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

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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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Luxetera: That Which is Rare and Beautiful is a Luxury

August 18, 2011

Every so often, in the course of writing the Language of Luxury Blog, we pause to reflect on the meaning of the word luxury. One definition of luxury can be summed up in the word, “rare”. When something is rare and beautiful it is uncommon, unusual, exceptional, atypical, extraordinary or singular.

That which is rare tends to appreciate in value. In our new age of iPads, what is to become of rare books? When was the last time you received a handwritten note on fine stationery instead of an email? Do you think that fountain pens will ever come back in style? As our smartphones morph into mobile “wallets” what will become of rare coins?

Seahorses are on the verge of becoming an endangered species, making them rare. Some Asian cultures use them for medicinal purposes which puts pressure on the seahorse population. Some aquarium hobbyists collect seahorses as pets. Now, there are companies that breed seahorses in captivity. With about 50 species of wild seahorses that have exquisite shapes and color combinations wild ones are considered more valuable because they are rare.

Rare is a very important concept to grasp when it comes to understanding the mindset of high net worth individuals who seek rare and unique experiences that the masses cannot readily attain. Once something becomes a symbol of wealth and the emulators of wealth popularize it, it no longer is rare.

For example, in the 1980s Montblanc pens suddenly because a status symbol of the “yuppies”. As they became ubiquitous in the circles of those aspiring to attain wealth, the true achievers of wealth became less interested in this brand as a rare item.

To attract and better serve high net worth individuals you must speak their language. You must speak the language of luxury. To succeed as a luxury real estate marketing professional it would be a good idea to have a depth of understanding of the meaning of rare.

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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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Iconoclasts: A Lesson in Positive Expectations from David Foster, the "Hit Man"

August 8, 2011

An iconoclast is a person who challenges conventional wisdom and traditional beliefs, and often shatters the very foundations upon which traditional, institutions rest. Iconoclasts are some the of best examples of personal branding and are worth studying if you are interested in standing out as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

David Foster, also known as the “Hit Man”, certainly is an iconoclast and a “one-man-brand”. As a record producer, composer, songwriter, and singer, he has won countless Grammy Awards and has introduced many artists who have gone on to be superstars in their own right like Josh Groban and Michael Bublé.

His roster of clients include Whitney Houston, Barbara Streisand, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Natalie Cole, Mariah Carey , Cher , Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Madona, Prince, Shania Twain, Donna Summer, Kenny Rogers, Chaka Khan. Most recently he is guiding the career of Jackie Evancho, the eleven year old child protégé with an operatic voice who “sings like an angel”.

Foster won his first Grammy for “After the Love Is Gone” by Earth, Wind and Fire. Since then he has worked with many bands including Chicago, Destiny’s Child, and the Bee Gees. He even won a Grammy for the best Broadway musical cast album of Dreamgirls.

In an interview on PBS where his “Hitman Returns” TV concert has recently been airing to help with fundraising, he had something very interesting to say about his “secret” to such a long successful career. He said that work keeps coming to him; he does not go after work. He just lets it come to him.

This is one of the best descriptions we have heard regarding the phenomenon that occurs when a person is operating their career “in the zone”, or what we call “operating spot on one’s authentic brand signal”. Foster “expects” to continuously create mega hits. And, so do the artists who hire him. He expects to deliver and they expect results. That is his secret for success.

When you are fully operating on your authentic personal brand signal it feels exhilarating. It is like singing in perfect pitch, in your best key, expecting the best outcome. Incidentally, David Foster is actually one of the rare human beings who have perfect pitch, musically.

Tuning into your authentic brand signal is one of the most important keys to your own success in marketing luxury real estate. If you then maintain the steady, stable state of positive expectation, the expectation of attracting business, the way will continuously present itself. And, it will start to feel perfectly natural and normal when business keeps flowing your way. Reach for this state of mind and, like the Hit Man, great results will surely follow.

If you haven’t already seen his TV concert you can catch most of the numbers on Foster's You Tube Channel here. We think you will truly enjoy the experience of seeing an iconoclast at work.

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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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Personal & Company Branding: Imitation Is the Worst Way to Challenge a Market Leader

July 26, 2011

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you want to challenge the market leader in your area the last thing you want to do is imitate the incumbent. This is one of those branding traps that even some of the biggest brands fall into and get nowhere as a result. Originality and distinctiveness is the route to market leadership. As a challenger, your best best is to take the opposite position as the market leader or else "own" (excel at) the attribute that represents your competitor's greatest weakness.

In a previous post we pointed out how Pepsi has slipped to the #3 soft drink and is desperately trying to get back in the race. They went after the strong association that Coke established over years with Santa in their ads. Now they are going after the polar bear, one of Coke's least successful ad campaigns. What is Pepsi thinking?

As we mentioned in that last post, Pepsi has forgotten the brand position that made them a strong number 2 brand: Appealing to the younger generation. We are hoping,for Pepsi's sake, that their sponsorship of the American X Factor realty show, that debuts in the fall, will get them back on track. But, for now they have fallen into the imitation trap.

Check out the older commercial from Coke and the latest Pepsi commercial and judge for yourself. You may like the commercial. But, from a branding standpoint, imitation is by far the worst way to challenge a market leader. Click here if you cannot see the videos.

Coke & Polar Bears

Pepsi & Polar Bears

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Personal & Company Branding: What Is the Soul of Your Brand?

July 25, 2011

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, the fastest way to achieve market leadership is to identify a new category of business and start out as #1 in that category. One way to find a new category is to look for an underserved segment or niche within your marketplace. Then offer an extraordinary promise of value that makes your competition irrelevant.

If you can identify a problem that your competition does not adequately address your original solution can become news! Doing so can leverage the news-hungry media to promote your new category and your new brand in the process. Take Onesole, the “original interchangeable shoe” for example.

Dominique McClain, a pharmacist and frequent traveler, set out to create and patent a shoe that is comfortable, versatile, fun, economical, and easy for travel. The tops of the shoes literally snap off and can be changed! You can virtually have a closet full of different shoes with just a couple of very comfortable soles and a variety of tops.

While she was sports fishing, Dominique had her big “ah-ha” moment. She noticed that the stainless steel snaps that secured canvas on boat (and can withstand 70 mile an hour winds) were the perfect solution to affix interchangeable tops to the soles of shoes.

Voila! A new multi-million dollar category of women’s shoes was born that solved the problem of having to haul many pairs of shoes on business or leisure trips. And, it made it affordable to vastly expand one’s shoe wardrobe in tough economic times. Sometimes the best marketing ideas are the simplest.

Dominique did all of this without having formal business or fashion education. She also intuited the importance of giving her brand a name that would also name the category. She did not fall into the trap of calling it Dominique, for example. The value of this is that once you hear the name Onesole and understand the new category it makes it easy to remember and also tell others about the new category. The name readily communicates the soul of the brand, the thoughts behind it that solve the problem. People like to help promote effective solutions.

What is the soul of our brand?

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: What Is the Recipe for Your Personal Point of View?

July 20, 2011

Articulating your personal point of view is the essence of personal branding. The process of personal branding involves zeroing in on what is distinct about your personality and also your unique promise of value. Then it is a question of expressing the sum total of what your target market can expect when they work with you both graphically and in just a few words. If branding is done right your ideal clients will quickly know that you are exactly the right match for them and it should accelerate the speed of trust.

Personal branding must also quickly express your expertness and your authority in your chosen category of business. The more sharply you define your niche the faster those who specifically seek your advice or service can find you. Let’s take the example of TV cooking show hosts to illustrate how this works.

Rachael Ray is the “girl next door”. That is her brand. Quick easy meals or meals on a budget when you travel, that is Rachel. If you want to learn how to cook Southwest style Bobby Flay is your man. If you want to learn about great comfort food that can be found in diners and dives, Guy Fieri is the guy for you. His barbeque sauce is available in the supermarket and it is terrific. Rachel and Bobby would be off their personal brand signal to market this product.

Here are some questions that are included in the application if you want to audition for the Next Network Food Star and compete for the prize of getting your own show.

What is your favorite genre of food?
What is your least favorite cooking style and why?
How do you put your own personal twist on recipes?

f I were an ingredient, I would be ______________. Why would you be that ingredient?
What is your all time favorite ingredient and why?
What ingredients and/or foods do you absolutely hate and why?
Clearly describe 3 of your “signature dishes” that best represent you and/or are most popular with your friends/family/clients. Tell us WHY they represent you so well.
What are your top 5 ORIGINAL cooking/food/ingredients tips that demonstrate your food knowledge?
What is your unique “Culinary Point of View”?
Why do you want your own food show?
What about your background would make you a unique finalist on the show?

By far the most important question here is about your personal point of view. This is your slant-the essence of what makes you stand out from your competition. It is essential when crafting your personal brand that it expresses who you are, authentically. You cannot be all things to all people and you cannot really please those who are not a truly a match to you.

What is your personal brand recipe? What is your personal point of view?

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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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50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Santa Barbara, CA

July 11, 2011

Photo Courtesy of Rebecca Riskin

Jackie and John F. Kennedy honeymooned here. Prince William just played polo here. Oprah, George Lucas and many other Hollywood notables call it their “second” home. Santa Barbara, with its magnificent surrounding neighborhoods is known as the American Riviera®. According to Diana Bull, past president of both Santa Barbara Association of Realtors and California Association of Realtors, “Santa Barbara is rich in culture, beauty, entertainment, and interesting people”.

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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