Friday, August 31, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Luxury of Disconnecting

As luxury real estate marketing professionals, many feel that being available on a 24/7 basis will insure success. It seems like everyone is connected via every possible device, software and social media platform. You may feel that it is admirable or even heroic. However, there is a time for being inaccessible and completely disconnected.

Traveling earlier this week on business brought about an unexpected event. At one of the locations we did not have cell or internet access. We had to use a “land line” (an endangered species) to call those who were expecting to hear from us. Everyone understood. We took advantage of the lack of digital connection to connect with our surroundings and each other. That day gave us time to refresh and enjoy what was remarkable about our client’s marketplace.

As we approach the Labor Day Weekend, it is important to re-evaluate the notion of being accessible 24/7 and seek moderation. You may discover the strength that comes from setting limits. When you are rested you magnify your power to attract and perceive more opportunities. Plus, your quality of life naturally improves. Wishing you all a happy Labor Day!

Cheers, Ron & Alexandra

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Marketing Luxury Real Estate Tip: Cost of Living vs. Cost of Not Living

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is essential that you understand the value of “living it up” because this is, more often than not, the mindset of your high net worth target market. It seems like there is far too much concern about increases in the cost of living. Have you ever considered the high cost of not living?

Those who truly enjoy their wealth offer clues to those who aspire to acquire their own. They are typically the most generous of human beings in that respect.

“Living it up” does not necessarily mean extravagance. Small indulgences and simple pleasures can send you into a mental state of abundance, a perspective that allows you see the world from an affluent vantage point—a world of possibilities and opportunities.

Sure, there are those who are entrapped by their wealth. They are so worried about losing what they have or comparing their net worth to others that they are not really living at all.

Recently, we visited friends who adopted “Buddy”, the rescue Golden Retriever, as a surprise present for their 6-year-old son. One look at Buddy and you were transported into state of sheer delight and appreciation for the abundance of goodness in nature. Such loving eyes, such playfulness! Buddy’s message to the world: “Forget your troubles, come on, get happy!” He cajoled anyone who came into his presence to play with him and live it up. He was impossible to resist.

The more frequently you can live it up, the more opportunities you will perceive to connect with others who share your abundant mindset. And, the more business you will attract as a luxury real estate marketing professional. Do you have a "Buddy"?

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Friday, August 24, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Turning a Mistake into a Success with Transparency

As with any business or professional practice, luxury real estate marketing professionals sometimes make mistakes. For some, it is hard to admit for fear of being judged unfavorably. We believe it is best to be transparent about mistakes and do your best to turn them into opportunities to build trust.

Recently, Apple made some missteps in staffing their stores. They announced their mistake, corrected it and moved on. That is transparency.

As we were passing the wine aisle at the market, the label (depicted above), with a big orange question mark, caught our attention. It really stood out from the others. It was priced at $5.99, so we could not resist our curiosity. Soon, we discovered the story of this particular bottle from Oreana Winery. It is simply labeled as red table wine and we enjoyed it very much.

Here is their story as seen on their label,

“Mistake or Fate? I pondered this as I removed the hose from the stainless steel tank. The wrong tank lot 1203 and lot 419 were now one. Once destined to be bottled individually, now and forever fused. A phone call to a mentor elicited a quick response, ‘varietal wine? Blend it man and blend it well!’ I reached for a glass to decide what blue rain had been created from this mishap. This is a soft, satiny, sexy wine, with voluptuous black cherry and blackberry fruit, plus layers of chocolate and spices suggestive of cinnamon, mint and more. It is powerful and complex, yet open and accessible."

WOW! It fully lived up to its description. It was the perfect accompaniment to our Margarita, heirloom tomato and fresh basil pizza.

What impressed us was the transparency in admitting a mistake and turning it into a success. The label fits perfectly as no varietal grape is listed.

Turn your mistakes into successes! Be transparent. Keep building trust. Your reputation is the core component of your personal or company brand. This is an iconic example of branding that is remarkable and memorable. Oreana as a winery was not even on our radar screen, and with this branding coup wer will never forget it. It made an indelible impression.

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: The Economics of Aligned Self Interests

In marketing luxury real estate it is important to understand how to create and execute the economics of aligned self interest. This strategy is one that takes all parties into account by understanding their points of views i.e. their self motivated interests. By understanding other’s points of views (walking in their shoes) you can connect with them and create a new paradigm resulting in a viable and harmonious outcome for everyone involved. Here is an example of the economics of aligned self interests from the retail world.

If you have been in a large mall lately, you may have noticed an interesting kiosk/booth called “me’ality” with a slogan below it, “measured reality ™”. This booth as described by their literature is “a size matching station because one size fits nobody”. The technology in this booth is a safe scanning device that takes 200,000 measurements of an individual’s body (women in this instance). These measurements are translated into a list of stores (Gap, Levi, DKNY, and Ralph Lauren to name a few) which carry jeans that will fit your body and specifies the size and the cut which is perfect for you.

Whose bottom lines benefit here? The malls have experienced additional traffic because of this kiosk. Additional traffic translates into more sales for all the tenants in the mall and that means fewer empty stores. (One of the tenants in the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, California, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf had a notice on the booth giving away a $5.00 gift card for signing up with me’ality.) The retailers are subscribing by the droves with me’ality, and their list is growing daily. Me’ality has had national positive media coverage. Retailers are reporting more sales and less returns and exchanges. Customers are finding the perfect fit in jeans and are telling friends about this time saving device.

Here is a real estate example. In our commercial real estate practice, we were approached by an architectural firm wanting to lease a building they would design in a particular geographic area. We put out feelers in the brokerage community looking for land that could be developed into a 3 story office building. One of our favorite teams responded. They had a piece of land in escrow contingent on the buyer (developer) finding a sizeable tenant willing to sign a long term lease for a 3 story office building. The fact that our clients were a noted firm was a bonus to the developer. Everyone’s economic self interest was served. Our architectural firm fulfilled their desire to create the perfect building for themselves. The developer had a piece of land that increased in value because of the building and the income generated. And the brokers made a very nice commission.

So next time you are negotiating or trying to fulfill wishes for a buyer/seller in marketing luxury real estate take a moment to examine their self motivated interest, and find out what is in it for them. Find a way to align all interests geared to the same goal…a successful transaction

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Thursday, August 16, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Be Consistently Remarkable!

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable. Market leadership requires it.
When was the last time you felt uplifted by a customer service experience? How many people did you tell about it? Did you go out of your way to acknowledge this to the service provider and or their superiors?
You may consider this a random act of kindness. But, it is just as important as leaving big TIPS (to insure prompt service). And, it keeps you focused on being remarkable, yourself.
People tend to pass along, to others, their negative experiences at a significantly higher rate than their positive ones. So what can you do to ignite a chain reaction of positive buzz about YOU? Be remarkable in some way that stands out from your competition. Then be consistent at being remarkable!
Being consistently remarkable is a true sign of a market leader. Trader Joes exemplifies this principle, brilliantly. TJs, as many loyal customer refer to the company, is a privately owned, specialty grocery store with 365 stores in 31 states. Their company culture is very strong. They take great care of their people and they have a knack for consistently selecting great people.
One of the most consistently remarkable attributes of this fine company is their esprit de corps, otherwise known as team spirit. You always feel uplifted by the high positive energy among the employees. Everyone pitches in to help each other, too. Job satisfaction must be very high as we often ask the TJ staff if they enjoy their job. The answer is a resounding yes,, every time.
Discover what you can be consistently remarkable about in your luxury real estate marketing practice. Then, practice deliberate acts of kindness by letting others know that you appreciate their remarkable service. This keeps you focused on being remarkable, too.
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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Does Your Brand Command a Premium?


When you are passionate about what you do and you have aligned your passion with a career path that can deliver the economic benefits that you desire, opportunities seek you out.  And, you can perceive opportunities quicker than your competition.  In fact you can find the trail to opportunities in even the most mundane non-obvious places.

As passionate brand strategists in luxury real estate marketing we find the opportunity to expound upon the principles of branding everywhere we look.  Here is an example of the value of achieving top of mind status.  Recently, we had a minor overnight invasion of ants that attacked the cat food.  We were fortunate to nip this problem in the bud.  But, we decided to take preventative measures for potential midnight raids.  We sought out ant bait/traps.  Two brands were prominently displayed: Combat and Raid.  Both boxes were the same price.  We assumed they were equally efficient. 

Raid is the brand that comes to mind first for us and Combat is not even on our radar screen. Combat had 6 traps in the box and Raid had four.  Raid, obviously commanded a 50% premium based on their brand recognition.  In a time starved world the majority of people would select to brand that comes to mind first, underlines the value of brand recognition.  There is no inherent value of the actual ingredients of the product.  Trust in the brand is the added value.

We selected Combat overriding our natural proclivity to the brand that came to mind first.  This is a mega trend in luxury marketing today: luxury brands themselves getting away with a 50% plus premium on their name alone, they have to demonstrate actual value.

Sellers and buyers are getting smarter when it comes to luxury real estate.  One of the interesting outcomes of the global economic upheaval, luxury real estate consumers are looking for intrinsic value and are unwilling to pay a premium for a home or any other goods, if the intrinsic added value is non-existent.  As a luxury real estate marketing profession, it is now imperative to define your added value and it better be substantive, so that you can achieve top of mind status.   Does your brand command a premium?
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Monday, August 13, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Do You Speak Bespoke?

DNA STRAND

The word “bespoke” is what every luxury real estate marketing professional needs to know. The term "bespoke" comes from England where it originally referred to custom or tailor-made clothing. “In recent years, however, the term has been applied to information technology and also refers to custom services or products.” (from techterms.com)

In our former lives as commercial real estate broker owners in Beverly Hills and environs, we practiced bespoke service. Each buyer, seller, investor, lessor and lessee were treated and taken care of in a unique way based on their preferences. At the very beginning of our relationship we sat down with each person found out what they needed and wanted from our services as well as their expectations. We also clarified how they liked to be communicated with. Some of our clients preferred weekly meetings and phone calls as well as a written report. Buyers had other criteria, and our developer clients wanted an immediate call and offer written for their fax signature, when some gem came on the market.

Today as branding and marketing strategists, we practice bespoke service. We fly out to each client’s marketplace. We spend time getting to know their marketplace and see the business of their luxury real estate through their eyes. We establish our relationship and specify their preferred ways of communication and adhere to that.

By thoroughly studying our client’s competition, we help our clients identify and pioneer hidden, untapped market opportunities where they can passionately provide extraordinary value. By establishing and dominating an uncontested market niche their profit margins increase and their competition becomes inconsequential. We also help our clients define their goals and their preferences.

With that knowledge in hand, we work on developing an over arching strategy. From that strategy we develop a brand, brand graphics and subsequently a web site geared to fulfilling the strategy. We also assist our clients in creating a work-style and lifestyle that’s in-sync, so that they can experience a profound sense of control over their personal and professional life.

Bespoke is our style of communication and is reflected in the brands and strategies we come up with. We know that “one size does not fit all”, every market is unique, and every individual or company is unique and they deserve to be treated that way. Do you speak bespoke?

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: "Farm to Table Marketing"

A key trend in luxury marketing is the concept of “farm-to-table marketing”. There are important clues here for marketing luxury real estate. It is not just about offering the facts. It is about telling the story that adds color and engages the emotions.

Farm-to-table marketing in the arena of fine dining while traveling and also for local restaurants is based upon the premise that consumers want to know the point of origin from which their food comes. Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley (who pioneered this trend decades ago) credits menu items by mentioning the local purveyor. Here is an excerpt from the appetizer section of their menu: “Cannard Farm rocket (arugula) and chervil salad with buttered radish and onion toasts.”

In applying farm-to-table marketing, your luxury real estate message should include the overall story of the home you are selling. The potential buyer wants the “back story” which allows them to become enchanted with the property. When they purchase it, it becomes the story they tell their friends and their reasons for buying the home. For instance, if the home is a rammed earth home, a video on the making of this type of home would make an excellent adjunct to the presentation of the listing on your website.

A few years ago a “rastra block” home was sold in the California wine country. A rastra block is made from recycled Styrofoam. This home had photo voltaic cells and solar panels. The entire house was a story of “farm-to-table” origins. The property site itself was originally a stone quarry that produced the stone used to build the streets of San Francisco. The home has recycled architectural elements from France, Africa, and Mexico.

By breaking down the property’s story and telling sub-stories of its various elements through ancillary rich media, i.e., photos and video, you can engage more buyers. You also have a surefire way to standout from your competition.

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Monday, August 6, 2012

Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Be Consistently Remarkable!

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable. Market leadership requires it.

When was the last time you felt uplifted by a customer service experience? How many people did you tell about it? Did you go out of your way to acknowledge this to the service provider and or their superiors?

You may consider this a random act of kindness. But, it is just as important as leaving big TIPS (to insure prompt service). And, it keeps you focused on being remarkable, yourself.

People tend to pass along, to others, their negative experiences at a significantly higher rate than their positive ones. So what can you do to ignite a chain reaction of positive buzz about YOU? Be remarkable in some way that stands out from your competition. Then be consistent at being remarkable!

Being consistently remarkable is a true sign of a market leader. Trader Joes exemplifies this principle, brilliantly. TJs, as many loyal customer refer to the company, is a privately owned, specialty grocery store with 365 stores in 31 states. Their company culture is very strong. They take great care of their people and they have a knack for consistently selecting great people.

One of the most consistently remarkable attributes of this fine company is their esprit de corps, otherwise known as team spirit. You always feel uplifted by the high positive energy among the employees. Everyone pitches in to help each other, too. Job satisfaction must be very high as we often ask the TJ staff if they enjoy their job. The answer is a resounding yes,, every time.

Discover what you can be consistently remarkable about in your luxury real estate marketing practice. Then, practice deliberate acts of kindness by letting others know that you appreciate their remarkable service. This keeps you focused on being remarkable, too.

WATCH VIDEOS-

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