts. Here is a great story about 7 orphaned cats in Istanbul (“CATstantinople) and the people who found them in the mosques and the bazaars of Istanbul. 

We call this a “peripheral” marketing strategy because it may not produce immediate results. But, over time peripheral marketing can pay off in big ways.  It allows the potential referral base in your area to get to know you in a role other than real estate professional.  It gives you a way to be multidimensional and approachable because you find avenues of common ground besides business.

Public relations could be defined as making yourself well known and well thought of in your marketplace. Peripheral marketing can accomplish that in ways that market reports and just sold post cards cannot do.  Use localism to connect with the locals!

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Localism Posts: Still Relevant or Outdated Marketing?

Santa Barbara Lighthouse on Butterfly Beach

Recently, there was a lively discussion on the subject of localism.  Some of the participants felt it was a waste of time, because no leads have been realized as a result of the effort.  Others felt that Google liked seeing agents with different perspectives, and for the sake of Google, this is was a must.  Some did get leads.

We have always encouraged our clients to write localism posts providing that it fit with their overall brand strategy, if they wanted to have a blog.  We also suggest that if they are going to write localism posts, it has to be editorial rather than just reporting the time, and date of the event.

One of our clients loved the idea.  She embraced the concept and reported back that several of their clients came from reading their posts for one to two years.  They enjoyed their reports on the growth of the town, the restaurants, and the sporting events. 

Another client is an avid boater, and specializes in waterfront properties.  The localism posts were on the subject of boating, where to get supplies, and or repairs done, and the best places to dock and visit in their waterfront area, based on personal experiences.

There are several agents around the country who can attribute their success to their localism posts.  One of them writes about chocolate.  She is passionate about the subject, and shares her finds on local chocolate. In the same city, there is an agent who covers the local neighborhood scene where he works and lives.  His readers look forward to his newsletter.

Another agent is a master of marketing reports (a definite localism post).  He has remained highly ranked on Google for years.  His marketing reports are interesting reads for everyone who lives in the area, because of his point of view.  We even check out his reports, because they are a fun read. 

If you review a restaurant, eat there.  If you enjoyed the experience, write about it.  The same goes for an event that is happening in town.  Be sure you have attended it, enjoyed it, or else forget reporting on it.

In conclusion, if you are going to write about localism as part of your marketing strategy, write it from your experience.  Make it personal, make it interesting and make it a fun read. Otherwise, don’t do it.

You decide, Localism Post: Relevant or Outdated?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Are You Up To The Task Of Finding Your niche?

                       © Lostarts|Dreamstime.com-Retro HDR Manila Skyline Photo

Uncontested and under served market niches are usually not obvious.  That is why they are such outstanding opportunities for luxury real estate marketing professionals who want to dominate a niche.

Recently, we came across a relatively new outsourcing company called TaskUs headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The 29 year-old founders started out as a virtual assistant firm but later discovered an under served market niche that they could dominate. 

Today they provide the back office support and customer service support mostly for Internet start-ups and emerging internet superstars like Uber, Groupon, and even the hot, new online dating service, Tinder. This is not only an under served market niche but also an uncontested one. Most outsourcing firms target larger companies like big banks and telecommunication firms and would not consider working with start-ups.

TaskUs has a staff of 4000 people in Manila who speak fluent English and enjoy the same kind of relaxed work environment (with tons of perks) that has become the norm for Silicon Valley tech companies. This year TaskUs is projecting $50 million in revenues, up from $14 million in 2014. 

TaskUs just landed a funding round of $15 million to expand into yet another uncontested and under served market niche:  Spanish-speaking customers.  With an eye on tripling their revenue by 2016, they plan on opening new offices in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Columbia.

Start thinking like this startup, TaskUs and you to may discover an under served or even an uncontested market niche that you can dominate as a luxury real estate marketing professional.  Are you up to the task of finding your market niche?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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