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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip#3

Do you have a local movie theatre in your town that is not owned by a large chain? Here is another in our series on low cost promotional ideas that can yield big high quality results and make you stand out stand out from your competition as a luxury real estate marketing professional.

Most people, young and old, love the movies. Quality movies that the entire family can enjoy together are few and far between. When you get wind of one of these gems coming to your town, contact the owners of your local theatre and arrange a sneak preview of the film for a guaranteed number of sold seats.

When one of Harry Potter films was about to be released one of our clients invited a select group of past and present clients to a sneak preview of the film. At an average cost of $7.50 per seat she was able to guarantee 200 sold seats ($1500) which she prepaid. Then she found a non-competing service professional, an estate planner, to split the costs and invite 100 of their clients (including kids). Her total cost was $750.

In addition to thoroughly enjoying the show, the guests got the bonus of “bragging rights” about seeing the latest Harry Potter movie before it was released. Just prior to show time both hosts introduced each other to their clients in the audience which instantly expanded their sphere of influence. They outwardly endorsed each other as trustworthy service professionals, which led to future business. The theatre received additional cash, plus the take from all of the concessions they sold before and during the showing. It was scheduled in the morning before the theater normally opened and a few days before Harry Potter debuted.

There are so many ways you can stay in touch with your core data base of contacts that will turn them into raving fans. Leveraging the buzz of a Harry Potter caliber movie you can trigger massive word-of-mouth advertising ABOUT YOU OR YOUR COMPANY and also generate a tremendous amount of good will.

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Monday, June 21, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip #2

t is a really good practice, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, to keep track of the interests of your contacts. Are you a wine enthusiast? Do you enjoy sampling unique cheeses? If so, chances are you have some previous clients and others in your contact database who feel as you do. Here is a low cost idea that leverages common interests and can generate meaningful marketing results.

Here in Santa Barbara there is a wine store called East Beach Wine Company. It is Santa Barbara’s largest specialty wine store. Each Friday night they have a special wine tasting often with guest vine makers to personally pour and talk about their winery. There is a different theme each week. It is quite educational and it is likely that you will meet some fun and interesting people at the tasting as well. Typically it costs about $10 per person and that includes some delicious cheeses that are paired with the wines.

A great way to stay in touch with your contacts is to invite them as your guests to wine tasting such as this. Perhaps you could arrange a discount for covering the cost of a large number of guests. Even at full pop, it only would cost $500 for 50 guest and the buzz about you and how you stand out from your competition would be worth many times that amount. Most important it gives you the ability, as a luxury real estate marketing professional to stay in touch with clients in a unique way when you are not just pitching real estate.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Less is More Tip #1

Children at the Louvre Museum in Paris

Marketing ideas with zero or low cost are easier to conceive when you follow your passion. Anyone can develop business in their luxury real estate marketing practice with money. But, some of best results can be achieved without spending a dime. Here is an example of a low cost promotional idea that cost an agent very little but yielded big results.

A very successful luxury real estate marketing professional in Chicago was on the board of directors for the local museum. Her passion was engaging kids in the world of art. When the museum created a special interactive event for kids she sent out event invitations to all of her past clients and her entire sphere of influence offering to cover the admission cost for their kids. At $10 per child she spent only $500 for the 50 that showed up WITH THEIR PARENTS!

The positive response was unanimous. The kids had a blast, learned new things and made new friends. The adults appreciated the opportunity to meet new community members. Several of the parents jointed the museum because of the quality of the children’s program. She generated a tremendous amount of good will not only from those who attended, but also from those who were impressed with the invitation and could not make it.

She also received several referrals shortly thereafter which converted to significant commissions that made the $500 investment a drop in the ocean. What contributed most to the success of this marketing idea was her passion for getting kids excited about the arts. This is part of what her personal brand stands for. When you tap into your passion and tie it into your work everything aligns to this core principle that makes marketing a joy.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: When Should Your Name Become Your Personal Brand?

Coco Chanel on Left - A Chanel Chapeau (hat) on Right

There is a debate that still continues about using your name as your personal brand in luxury real estate marketing. Here is the best test to determine when it is advisable to do so: Ask yourself, “Are you ready to achieve celebrity status in your marketplace?” If you are prepared to have your name stand for a particular market niche that you can dominate, we say, “Go for it!”

Think of some of the most recognizable personal brands: Martha, Seal, Sting, Cher, Lance, [the] Donald, Kobe, and Coco. What category of celebrity comes to mind for each?

Channel is one of the most famous fashion design houses in the world. And, the company founder, Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, was one of the most highly recognized personal brands in her time. In fact, she was the only person to be named in the field of fashion on the Time [Magazine] Top 100: The Most Important People of the [20^th] Century. Coco was a modernist who stood for the pursuit of expensive simplicity which is the most enduring core value of the Chanel company brand

Coco’s design standards were exacting. And, she was a task-master who insisted that her clothes reflect her personal, exacting impeccable standards. We know this first hand as Alexandra’s grandmother was a master finishing seamstress for Chanel in Paris as young woman. The attention to detail was relentless.

Clearly, Coco enjoyed top-of-mind status in the field of high fashion as a personal brand, a status that extends to the company brand as well, to this day. Top-of-mind is the goal of any luxury real estate marketing professional who is aiming for market leadership and celebrity status.

Are you ready for celebrity status in your luxury real estate marketplace? If not, you might want to consider a different tact when approaching your personal branding, other than using your name as your brand.

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Tap Into the High Net Worth Mindset

It is important for luxury real estate marketing professionals to follow the luxury trends outside of real estate. The more you tap into the mindset of potential high net worth clients the greater your chances are to gain their trust and their business.

For example, researchers specializing in the world of cosmetics are finding that the luxury beauty product industry has grown at an annual rate of 6% since 2004. Trade publication, Global Cosmetics Industry, cites that beauty products generate approximately $230 billion in global sales. An emerging trend among consumers is that they are growing more knowledgeable about ingredients and are favoring natural-based products. The women in emerging luxury markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Russia are now sold on skin care and makeup, and have become savvy, eager consumers.

The house of Guerlain, a premium perfume and beauty brand had embarked on developing a new brand of skin care to meet the needs of an aging population. By researching orchid plants, that take an inordinately long time to fade after they bloom, they came up with a proven anti-aging formula. To facilitate their research they built an “orchidarium” (a French term) to study 30,000 species of orchids.

Guerlain’s marketing message is targeted specifically to highly informed consumers:

After “Ten years of research within the Guerlain orchidarium, three new orchids selected among 30,000, revealed the secret of extraordinary longevity”.

According to their research, Guerlain’s new orchid extract has the power to turn back “cellular” time. The initial tests by a reputed dermatologist, showed a 54+% in skin improvement in two months based on rigorous standards, and the research continues.

Following trends in other luxury industries, such as the luxury cosmetic industry, can not only yield insights into the mindset of high net worth consumers, but also offer you social currency to engage in meaningful conversation. Holding your own in social situations in this way builds trust and your bottom line.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Think Like a Journalist!

Many luxury real estate marketing professionals believe that the primary purpose of blogging is to increase their website traffic. It is true that a great blog can actually account for more traffic to your website than traffic generated when search engines, like Google, display your website/blogsite at the top of their search results pages (and users click through). However, more traffic is actually a by-product of your blog not the purpose. The real purpose of your blog is to build an ever-expanding local, national and international sphere of influence, a stronger referral base, and an audience of raving fans who recognize you as an expert in your field.

When your blog is follow-worthy, buzz-worthy and comment-worthy you actually emerge as a journalist on par with those who write for major news publications and magazines. As a journalist you become a reporter, a columnist, a commentator, an entertainer, and a correspondent. Your opinion becomes sought after by traditional media. The more you aim to achieve this level of professionalism as a blogger, the more your sphere of influence will grow.

Just as e-book readers are changing the book industry, smart phones and tablet computers, like the iPad, are changing the magazine industry. With digitization, the cost of printing and delivery/distribution (over the internet) is virtually zero. That is now freeing up resources that can be deployed to making each magazine edition truly interactive. With videos,, 3-D effects, links to archived editions and related stories, search, social interaction, polling, and more extensive photography, magazines can provide an vastly more satisfying user experience than a print issue.

The new magazines will be available everywhere, on any device which can expand its circulation. And, readers will spend more time interacting with each edition, more time than a one hour TV show that may cost the same price, for example. Besides this rich user experience, readers can count on the fact that the magazine articles will be well researched and well edited which is a “value add” that most blogs cannot match. Think of the depth of sports coverage in Sports Illustrated when this magazine is published on the iPad.

If you are currently blogging or are contemplating becoming a luxury real estate blogger, keep in mind that the competition for attention is going to get even fiercer as print magazines go digital and become truly interactive. Now is the time to step up the level of professionalism on your blog. Start thinking like a journalist!

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Focus is the Name of the Game

Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO --Courtesy of Xerox

The imperative to re-invent yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional has never been greater. The competition for attention on the internet now requires that you declare a highly focused , sharply defined “brand position”. To stand out from the crowd, you must stake a claim to an uncontested market niche and offer an extraordinary promise of value. Your claim to market leadership must be based on something that you can do better than anyone else in your marketplace. Now more than ever, focus is the name of the game in luxury real estate marketing.

For decades Xerox was focused on one thing: plain-paper photocopying. Xerox was one of the first brand names to become a verb, just as the verb “to FedEx” has come to mean ship overnight. Although Xerox still “owns” the top-of-mind status in the prduct category of plain-paper copiers, the status has become less and less relevant in light of the transition of documents between the paper and digital worlds. This fundamental shift necessitated that Xerox completely reinvent itself and reposition the brand in the minds of its target market and substantial customer base.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Xerox worked to transform its product offering into a service. Xerox began providing a complete "document service" to companies including supply, maintenance, configuration, and user support. Customers became clients. To reinforce this image, the company introduced a corporate signature, "The Document Company" above its primary logo. However, at this time documents still meant ink on paper.

In 2008, Xerox changed its logo again to a red sphere and a white X with three grey stripes. The change is meant to shift the emphasis of the company’s focus from plain-paper document photocopying to digital document management and solutions.

On July 1, 2009, another change occurred in Xerox. Ursula Burns became the first African American woman to head a company the size of Xerox. Under Ms. Burn’s leadership, in February 2010, Xerox acquired Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. transforming Xerox into the world’s leader in business process and digital document management.

With this acquisition, Xerox now processes over one million credit card applications and twelve million student loans each year. They also provide HR (human resources) services for more than 4.4 million employees and retirees annually. Xerox’s extraordinary new promise of value is to “help our customers reach new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, giving them the freedom to focus on what matters most: their real business”.

From product oriented to service oriented, from paper documents to digital document management and out-sourced business processes Xerox has undergone an astonishing metamorphisis, a total shift in focus.

What will be your new focus, your new claim, your new extraordinary promise of value? Focus is the name of the luxury real estate marketing game.

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Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Winning Formula of Passion & Competence

Mount Fuji, Japan

The difference between luxury real estate marketing professionals who are genuinely passionate about what they do and others who are not is palpable. It is your passion and competence that compels others to rave about you and refer business your way. But, competence alone is not enough. Emotions attract more business than logic. Tapping into the emotions of your target market and offering an extraordinary value proposition beyond competent service will give you the competitive edge.

In Japan, consumers of electronic gadgets have traditionally been persuaded to buy new products based more on extensive new features rather than the emotional benefits of ownership. Skeptics warned that Apple’s iPhone would not sell well in Japan because it lacked detailed technical features that would require hours of studying a thick instruction manual to master.

The skeptics were wrong about the simplistic user interface of the iPhone and also about the iPad, which was recently introduced to raving fans in Japan. Apple products have become a brand name accessory. They are considered a luxury on par with Louis Vuitton handbags which are extremely popular in Japan. Apple has found a way to tap into the deep seated emotional consumer needs of self-expression and the promise of gaining acceptance, approval and admiration from others.

Showing off your new iPad, a product that has instant brand recognition, offers emotional currency to the consumer. This effect can occur from twenty feet away simply by recognizing the Apple logo. That is brand power! From twenty feet away you cannot tell if a competing gadget has the latest technical features inside.

Then, there is Apple's "coolness factor"-- an inimitable brand culture that has been developing over decades. You do not just buy a product; you join a brand and you belong to a likeminded community. Have you ever walked into an Apple store? The brand culture, the passion and the camaraderie between customers and competent employees is obvious there.

The reason that Apple has such a superior competitive advantage is not because of features but, because of this emotional currency. Google, Samsung, HP and dozens of other companies are coming out with tablet computers in the near future. But, they will all be competing based on features alone, not on emotions, a realm that Apple dominates.

Dell is coming out with a tablet that has a 5 inch screen (double the size of a smart phone screen). The logic is that is can still fit into your pocket like a smart phone. They will be given away free with a wireless subscription because Dell will subsidize the cost of the device in a revenue sharing model.

When you compete on the basis of features alone, you become a commodity because features can easily be copied. The only territory left, when all competitors have the same features, is price. We saw this phenomenon with discount real estate brokerage firms.

Tap into your passion, as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Claim an contested market niche that you can dominate. Serve this niche better than anyone else in your marketplace. Then, you will find the winning formula of passion and competence.

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Become an "Investigative Reporter"

Have you heard the term “investigative reporting”? That is one of the great roles of a journalist and should be one of the roles you assume as a luxury real estate marketing professional when you decide to blog. There are so many fascinating local stories to cover if you just look for them. Find one that you can be passionate about and tell the story from your own unique voice. Your personal slant on the facts is what makes your “column” worth following.

One of the stories that we find most interesting, from a strategic branding standpoint, is the new competition between Google and Apple especially in the realm of smart phones and other mobile devices such as tablet computers (iPads). What is at stake? There are billions of dollars in advertising revenue at stake on mobile devices, plus applications, media subscriptions, e-books, video and more. The drama that is now unfolding, on the world stage, between these big brands sheds light on the dynamics between rival agents seeking market leadership in any luxury real estate marketplace.

Apple has just surpassed Microsoft in valuation; a feat that Steve Jobs describes as “surreal”. Can you remember when Microsoft surpassed General Motors in valuation?

Mr. Jobs is a charismatic leader with tremendous vision. He is bold in his move to dismiss Adobe Flash as a technology whose days are numbered. Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad only support HTML-5 a new video technology that Jobs considers to be superior to Flash. He is not afraid of controversy, Many of his critics, including Google, say that he has made a serious error in judgment, that he is not “open and inclusive” regarding these two major video platforms (Google supports both Flash and HTML-5). They say the consumers will be the ultimate judge.

Mr. Jobs agrees with his critics on this point. One iPad is now selling every three seconds!

In our next segment on Apple vs. Google we will cover the impact that this device is having in Japan where the iPad is emerging as a luxury brand on par with Louis Vuitton.

Find a story that you can sink your teeth into and extract meaning, your interpretation of the facts, for your readers. That is the role of “investigative reporting”. Locally, this practice allows you to meet many people who are likely to become loyal referral sources.

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