Expressing Your Brand: Finding Your Perfect Pitch

                   
In the art world there are forgeries that only trained experts can discern. But, when it comes to authenticity in your personal luxury real estate brand most people can spot a fake from a mile away. Authenticity is the key to longevity in your business.

If you are a lover of pop music you certainly can appreciate the originality and authentic voice of singer-songwriter Adele.  She has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won numerous awards including a Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy Award for “Skyfall”, from the James Bond film with the same name.

This year a new talent emerged to take the top awards, Sam Smith. His golden voice is pitch-perfect.  When you hear Sam, it is clear that you are experiencing the depth of his soul. You hear his truth.
What you are striving for with your personal brand is authenticity in every communication you have with current and past clients, prospects and also with your entire potential referral base.  The clients you want are those who can discern the real deal, the genuine article.  You do not want the ones who can easily be fooled by a false front, a mask, or a people-pleasing façade.

The message from a personal brand that is phony will sound and feel discordant to those who value authenticity. It takes guts to put your authentic self on the front line.  But, in the long run you will strike the right chord with your ideal clients.

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

Beyonce’s Personal Brand Extension: Will You Bite?

Many celebrities have launched and endorsed their own businesses to leverage and extend their personal brands. Beyonce just launched a home delivery Vegan food service based on her 22 Days Vegan Challenge.  Will you bite?

In our previous post we discussed the importance of researching and anticipating the needs of your target market in your luxury real estate practice.  Beyonce definitely spotted multiple trends that converged in her new business model: the vegan trend, the non-GMO trend and also the trend of home delivery of groceries and prepared meals that can be ordered via the Internet. In selecting this business she is “riding the horse in the direction it is going”.

While home grocery delivery has attracted millions of venture capital dollars, the space is becoming extremely crowded.  Why would anyone enter this highly competitive field at this stage in the game?

Beyonce’s brand extension (beyond singing and acting) exemplifies our approach to this question: identify an uncontested and/or under served NICHE (within this larger category) that you can dominate.  She also has an “unfair” competitive advantage: her personal brand is very well known and she apparently “walks her talk”, i.e., she is a vegan and she looks stunning! 

Often, when we work with incumbent market leaders in luxury real estate, we are asked, “How can I expand beyond my current niche that I already dominate?”  The same approach applies. Once you dominate one niche, your strong reputation as a market leader precedes you if you want to extend your brand into another niche.

By leveraging your strengths you can more readily conquer your next challenge. Your credibility makes it easier for your new target market to “bite”.

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.

Do You Have A Remarkable Slogan? Part 1

One of our biggest challenges as brand strategists is to refine, condense and distill our clients’ extraordinary promise of value into a remarkable slogan in just a few words. After brainstorming with our clients and gathering a tremendous amount of information about them and their marketplace, it usually comes to us in a flash! We know we have nailed it when the slogan sticks in the minds of their target market, including any potential referral source, and sparks word-of-mouth advertising.

You may have heard the expression, “Finders keepers, losers weepers”. Recently, we came across an ad for a service that conveys their extraordinary promise of value in just three words. It is a play on this expression.

FINDERS OF KEEPERS

For fun, we will not tell you the category of business this is. In part two of this article series we will reveal the answer and also analyze this brand’s other tag line that further defines its value proposition in 5 words. 

Do you have a remarkable slogan? Can you guess the category of business “Finders of Keepers” belongs to?

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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The Symbolism and Nuances of The Color White In Branding

Recently we noticed two examples of extra virgin olive oil brands that are packaged in opaque white instead of the usual clear tinted bottles.  Although they stood out, the only connection we could make for the use of the color white is its association with the word, virgin, or the symbolism of a white wedding dress. Oddly, we were not inclined to buy either brand, because we are conditioned to purchase olive oil in see-through bottles.

Could this be a new trend?  Many national and international brands are re-packaging their websites and products using white as their dominant brand color.  Here are the reasons people are attracted to the color white.

The human eye interprets white as a bright color, which is why white is a good contrast color, and not a neutral.  Symbolically it expresses purity, simplicity, lightness, delicacy, minimalism, and sophistication.

In the case of olive oil brand packaging, do you think this is taking this trend too far? Or, would you be tempted to try either of these brands because of the unique packaging?

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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Are Sneezers Spreading Your Remark-ability?

We all know that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. So, why do some luxury real estate marketing professionals get more than others?  The answer boils down to one word. Those that spark buzz have ‘REMARK-ABILITY”!  

While it has been proven time and again that many more negative remarks are made than positive remarks, it is imperative to understand what triggers people to spread the good word about YOU.  Some people are natural born “sneezers”.  They love to pass along good news or rave reviews about products or services that are remarkable.   Those that broadcast these good vibrations usually reach many people, even their entire sphere of influence, at times.

Remarkable service sparks buzz.  But, that is only the beginning.  Regularly staying in touch with your prospects and your sphere with information that is valuable and truly buzz-worthy also is fodder for sneezers. 

Keep this in mind: It feels good to spread the word about products and services that you value.  Likeminded people usually hang out together.  So, when one sneezer spreads the word to his or her fellow sneezers a chain reaction is ignited. We call this the chain of gain.

Men hate to shave. Women are not crazy about either. When a breakaway technology comes along that can produce a superior, smoother, closer, effortless shave that is fabulous news. Gillette came out with a truly remarkable razor system called, FUSION® PROGLIDE® MANUAL RAZOR WITH FLEXBALL™ TECHNOLOGY.  The cartridge has 5 blades stacked closely together and the mechanics of the razor itself flexes to the contours of your face.  It actually glides. That is remarkable!

And, that is sneezing.  We are delighted to spread the word about remarkable products and services. Sneezers do not need to be bribed or otherwise induced to do this. It is part of being in on the fun as early adopters of new technologies and also discovering great talent or services. 

Deliver remarkable service.  Pass along remarkable information. And, you will gain remark-ability!

 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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Pesto, Pizza & Amore: Does Your Message in Your Posts Evoke Amore?

Plenty of words have been written on the subject of the recent Google edict of writing posts of 1000 words.  As far as we are concerned, it does not matter how many words you use to make a point.  Make it amore (lovable) and memorable!

A post is memorable when it is of interest to the demographics (statistical data relating to the population and groups within it) and the psychographics (the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations and other psychological criteria, especially in market research) of your marketplace. 

Think of it like tuning in to a radio station frequency.  If your target market likes classical music, you would write about all forms of classical music.  You would not discuss rap, jazz, or rhythm and blues.  In order to be follow-worthy to your target market, you have to give them what they are interested in and they will love you.

Those of you working in the luxury arena (top 10% of your marketplace and above $500,000), should know that writing a post on the importance of a prequalifying letter from a lender is mind numbing and illustrates your ignorance, of your marketplace.   If the post were about what is new in kitchen or bathroom fixtures in luxury homes, the readers in this demographic would likely be interested in what you have to say.

In our opinion, brevity is an art.  If you want to understand brevity, pick up Truman Capote’s book, Music for Chameleons. Be sure to read the forward.  In this collection of autobiographical short stories, he set out to use the least possible words to tell his stories, without sacrificing the emotional essence.

A post that is written in a succinct, clear manner is interesting, memorable and follow-worthy, than one that goes on and on about the reasons to hire an agent instead of doing it yourself.  As Einstein once said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

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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Mind Share Marketing: How to Get A Bigger Slice of the Pie

We often hear the same story from agents who want to dominate a niche in their marketplace, but the incumbent market leader intimidates them.  Here is their story: 

“So and so is dominating this area in listings, they have been in the community for years, and they are well connected.  They are not tech savvy.  And, their integrity and competence is questionable.  They take overpriced listings, and spend lavishly on print advertising.  How can I compete?”

What these incumbents have is Mind Share.   And, Mind Share precedes Market Share.  They understand the importance of visibility in their marketplace, as a means of increasing their Mind Share.  

Each marketplace is unique.  Visibility on the web is important in some communities, but it is not the end all solution to achieving high visibility.  Keep in mind that once a consumer has bought or sold their home, they are not focused on real estate.  They are focused on enjoying their lifestyle, and lifestyle is all about the community.

One of our clients in the Napa Valley has a unique form of visibility, which may or may not work in your marketplace.  She has billboards at each entrance into Napa.  When she promoted a client’s listing (who is a car buff), she bought a billboard at Concours d’Elegance, (a prestigious car show) at Pebble Beach and had gift bags for all the attendees.  She sold his home, and gained several buyers in the process.

Maintaining visibility in your community can lead to Mind Share.  The more people who know you and think highly of you in your community, the bigger your slice of the pie.

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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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: How Do I Find My Niche?

As we have been sharing the series on how to dominate your niche, we are getting many comments essentially asking, “How do I Find My Niche?” Here is one aspect to finding one’s niche.

The first one is what we call the broader perspective, as if you were viewing the possibilities from the International Space Station. This is known as outside in thinking, or viewing real estate from the client’s perspective.  From that viewpoint, what is something that is missing in your real estate community? What or where are the needs not being met?   That is known as the under-served marketplace. 

Naturally, this takes time, focus, and dedication:  you have to study the trends, the demographics, and the psycho graphics of your market place, as well as all the current trends and influences of the world at large on your market place.  You have to be well versed in every aspect of what is happening.   This is when the obvious is revealed.  “Nothing is more deceptive than an obvious fact.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes.

If you recall our series on the Lark Restaurant, they looked at what was missing from a restaurant goer’s perspective in the Santa Barbara restaurant scene. They are catering to what was an under served market place. Understanding this concept is what made Cirque du Soleil, Yellow Tail Wines and Apple a resounding success.

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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Follow Up to FOMO Marketing & Pinot Noir: A Personal Perspective

This is a follow up to our recent post on FOMO Marketing. Recently, we visited a winery in our nearby central coast wine country. We tasted their Pinot Noir (“Limited Edition”), Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our favorite was their Limited Edition Pinot, which was absolutely outstanding and fairly priced. 

But, we were told that we had to join their wine club to purchase it, as club members were re-ordering and they did not want to run out.  That tugged at our F.O.M.O (fear of missing out) heartstrings. But, we resisted joining the club, knowing that we would be obligated to purchase more wine that we did not want by doing so.

This experience led us to take a closer look at F.O.M.O. marketing as a tactic in marketing luxury real estate.  Personally, from a logical standpoint, we do not buy into the premise of SCARCITY of anything!  In fact, as consumers, whenever we feel tempted by the knee-jerk reaction of F.O.M.O marketing we head the opposite direction.  We have purposely tested this out and discovered that in every case there was another opportunity just around the corner. Or, we lost interest altogether in what we wanted in the first place.

We believe that scarcity is fundamentally a false premise. For us, at the very core of the luxury mindset is the premise of ABUNDANCE. Stepping back and regaining perspective, there certainly is an abundance of well-priced high quality wine out there. In fact, there is a plethora of fine wine all over the world.

Even when there appears to be a scarcity of luxury real estate on the market, some agents are still doing very well.   To be one of them, you just need a bigger slice of the market that is selling!  But, you may need a better strategy to acquire that business.

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.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: FOMO Marketing & Potatoes!

There are a variety of marketing strategies.  One of these is known as FOMO marketing.  FOMO is the acronym for “FEAR OF MISSING OUT”.  This is a natural human response and one that in our opinion was partially instrumental in building the behemoth we now know as social media.   At the onset, we attended conferences whose speakers noted that the Internet was a river of gold (i.e. business), and all we had to do is join in to pan that gold.

FOMO is what bargain hunters respond to at midnight and early morning sales on Black Friday.  It is based on an illusion of scarcity, necessitating immediate action for fear of losing out.  There is a farmer who sells potatoes at the Santa Barbara Farmers’ market.  He has a sign on the potatoes that says, “these will be gone next week!”  Funny enough, I see them there the following week with the same sign.  In his defense, he does not specify which next week he is referring to.

Flash sales on the luxury end of the spectrum are regularly held by high-end department stores.  A variety of merchandise is offered at steep discounts for several hours, or in some cases during a specified time period, described as “pre-sale”.

Ron and I were invited to an elegant opening with Wolfgang Puck catering the affair.  One of the appetizers-his famous pizza with smoked salmon and sour cream, was the hit of the evening.  The minute it came out of the kitchen, people would ambush the waiter and within seconds it would be gone.  The ones with extreme FOMO stood at the door of the kitchen to get theirs. 

A shortage of inventory in real estate as well as a potential rise in interest rates precipitates a FOMO response.  How can you use FOMO in your luxury real estate marketing strategy, if appropriate?

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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Is Your Brand Package Remarkable & Reflect Your Strategy?

Being at the top of your game as a luxury real estate marketing professional requires being consistently remarkable which includes your presentation materials.  These need to stand out and communicate your identity and its congruency with your target market.

The shopping bag pictured above is from Crabtree & Evelyn, retailer of body and home products based on floral and fruit essences.  Notice the inside lining: fruit and flowers reflecting who they are. Their website is printed on the inside of the bag, a subtle reminder of their web presence.  The outside of the bag is embossed with the name and their crab tree logo.  It is simple, elegant and remarkable.

Is Your Brand Package Remarkable and 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. 

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tips: Spaghetti Marketing: Marketing Your Strengths

In marketing yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional or company, it is important to assess your strengths. This assessment can be used to develop a smart marketing strategy.  Here is an example of spaghetti marketing:

Italy is suffering from a bad economy (2 trillion euro in public debt), and recently The Wall Street Journal reported that the city of Rome is on the verge of bankruptcy.   A savvy entrepreneurial company, Fico Eataly, the food emporium chain, with stores in Rome, New York, and Chicago, has come up with an innovative concept.

Italy’s strengths are: history, culture and cuisine.  Over 48 million visitors spent 32.2 billion dollars in 2012, ranking it as the fifth most popular tourist destination in the world.  How do you capitalize on that?

Eataly is going to develop a food theme park in Bologna, the capital of the Emilia- Romagna region.  Emilia Romagna is known for its many gastronomical achievements such as Parmegiano Reggiano, Proscuitto, Pancetta, and its pasta made with eggs (lasagna a la Bolognese).  It is one of the meccas of Italian cuisine.   It is also known as the home of Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati, Lamborghini, etc.

The city of Bologna is delighted with this idea.  The city administrators have provided 20 acres of land and several unused warehouses, totaling 80,000 square feet for this venture.  This food park would include restaurants, grocery stores, food labs and an aquarium.  Some have dubbed it as the Disneyland of food.

Access your strengths and come up with your own version of spaghetti marketing!

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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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Competitive Edge of Stellar Service

One of the deciding factors in choosing someone to work with in selling or buying luxury real estate by the high net worth or ultra high net worth individuals is stellar service.  This is what creates loyalty and referrals.  Here is an example.

Friday, we started having trouble with receiving email on our iPhones.  Since we are subscribed to Apple Care, Ron called in.  This was a problem that was resolved the first time and popped up again.  Apple had a record of the previous call, and brought in a senior tech to work with Ron on it.  After trying several solutions, which did not work, the tech person suggested that conference with our email provider, together.  When they did the wait was too long, and they decided to table it to Saturday morning, since we had dinner plans.

Saturday morning, the Apple tech called Ron.  Together, they talked to our email provider, and found out what could resolve the problem.  By process of elimination we come up with a work around after ruling out many variables.  After three hours of patient and fun tech support, it turned out that the email service provider is not up to speed yet with Apple’s latest technology. 

We cannot imagine Apple’s competitors reaching this level of quality of service consistently any time soon.  How can you achieve stellar service in your luxury real estate practice?

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.

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: So Five Minutes Ago?

It is said that the only people who like change are babies.  In the last two decades, the new technological advances have disrupted what once seemed to be the order of things.  In marketing luxury real estate or anything else, change is a constant. 

With the rapid means of communication via the Internet, we are aware that we constantly need to reformulate or refresh in order to adapt, (you snooze, you loose).  The experts tell you that yesterday’s marketing plan is so five minutes ago.   How do we stay sane and ready to adapt?

Focus on the fundamentals that represent a constant.  In luxury real estate marketing, the most important fundamental of success is impeccable communication. It is creating an ideal working relationship that gets the desired outcome.  It is only then, that you decide on the latest and greatest technological advance not because everyone says it works, but because it works for your marketplace.

For instance, many experts have insisted that print advertising in real estate is a waste of money.  However, there are many marketplaces where the target market has the paper delivered to them, read the real estate section, or pick up magazines to view the latest listings on the market.  So don’t tell those people that print advertising is so five minutes ago!

In life, we all have fundamental values that we enjoy living with, where we dismiss the technology.  Many enjoy reading books in print, rather than downloading them to their tablet reader, or shopping in stores to feel the fabric and see the colors of clothes they buy, rather than shopping on line.  This is what works for many, their fundamentals of life style.  It may be so five minutes ago for some, but not for others.

As a child living with my grandparents, I remember how every morning my grandfather would wind his pocket watch that sat on his desk.  Although he had a wristwatch, this pocket watch was his favorite timepiece, pictured above.  It was his grandfather’s given to him when he was child.  If he was alive today, I am sure he would wind it everyday, even if he had the latest timepiece.  For him, it would not be so five minutes ago.

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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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: "Tire-d" or Original Content Marketing?

                 

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to understand what effective content marketing means.   Google’s new algorithm, Hummingbird, is trying to assess the meaning contained in its users’ search queries and match that meaning to the most authoritative content on the web.  That is why "original" and not "tire-d" content marketing is here to stay.

It is more important now than ever to understand the mindset of your target market.  Knowing what their most pressing needs, their lifestyle and their values are should be the guiding principles for the content you publish expressly for them.  It is true that content is king as long as it is “original” (not what everyone knows or writes about)  that rates today.  This content is geared to the audience you are targeting in your luxury real estate practice.

When you write a localism post it is important to give it a point of view rather than just stating the facts, which can be easily found elsewhere.  Your point of view is what makes it “original”, it is old and tire-d". 

Here is an example:  In 1900, Michelin the tire maker published a book for travelers.  It included maps, their recommendations for accommodations, auto service, and restaurants.  These were given away free.  Today, the Michelin has evolved into a prestigious guidebook to the world’s travel locations sold worldwide.  A mere mention in their restaurant guidebook can assure a restaurant a continuous flow of business. 

Does your content marketing really meet  the needs of your target market?

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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Luxury Real Estate Branding Tips: Define What You Stand For!

In branding and marketing yourself as a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to declare what you stand for.  The optimal way to do that is to state it in a clear straightforward manner. People like doing business with people who are like themselves. Your statement of what you stand for can often be the deciding factor when it comes to choosing one agent/company over another.

Last week, on a recommendation from our local wine guru, we purchased the above-pictured bottle of wine.  Had our friend not recommended it, we would not have necessarily purchased it based on the label.  The word “effort” for us evokes the connotation of spinning one’s wheels and going nowhere.  Perhaps, the arrow in the brand meant that they actually had a direction.

In looking at their website, we understood the brand and the thought that went into producing this wine.  The first two sentences told the story: “There is nothing expedient in our winemaking approach.  We embrace the detailed labor-intensive methods that are required to produce the finest wines.”

Imagine if that concept could have been stated in just a few words on the label, we would have reached for that bottle without a recommendation. 

What do you stand for and how can you state it in just a few 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. 

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There Are Riches in Niches: Sign Up for the Webinar

We are honored that Active Rain is hosting this exciting presentation and hope you can attend!

--Ron & Alexandra

WATCH THE 2 MINUTE WEBINAR PREVIEW

  

 

There Are Riches in Niches - Developing a Niche for Your Business 
FEBRUARY 20, at 10AM (Pacific Time)
Join ActiveRain Community Evangelist Bob Stewart as he hosts Ron and Alexandra Seigel, managing partners of Napa Consultants, International for this special class on selecting and marketing to a niche. 

In this webinar we will learn: 
*How to pick the right niche for YOU
*How to harness the power of focus through niche marketing
*How to out-think your competition and achieve top-of-mind status in your niche
*How to strike the right balance between high tech and high touch in your niche
*How Ron and Alexandra have put this into practice to dominate their niche, helping luxury real estate professionals gain or sustain market leadership

Ron and Alexandra have a vast background in consulting agents and brokers on how to dominate a niche. Their particular specialty is the luxury homes market but the lessons learned here can and should be applied to any niche that you hope to dominate. 
We hope you can join us for this informative hour and we expect you'll walk away eager to dominate your own niche! 

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 COMMUNTIY 

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Luxury Real Estate Branding Tips: Why and How StandOuts Thrive #2

In Part 1, of this series we identified that the first course of action to be a standout as a luxury real estate marketing professional is to identify an under-served market niche.  The Lark Restaurant identified a huge underserved market of Santa Barbara Foodies.

The second course of action is to study and understand the mindset of your niche.  Understanding Foodies helped Lark create their brand strategy. It influenced the look and feel of the brand, the restaurant’s ambience, as well as the appropriate location in the city of Santa Barbara.

The Foodies mindset (their psycho-graphics and lifestyle) has at least two subsets.  For instance, there are those who frequent Certified Organic Farmers markets when they cook at home. This subset may differ from those who simply enjoy fine dining and dine out frequently. Both, however, may promote “farm-to-table” dining at local restaurants.

Studying the psycho-graphics of your target market enables you to connect on a deep emotional level with your ideal customers. Another psycho-graphic subset of The Lark’s customers could be classified as innovators, open-minded, adventurers who enjoy the latest and great, the hip and modern.

For that reason, The Lark chose the Funk Zone, for their location.  The Funk Zone is an industrial area of Santa Barbara.  It has a sophisticated urban feel mixed with the slow lifestyle of a beach city resulting in an enticing experience that represents the new and innovative spirit of Santa Barbara.

The industrial building that they occupy is warm and inviting. Some of the outstanding features that we love are the exposed ceilings, the sandblasted brick walls, the oriental rugs on the concrete floor and the copper chandeliers that were specifically made for them.

Are you studying the psycho-graphics of your ideal clients so you can make a strong emotional connection with them?

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 COMMUNTIY 

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain & Twitter

Luxury Real Estate Branding Tips: Does Your Brand Work ?

We are always amused when an individual or company peruses our portfolio of luxury real estate branding and website design asks us: "Which one of these designs are your favorites?"  Invariably our answer is all of them, because our goal is to represent the individual or company, as well as their marketplace.   

What is design?  We like Steve Jobs' words on the subject: "Design is a funny word.  Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." 

So how does a brand work?  A brand has to resonate with the target market by standing out in the sea of sameness, and fit like a glove based on one's personal preferences.  A brand is developed based on a fundamental strategy that, if consistently applied will bring top of mind status.  So, the criteria is: Does the brand work to accelerate the pace at which you achieve this result?

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 COMMUNTIY 

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain & Twitter

Luxury Real Estate F.A.Q's: How Do I Break Into Luxury Real Estate?#3

This post is Part 3 on the subject of FAQ's, how to break into Luxury Real Estate. The subject is MONEY.  Be prepared to invest your marketing dollars wisely.  Don't be cheap.  It is OK to be wise, which is different than being cheap.  To a luxury buyer or seller, cheap is a REPELLENT.

Many think that what they immediately need to invest in is a luxury car and a premier designer wardrobe.  That in our opinion is thinking you can dance with the American Ballet Theatre, because you bought an expensive wardrobe of tutus and toe shoes.  

Here is where you should be investing your dollars, which is different than buying or leasing a car, or buying a wardrobe, which will be out of date next season.

Your first approach should be to develop a strategy of HOW to get your target market to know you exist.

Secondly, you have to know your competition, and how you have something of value to offer that they are not offering.  Don't get caught up in the trap of competing on features or qualities, such as integrity, experience, certifications...anyone can get certified and should have integrity to be in the business in the first place.

Finally, identify what is different and FRESH about you...That is your unique selling proposition.  Identify what you stand for, who you are as a business person/or company based on your core values, and create a graphic representation based on that.  Make sure you stand out from everyone out there!  These three steps represent a long-term investment.

One of our clients decided fresh out of getting her license that she wanted to break into to the luxury real estate market. She had made several real estate investments that paid off for her.  She also had business experience in launching a line of clothing, which she sold. Given her experience she was well versed in the language of luxury.

Her first investment was to develop her brand strategy and brand identity.  Secondly, she had a friend who had two luxury cars, and was willing to let her use his spare car as long as she paid the insurance on it. Thirdly, she studied fashion, talked to personal shoppers at the best stores who were willing to let her know when something was on sale.  

In six months of consistently applying her strategy, she earned enough commission income to be able to buy a  home in her preferred community, and the car she always wanted.  After an excellent run, she retired in splendor. 

 Part1 & Part 2

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 COMMUNTIY 

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain & Twitter