Money Talks Or Ride The Horse in the Direction It Is Going!

The prime directive in marketing is anticipating what is needed and wanted.  This requires the ability to observe and predict trends. As a friend of ours used to say “ride the horse in the direction it is going”.  When you have identified that direction and position your product or service accordingly, your target market will respond. Money talks! 

Anticipation of needs is one of the most important subjects to research, if you want to achieve top-of-mind status in your luxury real estate marketing practice.  We work with and have interviewed many of the top-producing agents in the US.  The primary reason for their success is anticipating their clients’ needs and wants.

Here is an example of this principle in the food industry. There has been an increased demand for non-GMO foods (Genetically Modified Organism) due to health and environmental concerns.  The DNA in Genetically Modified Seeds has been altered to include new traits from foreign organisms to withstand pests.  This results in higher yields but often requires the use of synthetic pesticides that can be hurtful to the environment.

Large companies, such as General Mills and Post, are jumping on the non-GMO bandwagon by removing genetically modified ingredients from some of its products such as Original Cheerios. In the US non-GMO product sales increased to 15%, and is among the fastest growing segment of the food market according to Nielsen.  According to WSJ, Asians are willing to pay a 14% premium per bushel for non-GMO soybeans. Money talks!

Before you spend your dollars on the latest and greatest marketing methodologies (like drone photography), take a step back, observe the trends and ask yourself what direction the “horse” in your marketplace is going.  You may be surprised to find out that what is missing in your equation may be the marketing fundamentals, such as the personal touch, that luxury real estate buyers and sellers are craving.  Then, listen to the money talk!

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.

Marketing And The Super Bowl 2015: And The Winner Is…

After reading several analyses of the commercials including the Wall Street Journal’s CMO today, we decided to ask the locals for their opinions.  The locals agreed with the experts. They found that to many of the ads were serious, depressing and grim, and the response in social media barometers: like Twitter and Facebook was down 57% versus last year. This is not what people getting together for beers, booze, food and fun are expecting to view on their Sunday off.

The grimmest one was Nationwide’s insurance ad called “Make Safe Happen”. This commercial showed young children revisiting their goals and aspirations that they will never fulfill because they died as a result of a home accident. 

In the same depressing tone was the saga of a devoted father’s experiences with his daughter from childhood to adulthood, and in the final scene he takes her to the airport teary-eyed as she is bound for military service.  The ad was for Chevrolet.  We did not understand, what the Chevrolet had to do with the commercial. 

On a lighter note, BMW premiered its Hybrid car with a conversation featuring Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel stumped by the Internet and now stumped by the hybrid car!  Sadly, in our opinion, it wasn’t credible that these two news icons would not be aware of or comprehend progress given that Prius and several other hybrids have been out for years!

And once again, Clydesdales and a lost puppy win the #1 spot in Best Buds!  It is no surprise that this happened, it was light heartwarming add.  Budweiser understands that on days off and party time, we want laughter and happy endings! Save the depression, and grim stories for another day, this was a party 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 Website Mobile-Friendly?

According to NAR statistics 58% of real estate searches are now conducted on mobile devices and 74% of agent websites are not mobile-friendly. Is your website mobile-friendly?

The screen sizes for desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones all have different dimensions. Plus, most mobile devices have two orientations, portrait and landscape, which adds to the challenge in designing a mobile-friendly site.

Squarespace, a major website platform that will be advertising for the first time during the Super Bowl approached this by engineering their templates so they automatically adjust to various screen sizes. This is called responsive design.  The trouble is you may not like the results of how your site looks on one device or another.

If your website is built on WordPress, there is a plug-in that can help some sites become more mobile-friendly.  But, it you do not design the site from scratch with all devices in mind, the results will vary tremendously.  

Most IDX companies have worked this out for the property search section of your site.  But, the rest of your pages better look great on various devices or the web visitor will click away to your competition and never get to the property search section of your site.

When we design agent websites for our clients, who are predominantly luxury real estate marketing professionals, we actually build five different versions to insure a great presentation on each size screen.  In fact we developed our own proprietary IDX, just for top tier properties. As a result we are able to display all $1m+ listings in our clients’ marketplaces at the same level as their own (featured) listings, with maximum width slideshows. Our system includes the most sophisticated map search for luxury homes in the business. Map searches are becoming a top priority for mobile users.

Is your website mobile-friendly?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable, & Does It Reflect Your Strategy?

Being top of mind in your marketplace as luxury real estate marketing professionals requires having a remarkable presentation package, that is memorable and makes you stand out from the pack. 

Those who manufacture and sell cosmetics understand the concept of standing out with fierce competition surrounding them.  We found this packaging of GLAMGLOW remarkable and eye catching.  Glenn and Shannon Dellimore founded the company in the Hollywood Hills.  They understood that actors wanted to have their skin camera ready without visible imperfections, and glowing.  The magic mud was created and became known as GLAMGLOW.  And the public at large wants great looking skin, also.

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable & Does It Reflect Your Strategy?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

Let The Truth Be Told About Your Brand!

When developing a brand,  articulating your marketing message should be your first priority.  We love analyzing wine brands because the competition for your attention is fierce.   You must instantly tell your target market how you are different and better than your competition. Or, if you don't they move on to the next brand.  

The same truth applies to luxury real estate branding. Let the truth be told about your brand!

We walked by the display of True Myth Wine.  Their slogan says,"Let the truth be told". What is the truth about this brand? What myth are they talking about?  Is this the elixir of truth?  Myth and truth are opposites. Their brand colors,  butterflies and beautiful pictures did not give us any clues

Photo of Sundial clock in Chateau de Pommard in Burgundy France by Zhukovsky

We feel there is a missed branding opportunity here given their choice of brand names. Perhaps, this was a play on words of the Latin phrase, "In Vino Veritas" (n wine is the truth), which was the rallying cry of the Russian Symbolism poetry movement.  (They wrote beautiful poems).  The Russians have a similar phrase: "What a sober man has in his mind, the drunk one has on his tongue."  Can you see where this brand could have been taken given this rich history?

To be fair to the producers of this wine from Central California, here is the review our research uncovered from wine.com.

"This wine comes from The Paragon Vineyard - one of the best vineyards for white wine in Edna Valley. This 2012 Chardonnay shows brilliant acidity and flavors of mango, citron, lime and orange. A touch of oak brings rich notes of buttered toast and vanilla".

Even the best companies miss branding opportunities that are right under their nose.  Perhaps, they were not inspired by the "nose" of the wine itself! What do you think?

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.

Balancing Captivating Web Design With Laser-Sharp Brand Messaging!

Striking the right balance between creating a captivating design and effectively communicating your primary marketing message is the biggest challenge in web design today.  The trick it to be able to work within the constraints imposed by multiple screen sizes of desktops, laptops and a myriad of mobile devices with their portrait and landscape orientations. Visually, it all has to work on all screens and your marketing message has to be laser-sharp!

Today, we are excited to present our own new company website. It took us six months to figure out this puzzle maintaining the look and feel of our brand.  The lessons learned from this exercise have and will be applied to all of our client’s websites. Check out www.NapaConsultants.com.

As luxury real estate’s leading brand strategists we understood that our website needed to set an example of what we advise all of our clients to do.   That is, clearly communicate your unique promise of value to our ideal clients with an economy of words and images.

Our expertise is helping luxury real estate professionals and companies identify an uncontested or under-served market niche that they can dominate with our proven strategies.  Our ideal clients are those who are bent on gaining or sustaining market leadership in their marketplace or a niche within.

As an added value, we incorporated, right into our site, our highly acclaimed free video course, “Which Niche Can Make You Rich?” And, we made our widely syndicated blog, The Language of Luxury even more visually appealing with 700 pixel-wide images on all posts.  All informative videos on the site are a full 960 pixels wide making them easy to watch on all computers and mobile devices without having to enlarge to full-screen.

At the end of the day, your luxury real estate must become your silent salesperson and exemplify your marketing savvy.  Our intent is to have our own company website demonstrates this principle.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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

The Tale of a Lucky Penny and a Lucky Lime

How much is a penny worth? Not much?  Think again!

In this post we would like to share an invaluable marketing insight that can help you attract more referrals in your luxury real estate marketing practice.  It is all about appreciating your own value more often.

Recently, Alexandra and I (Ron here) visited the special lime grower at the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market where we purchased 4 limes for $1. I reached into my pocket to pull out some change and gave the guy four quarters and one penny (the entire content of my pocket).  I told him it was a “lucky penny” that I found on the ground and I wanted him to have it. 

At first, the merchant looked astonished. Then, he gave me an additional lime and told me it was a “lucky lime”.  If I have asked him to give me the 5th lime for a penny, he certainly would have thought that I was trying to get something for nothing.  Instead, we shared an uplifting moment, exchanging value for value, as both were equal acts of kindness and we each felt lucky!

Less than 30 minutes later, Alexandra and I visited Trader Joes to pick up some additional groceries. The tab came to $10.76.  I gave the checkout person a twenty-dollar bill and a single dollar so I could get back a ten-dollar bill plus change in coins. I was given the ten, plus a quarter (instead of 24 cents) and was told that the extra penny was on TJ’s!

For one (free) penny invested in a random act of kindness, I received a 2,500% return on my “investment” because the lime costs 25 cents! Plus, I instantly received another free penny from TJ’s recouping my initial investment.  This is bona- fide, empirical evidence that it pays to be a giver.  Besides, it simply feels great! 

If you want more referrals, appreciate your own value more.  You have so much more to give than you realize. Go out of your way to be kind to others and also spread the good word about those people, businesses and professionals that you value.  It does not even have to cost you a single penny. Give more and watch what happens!

Marketing Luxury Real Estate Tip: Play By The Rules To Win The Game!

For those of you who have embarked upon, what we call  “the unabashed pursuit of market leadership”, this luxury real estate marketing tip is for you! Do not forget that the quest for market leadership is a game!  

It is very easy to lose sight of the fact that business is not only a game, but also a game you can win if you know the rules.  One of the most important rules is to pick a niche that you can dominate, given your unique skillset, personality and values.  Our advice to our clients in our luxury real estate strategic branding practice is, if you cannot be #1 or #2 within a niche, find another niche!

Microsoft dominates the niche of enterprise level business productivity software by a vast margin.  As of the 2014 Holiday season, it now is #1 in digital gaming, with its Xbox, surpassing Sony PlayStation 4. In fact, Microsoft announced that it has surpassed both PlayStation3 and Nintendo Wii with total lifetime sales.

But, what was Microsoft thinking when it introduced its Surface tablet ($900 Million in sales in 2014) to compete with the iPad ($5.3 Billion in 2014)?  Years earlier they came out with the Zune to compete with the iPod.  Certainly, they did not apply the rule of entering a niche category where they could be #1 or #2.  

The Surface is not even on the radar in market share for 2014. Here is the leader board:

Apple: 26.9%

Samsung: 17.2%

Lenovo: 4.9%

Asus: 4.6%

Acer: 2%

Can you see why it is so important to play by the rule of only pursuing the #1 or #2 position? Apple and Samsung together have the lion’s share of the market and the others have to settle for the crumbs. 

In the pursuit of market leadership in the realm of luxury real estate selecting the right niche for you is of paramount importance. Remember, it is only a game. But, you must play by the rules if you want to win.

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.

Outwit the Competition with "Nimbleocity"

Many incumbent luxury real estate market leaders are complacent. You can catch them off guard not by outspending them but by outwitting them by being more nimble and creative in capturing more mind share.  We like to call this “nimbleocity”.

The 2014 Super Bowl was declared as the most watched TV show in US history with 111.5 million viewers. This years’ Super Bowl XLIX is expected to break that record.  That number is inconsequential when comparing it to You Tube’s reach of a billion unique visitors per month.  Statistics show that 50% of the Super Bowl audience watches the ads, prior to the game, and 62% tunes in to watch the ads again after the game.  This is why large companies are willing to spend over $4million to place and produce an ad.

Two notable small companies came out with the creative idea of producing an ad for the Super Bowl, they would have made if they had the budget to do so.  Newcastle Ale’s  created  an imaginative fun commercial that was selected as the #1 2014 ad campaign by Adweek. “ The campaign received more than 10 million views — prompting the posts, social shares, and comments Newcastle needed to gauge viewer response — and was mentioned in 600 news articles, and their sales rose significantly”according to Adweek.

Our nimbleocity pick for best ad that is not going to be seen at the Super Bowl is Honey Maid’s ad for its graham cracker.  Using the word “wholesome” to describe the brand, the ad shows the modern families: a two-dad-family, a punk-rock family, and interracial family, a military family, and a single dad enjoying its graham cracker. The tagline says it all: “No matter how things change, what makes us wholesome never will. Honey Maid. Everyday wholesome snacks are for every wholesome family. This is wholesome.”   Sales jumped 7%, and had over 12 million viewers, and the Google Search for “Honey Maid”, jumped to 400%.

Embrace nimbleocity to gain more mind share, and leave your competition in the dust.

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.

Brand Surgery Or Brain Surgery: It Is Not As Simple As Buying A Logo

Refreshing your brand is a very important task if you want to maintain your position as a market leader.  Staying sharp, relevant and up-to-date technologically is imperative!  But, take it from us; get some expert help! Performing your own “brand surgery” is like performing your own brain surgery.

We are just now completing our own brand surgery. It was a grueling experience for many reasons.  The process of further distilling your own extraordinary promise of value to its bare essence and then communicating it with even fewer words and images is a daunting task.

This challenge is exacerbated by the new constraints of contemporary website design that has to work not only on desktop computers but also on all mobile devices (both in landscape orientation and portrait).  We are excited about the results. And, we will share the new Napa Consultants, Int’l website with our readers by the end of the month.

Refreshing your brand is not like shopping for a logo.  Sure, you can update your look. But, a look is not necessarily a brand.  Your brand needs to empower your entire current and future referral base to spread the good word about you. It needs to be remarkable to spark word-of-mouth advertising.

Your website needs to become your silent salesperson. It needs to be a polished presentation that communicates who you are and how you are different from your competition with an economy of words. 

Do not attempt brand surgery on your own. It is hit or miss at best. It took us six months to figure out our own rebranding.  Think of how many homes you could sell in six months.  It is not as simple as buying a logo, get some expert help!

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.

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Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

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An Example of Re-Inventing Yourself And Paying It Forward

You most likely have heard of Tony Robbins, best selling author and "life strategy coach".  He has been around for decades, now.  But, what makes this one-man brand one of our nominees for personal brand of the year is the fact that he has done a brilliant job of re-inventing himself.  

That is an astonishing accomplishment and an imperative for luxury real estate marketing professionals who aim for longevity in this business.Reading Tony's new book, Money: Master the Game, maybe one of the most important investments of your time that you can make.  It was for us.

Like a modern Paul Revere, Tony the "town crier", exposes the fact that over 98% of all mutual funds in the US are not only under-performing non-managed and less volatile indexed funds, but all that Americans are getting gouged by unnecessary management fees.  This is quite shocking especially for baby boomers heading into retirement years with a longer life expectancy.

Tony also interviews some of the most successful money minds in the world, and has them reveal the strategies that they offer to their ultra-high net worth clients, and shows us all how to replicate these fundamental wealth building strategies to gain TOTAL FINANCIAL FREEDOM in an accelerate way.

Tony's commitment to empowering people to become financially independent is palpable as well as his commitment to end hunger in America. All profits from the book are donated to this cause.  He also exemplifies the fact that it is possible to thrive while paying it forward.  That is why he is one of our nominees for 2015 personal brand of the year.

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.

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Buzz and Ants!

Word-of-mouth is, by far, your best form of advertising.  But, very few luxury real estate marketing professionals seize the opportunity to spark word-of-mouth advertising (buzz) ON PURPOSE. 

If you want to accelerate the pace at which you achieve top-of-mind status in your marketplace, or within your niche, the art of deliberately triggering buzz should definitely become part of your skillset.  If you can leverage social media channels such as You Tube or Twitter you could score a grand slam in publicity!

During the Holidays Disney released a trailer for its upcoming feature film, Ant-Man.  The screen size was tiny, so you could not actually view the trailer.  But, it said that the “human” size trailer could be viewed if you watch Agent Carter, the new ABC TV series starting on January 6th.  The clever trailer went “viral” with over 2 millions views on You Tube.  Both Ant-Man and Agent Carter are based on Marvel characters, a company owned by Disney.  Ant-Man premieres in July.

To capitalize on the buzz, Disney released a teaser of the full-length human sized trailer.  Huffington Post for one wrote an article on this and featured the teaser.

How can you leverage buzz to spark word-of-mouth advertising for your luxury real estate marketing practice, on purpose?

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.

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

                                   GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY

Manage Your Outlook or Throw Your Business Plan Out The Window!

A term you often hear in customer service training is “managing expectations” (of your clients). The recommended idea is to under-promise and over-deliver.  But, how does that apply to your own expectations of yourself?  Will 2015 be a year of great expectations for you, a year when your dreams come true? 

When it comes to managing your own expectations for 2015, here is a great tip.  Make your business plan; set your conservative goals and your optimistic goals.   Then, manage your OUTLOOK vs. your performance.

The value of “keeping things in perspective” rather than dwelling on an expectation that is not fully realized cannot be over-estimated.  The minute you allow things to get “out of perspective” and lose sight of all of things that are moving along swimmingly, you diminish your chances of success.  If you allow your diminished expectations to dominate your thinking you might as well throw your business plan out the window.

We are going to try an experiment this year and you are welcome to join us.  We are going to focus on a single theme for 2015 and that is VITALITY.  When you manage your feeling of vitality (with whatever method works best for you) you AUTOMATICALLY put yourself in the best position to maintain your perspective and a clear outlook. Solutions come to mind faster, an abundance of opportunities present themselves and your performance can far exceed even you own wildest expectations.  

Don't throw your business plan out the window. Manage your OUTLOOK versus your performance. Wishing you VITALITY in 2015!

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.

Happy New Year 2015

“For last year's words belong to last year's language

And next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning."

T.S. Eliot

Wishing you great beginnings, and may all you dreams be realized in 2015!

Cheers!

Happy New Year, Ron & Alexandra Seigel & Quincy

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.

Focus, And Say (Grilled) Cheese!

Focusing on doing a few things really well is a surefire way to success.  This was Steve Job’s mantra at Apple.  Yet, specialization is, by far, one of the most challenging concepts for luxury real estate marketing professionals to embrace. They are afraid of losing out on other opportunities that comes their way.

Recently we had lunch at a restaurant in our neighboring town of Ventura that exemplified the power of focus.  805 Bar & Grilled Cheese specializes in grilled sandwiches that are simply out of this world. In fact, grilled sandwiches comprises their entire menu (with a choice of complimentary side orders) And, they have an excellent wine list. The restaurant is located right on the marina in Ventura Harbor where you can sit outside, see the boats and enjoy waterfront ambiance.

Growing up, one of our most comforting comfort food combinations was a grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. 805’s tomato bisque is best in class. It is rich and spicy with plenty of tomato chunks, the perfect compliment to the sandwich.

The name, 805 (our area code) Bar & Grilled Cheese tells you exactly what the brand category is, local comfort food, and also its niche within that category.  This not only makes it easy to remember, but also easy to spread the good word via word-of-mouth advertising. And, that is the power of focus and specialization!

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. 

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Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

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Hold The Vision, Trust The Process!

According to a dear friend our ours, who has been an inspiration to us for many years, there is a certain mindset required when it comes to taking on a huge challenge that is outside your comfort level. That expression is “hold the vision, trust the process”.  To do so consistently requires overriding your own self-doubts, especially when others are telling you that you are crazy, or you should quit.

We applaud those visionaries who take on these kinds of challenges.  This year a movie was released that took 12 years to make, ‘Boyhood’.  According to Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal, it is destined to be the frontrunner come Awards Season.  It follows the same cast, a boy and his family over time as the kid comes of age. 

This is groundbreaking, an unprecedented achievement. And, no special effects to speak of, mind you.  It was a huge gamble by a cast, crew, director and producers.  You can rent it now or stream it online. This is not a review; it is a thumbs-up for those who are daring enough to take on huge challenges and see them through. 

We applaud these people because they reflect our own values. They held their vision and trusted the process. We hope they will be acknowledged both in box office numbers and top entertainment awards.

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. 

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

                                   GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy Everything & A Live Orchid Tree!!

Wishing all  our readers and subscribers all the very best for the holiday season.  The photo above is our favorite tree.  The picture was taken at Westerlay Orchids in Carpinteria.  This is a  tree decorated with live orchid stems that have vials of water to keep them fresh.

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. 

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

                                   GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY

A Branding Challenge: Don’t Sing Opera to a Rock & Roll Audience!

What works in  creating a brand in your real estate market place is  focusing on your audience.  Choosing colors follows the same logic.  So when you are thinking of branding yourself, think twice and don’t necessarily default to your tastes. Take a moment to analyze why you are creating your brand and the audience you are appealing to.  In other words don’t sing opera to a rock and roll audience!

Recently, when we working with a client in the wine country, we identified her color preferences, and it was clear that they would not necessarily be a fit for the marketplace.  So we started to walk around and focused on at the environment and the colors of nature that surrounded us. 

We noted the colors she loved in the environment that represented her  her market niche in the wine county.  We took our inspiration from the golden hills, the tawny color of the light, the dark green and brown of the oaks growing on them and the reddish umber colors of the soil.  These colors became part of the brand’s identity, as represented in the color swatch above. 

By using a mix of the colors of the environment for her brand identity, she is singing on key, the right song for her marketplace.  Her brand is her silent salesperson.  It tells her story: who she is, where she is, and makes it easy for her clients to refer her.   We will be sharing her brand identity and web site which is presently under construction.

Remember your marketplace is the economic driver! Don't default to your tastes or someone else's ideas.  It is more important to create a brand that will work rather than one you like.  Don’t sing opera to a rock and roll audience! And if you are an opera singer, find your marketplace, and your audience!

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. 

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Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

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The Symbolism And Nuances Of The Color Black In Branding!

Black is often the default brand color of luxury.  Black is associated with power, class, formality and prestige.  However, keep in mind that black is not the only color that communicates these nuances.  In branding yourself as a luxury real estate professional, black may not be appropriate.  For instance, if you are selling homes in a resort location, black is not necessarily the right color for your brand.

When people travel to a resort location, they are thinking of relaxing.  Formality is the last thing they want, as they are escaping from their cities.  Whenever we have worked in second home locations, we have discouraged black as the dominant brand color. We have encouraged our clients to adopt the colors of their marketplace, and not their favorite color which may be black.

Conversely, in the city, (New York, San Francisco) black may be the perfect brand color.  If you are working in the Hamptons, New Yorkers' get away place, black is inappropriate, and the same goes for San Francisco where their getaway is the Napa/Sonoma Valley.

In some cultures, black is the color of death and mourning. It is also associated with mystery, magic, nightime.  Resort living connotes a happy, daytime environment and a casual nightime, no black tie needed.

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. 

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

                       GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY

Do You Have A Remarkable Slogan? Part 2

A great slogan artfully articulates your extraordinary promise of value with brevity of communication. The trick is to create a clever slogan that instantly sticks in the mind of your target market and triggers word-of-mouth advertising.  

InPart 1 of this article series we challenged you to identify the business category of this 3-word slogan:

FINDER OF KEEPERS

This is one of the advertising slogans for the market-leading matchmaking firm in North America, Selective Search. Their tag line, which consistently accompanies their logo, is, “Executive Search Meets Personal Matchmaking”. In just 5 words they communicate their unique value proposition here as well. 

“Meet Your Future” (just 3 words) is the name of their proprietary process for helping their clients find true love. Selective Search claims to have the highest success rate in the matchmaking industry. 

Most real estate professionals do not realize that it is not just your immediate sphere of influence that encompasses your referral base. ANYONE in your marketplace who may know a buyer or seller currently in the market can become a referral source!  Here we are, a happily married husband and wife business team, spreading the word about a matchmaking service just because their slogan is remarkable.

Can you see how empowering all of your potential referral sources with a remarkable slogan that communicates your extraordinary promise of value can help you or your company gain or sustain market leadership?  We hope we made our point in fewer than 250 words.

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. 

-WATCH VIDEOS-

Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites 

Personal Branding Case Studies Company Branding Case Studies 

About Language of Luxury

GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNITY