Personal and Company Branding: Don’t Fall Into the “Chameleon Trap”

In certain cultures it is frowned upon to stand out from the crowd. However, if market leadership is your quest as a luxury real estate marketing professional, blending in like a chameleon does to camouflage itself is simply not an option. At a time when competition for attention is escalating, especially online, developing a highly distinguishable, consistent personal or company brand is now an imperative.

Changing your colors to please others, to blend in or to avoid the pursuit of your competition is the antithesis of establishing your brand position and sticking with it steadfastly. Many agents and companies fall into the “chameleon trap” because they simply do not want to make waves. But, if you have the heart of a champion, the heart of an achiever, making waves and creating news is what you live for.

In defense of the chameleon and chameleon-like behavior it is important to note that there is more to the color changing story. Recent research asserts that social signaling, such as attracting a mate, was the major driving force behind the evolution of color change. Blending in for camouflage developed as a secondary survival skill.

Therefore, changing your colors to attract more of your ideal clients in the process of luxury real estate marketing can be a good thing. The key is to display your authentic colors decisively and consistently.

The chameleon trap that we warn you to avoid is really the people pleaser trap. Change is good providing you please yourself in the process.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Be Complacent at Your Own Risk!

Courtesy of Google and Apple

Complacency is a trap that many luxury real estate marketing professionals fall into when they attain market leadership. This offers an excellent opportunity for competitors to pick up the slack and surpass the current market leader, especially if they have a superior grasp of technology. Staying on top of the latest technology and becoming a master of social media is now an imperative if you wish to sustain your market leadership.position. Otherwise, an unlikely competitor can suddenly challenge your domain.

Here is an example of how Google is challenging Apple, the current market leader in smart phones (iPhone) and tablet commuters (iPad).

On August 3, 2009 Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, resigned from Apple’s Board of Directors because Google entered some of Apples core businesses. With Android (Google’s smart phone platform) and Chrome (Google’s browser-based Operating System) Apple faces direct competition for the iPhone, the iPad, and even Apple TV.

Google TV claims to finally integrate TV and the web, so you can spend less time searching for content and more time watching it. Google TV will work with your current paid TV subscription as well as the majority of video content online, making it easy and seamless to switch between the two.

What is behind all of these moves by Google? In a word, it is Ads! Yes, Google is a technology company, but its economic driver is advertising revenue. People watch an average of five hours of TV per day. TV ads amount to $70 billion per year. There are over 4 billion TV users worldwide vs. 1 billion PC owners.

That is why Google wants to reach beyond your desktop and laptop. It wants to dominate the delivery of ads on all of your devices while you are on the go, and also while you are in your living room. In fact, you soon will be able to sync up all of your devices that operate on Android/Chrome as well as your computers, because Chrome operates over the web not in the hard drive of your computer.

If Google’s wish could come true, all device manufacturers (other than Apple) would use Android/Chrome as their platform so it can serve up more ads. They also profit share with all of the developers who create mobile and TV Apps (software applications) that consumers can purchase at their store.

Apple has a head start with the most number of Apps available for the iPhone and iPad. But, Android is gaining momentum. Google supports both Adobe Flash (the most widely used video format) and HTML-5. Apple only supports HTML-5.

Schmidt is positioning Google as being “open and all inclusive” vs. dictatorial and closed, like Apple. Steve Jobs has consistently positioned Apple as a leader in sophisticated design and innovation, a cut above the rest. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will Apple be able to sustain its market leadership position in smart phones and tablet computers? Time will tell. But, you can count on the fact that Apple is not being complacent.

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Personal Branding: Attract More Clients by Defining Your Brand Position

Brand positioning is one of the most important marketing principles and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. Yet, to sharply differentiate yourself from your competition, as a luxury real estate marking professional, your brand position, what you stand for in the minds of your target market, must be made crystal clear.

When you get your brand positioning spot on, it is like comparing apples and oranges. There simply is no comparison. It lets your ideal clients immediately recognize that you are a match. and your competition is not. It accelerates the speed of trust. Portraying yourself as part apple and part orange, in an attempt to be all things to all people, is confusing. It weakens your brand signal and your power of attraction.

When you think of Rachael Ray the author, cooking show and talk show host, what comes to your mind besides the words she coined, “Yummo and Delish”? Rachael stands for wholesomeness; she is the archetypical “girl next door”. As a result, Rachael is one of the most trusted personal brands in the United States.

People like to do business with people like themselves, people who share the same values. If you are attracted to Rachael’s down-to-earth wholesome values you are more likely to trust her advice. Rachael has mass appeal because there are so many people who can identify with what she stands for.

Now, if Rachael Ray attempted to pull off a cooking show focused entirely on fine Italian cuisine that features traditional family recipes, she simply would not be authentic. But, Giada De Laurentiis owns this market segment. Giada’s brand position is sophisticated/sexy. She began her professional training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, specializing in both cuisine and pastry. Her training also included positions at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Fine Dining Room and Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills.

Wholesomeness/girl-next-door and sophisticated/sexy are very distinct brand positions. Both are unmistakable. Each has appeal. Within moments of watching either of these famous chef’s cooking shows you can grasp how they are different and what each of them stands for.

What does your brand stand for? You must take a position and make it clear if you want to attract an abundance of ideal clients, those who share your personal values. The purpose of personal branding is to articulate your brand position with laser sharp clarity; making what is genuine and implicit about you, explicit so you stand out from your competition, instantly.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: To Gift or Not to Gift?

To gift or not to gift? That is the question. Many agents who are involved in the business of luxury real estate marketing feel the need to give closing gifts to their clients. If you are going to do this, give a gift that tells a story so they remember you long after receiving the gift. That way they will tell the story to their friends and promote you in the process.

One of the great gift giving stories took place in Russia when Tsar Alexander lll gave his wife an object d'art in the form of a bejeweled egg crafted by Peter Carl Fabergé, a goldsmith appointed as the designated jeweler to the Imperial Crown. His wife was so delighted with the gift that it became a tradition on each anniversary of their marriage to give a "Fabergé Egg" to his wife. He gave the master craftsman free reign in the creation of the gifts, which became an ongoing commission, but with the stipulation that the egg must contain a surprise inside.

Most of the eggs were made of precious metals and decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé egg" has become closely associated with luxury. Many are considered to be masterpieces and have sold in auction for millions of dollars.

Some luxury real estate marketing professionals believe that their clients should give them gifts for delivering invaluable service. Either way be sure to gift yourself when you close a transaction!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Power of Strategy

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 at 01:39AM

As a luxury marketing professional it is important to develop a strategy to achieve your goals. A strategy is not a tactic. Tactics are means of achieving immediate goals. A strategy is a long term plan of action.To strategize is to make a deliberate choice of direction which will affect the outcome of your goals. And, that is the power of strategy.

In order to develop a successful strategy it helps to discover those aspects of your business about which you are most passionate. Passion fuels your enthusiasm and sustains your determination. It enables you to stick with your strategy, to hold your vision, even when things do not appear to be working. and also to trust the process of manifesting your vision.

Developing a great strategy is the result of defining, aligning and refining your personal brand and your position in the marketplace. When your strategy is based on what other people think you should do instead of following your own passion, it is likely to fail.

One of our friends, a successful realtor, loved historical homes. She began remodeling several of them, and became an expert in selling them. She knew, through her own experience, what it took to restore these historical homes. She also had a list of vetted craftspeople who could help her buyers and sellers in the restoration process, which made her a communication hub for specialized information. Staying top-of-mind, yielded an abundance of referrals and her highly focused practice thrived.

Her passion led her to join an historical society. Her enthusiasm and participation in the organization created lifetime friendships and more referrals. This was a strategy based purely on passion which never waned; although retired now, she still works with the group.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 3

Part 3: Get In Touch!

Touch screens on computers have been in development for years. But, they did not reach a critical mass in terms of consumer use until the iPhone, and recently, the iPad was introduced by Apple. Soon touch screens will become ubiquitous on many types of devices. At Napa Consultants, International we anticipated this trend and have been designing our clients' web sites to be "touch-friendly" for luxury real estate marketing.

For example, one tap of the photo icon of a neighborhood can produce instant mapped search results for all available high rise condos in that neighborhood One tap on the map and you can see details of a particular building, plus, those units within the building that are available for sale. This is the kind of instant gratification that users are now expecting.

Riding the touch screen wave of change can give you an immediate competitive advantage as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Get in touch!

Check out this video to see where the revolutionary touch screen wave of change is heading . You will be amazed!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 2

Part 2: Capitalize On Your "Unfair"Competitive Advantages

The stunning sales velocity that Apple has achieved with the iPad (1 Million iPads in just 28 days) is truly inspiring. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, when you study and stay focused on these kinds of results you will attract more of what you want for yourself.

In part one of this series we looked at how Apple spotted two trends and rode these waves to propel sales of the iPad. Those trends are the popularity of netbooks and e-books. Here in Part 2, we look at a question that Steve Jobs must have asked himself to stage such a stupendous encore to the iPhone: What else can Apple do better than anyone else in the world? If market leadership is your quest, this is a question that you need to ask yourself as well; just rephrase the question to, “What can I (or my company) do better than anyone else in my marketplace? What are your “unfair” competitive advantages?

Apparently, Jobs had been asking himself these questions about the tablet computer for some time. He must have determined that Apple’s “unfair” competitive advantages included:

1. The feedback received by consumers (of all ages) who rave about the simplicity of user interface experience with other Apple products including the touch screen of the iPhone and iPod Touch
2. The world’s largest selection of Apps (applications) from other Apple products
3. The iTunes Store with established accounts of millions of customers already in place, which would make it easy for iPad owners to buy more products and services from Apple.

Prior to the launch iPad, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble had an unfair competitive advantage in the e-book space (as categories or niches are referred to in marketing terms) over other e-book readers. That is their vast databases of customers with established customer accounts, plus established relationships with publishers. But, Apple, who was an unlikely competitor, ALSO has established iTunes accounts with a significant number of Amazon and Barnes and Noble customers. And, for about $150 more someone who is considering buying a Kindle or Nook can get a very powerful computer. Needless to say the other e-book readers’ chances of achieving market leadership are “slim-to-none”.

The real shocker that turned the tables and made the iPad a game changer was the low price. Apple’s purchase of the chip maker that runs the iPad also became an “unfair” competitive advantage.

Capitalize on what you can do better than anyone else in your luxury real estate marketplace. Leverage your “unfair” competitive advantage!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Ride the Wave of Change - Part 1

Part 1: Capitalize on Trends

Apple announced that it sold one million iPads in just 28 days. That is less than one half the time it took to sell 1million iPhones which took 74 days. Over 300,000 iPads were sold in one weekend upon the release of their 3G model (anytime internet access wherever there is 3G coverage vs. the less expensive model that accesses the web in Wi-Fi hotspots only). This phenomenon has very important implications for luxury real estate marketing professionals that we will cover in a three-part blog series.

The speed at which these devices have sold staggers the imagination considering the fact that, prior to 2010, very few consumers were even aware of the category of tablet computers. However, when you assume a broader perspective, an aerial view if you will, there is a logical explanation that helps to make sense of this sales velocity.

Apple astutely spotted and capitalized on two significant consumer trends:

1. The rapid sales of netbooks (small, inexpensive laptops).
2. The growing popularity of e-book readers (e.g., Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Nobles’ Nook).

The iPad was positioned, in the mind of consumer, as a superior alternative to both of these devices, at a cost that was less than the two other devices combined.

When you anticipate trends and position yourself in the path of progress it is like catching and surfing a wave. By harnessing the power of trends you leverage energy that is bigger than just your own effort and your success rate dramatically improves.

We often recommend to clients “to go fishing where the fish are biting”. If sales are slow in one price range or one geographic area, concentrate where the movement is happening. It is of vital importance to watch for, tune into and anticipate luxury real estate sales trends in your marketplace.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Create Your Own Niche

As a luxury real estate marketing expert, if you want to be best in class in your market place you must define your class or your niche. Here is an example of niche marketing. If the niche does not exist, you need to create it.

Originally, wine bars were counters that served wine by their generic names, Beaujolais, Sancerre, and other ordinary wines. They did not bother naming the producers or the vintage years, and they served modest appetizers with the wines. The next evolution was L’Ecluse which took the concept to a higher level. They served good Bordeaux with foie gras, carpaccio and other delicacies.

In 1988, an Englishman, Mark Williamson expanded on the idea. After an extensive education in wines, he decided to open his own version Willi’s Wine Bar. His plan was to serve Rhone wines at his wine bar. One of his friends remarked that you can’t serve Rhone wines without food. He opened Willi’s Wine Bar and served food. Mark Williamson remarks, “There was nothing like Willi’s when we opened, we took the idea of a traditional bistro and put a wine list into it. The old days when you got by with a few cold cuts are over; a wine bar is mostly a restaurant where you serve wine by the glass.” Willi’s success started a trend. Everyone started calling their new places wine bars. Someone asked Mark whether Willi’s is a really a restaurant. His answer to this was, “I started the place, I called it a wine bar, I defined the genre. Who is anybody else to say, it’s not?”

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: LOL People Interview with Brad Hanks

We are always on the lookout to interview movers and shakers in the realm of luxury real estate marketing, opinion leaders in luxury marketing in general, craftspeople such as interior designers, architects, and architectural photographs, and also experts in social media. We are excited to share with you The Language of Luxury Radio interview series, that we now call LOL PEOPLE. It will be an ongoing feature on the LOL Blog.

Brad Hanks is the CEO (He calls himself the Chief Evangelical Officer) of Connect with Success. He speaks all over the world on social networking and social media, with a particular expertise in applying his success principles to real estate marketing.

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals ask, "what is the best way to start blogging." Brad sheds some light on this important question. He recommends beginning by expanding your network of contacts first before you launch your blog. Then, your likelihood of attracting a larger audience, for your blog will increase dramatically. More on this, plus some excellent advice about managing and maximizing your time on social medial can be heard on Brad's LOL Radio interview. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN.

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