Luxury Real Estate Branding: Empower Your Silent Salesperson

photo by Shawn Lipowski

Venus de Milo in the Louvre,aka Aphrodite de Milo

Considered One of the Finest Examples of Classic Greek Sculpture

How important is aesthetics in presenting your luxury real estate marketing services? The answer is: very important. In fact, aesthetics represents an entire branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste. The aesthetics of visual presentation can be your “silent salesperson” and play a much bigger part than you may realize in the success of your luxury real estate practice.

There is a whole psychology of color alone; certain colors evoke very predictable emotional responses and personal values judgments of sentiment and taste. That means you can connect with your target market on a deep emotional level by incorporating the right aesthetics in your personal or company brand. What are the right aesthetics? The right graphic images are those images that represent your authentic brand.

If you neglect this essential component of brand strategy you are missing an extraordinary opportunity and you are vulnerable to potential competition. We live in a new online world where you have a nano-second to make a strong first impression and engage your website visitors through the emotional connection of aesthetics.

Think of walking down Madison Avenue in New York or any major retail street in cosmopolitan cities that feature luxury stores. Window displays must grab the attention of potential customers or they just walk on by. Now, think of the speed at which a website visitor, with a single click of their mouse, can move on to your competitor’s site.

So much attention has been paid to driving traffic to your website. You may be spending considerable time and money to get potential buyers and seller there. But, are you engaging them with the power of aesthetics when they arrive?

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Leaving the Plastic Flamingo Flock Behind!

Imagination and creativity is one of the cornerstones of a successful luxury real estate marketing practice. Imitation and luxury really do not belong together. Too often we see luxury real estate professionals copying the branding or marketing strategies of their closest competitors and forgoing the competitive advantage of being original and authentic. It becomes a case of the hot pink plastic flamingo!

One of the most beautiful birds on our planet is the flamingo. This brightly colored bird caught the imagination of Don Featherstone who designed a plastic hot pink flamingo as a lawn ornament, sold in pairs (one upright the other feeding.) This plastic creation was awarded the “Ig-Nobel Prize for Art (a parody of the Nobel Prize). Plastic pink flamingos have become part of the American pop culture. Original Featherstone’s are marked as such on the bird’s underside.

American Flamingo, Photo by Fritz Geller Grimm

However, copy cats swarmed in and reproduced the flamingos in mass. This caught the imagination of students at the University of Wisconsin who “flamingoed” (the verb) a hill near their campus with over 1000 plastic flamingos on the first day of classes one year. Their prank sparked similar episodes around the country.

Plastic flamingos are now considered in the art world as kitsch. " Kitsch is a German word denoting art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value."

Authenticity in personal branding will strike the right chord with your ideal clients. Phoniness will repel them like plastic pink flamingos. It is not that there isn’t a market for these hollow birds. It is just a question of knowing who you are and who you want to attract.

Is your personal brand original or is it kitsch?

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Authenticity vs. Masquerade in Luxury Real Estate Personal Branding

Authenticity is perhaps the most important concept in personal branding for luxury real estate marketing professionals. Without authenticity, you live in a masquerade. What is at stake if you forego authenticity? Quite simply, it is your own happiness.

Recently, Andre Agassi published an autobiography in which he admitted to be caught up in a masquerade. He was forced by his father, who recognized his extraordinary talent, to become a champion in a game that Agassi would come to hate. In his recent TV interview it was obvious that he suffered a life of quiet desperation during the time when his brand was perceived as being the “rock star of tennis”. Canon, the camera company, capitalized on his brand image of being a rebel (which was the brand name of one of their models).

Reactions have been mixed from his contemporaries and fans. Resentments have been expressed by some. At the root of these resentments is the feeling of having been duped by Agassi’s charade.

Many people might say that this is a sign of the times. But, there is a deeper lesson to be learned, which is what Agassi, the staunch supporter of education, is now trying to tell the world. That is, there may be much to gain by living a fake existence, but in the long run it is your own happiness itself that is at stake.

As brand strategists, it is our job to assist our clients to drill down to their core identity, identify what is truly important to them, what they stand for, what their genuine values are, not the values of others. Only then can you make explicit, in the form of a graphic representation and a genuine marketing message, the authentic personal brand.

We ask our clients what they can do better than anyone else in their marketplace. But, they also must be truly passionate about doing it. An authentic pursuit cannot be one based on seeking the admiration of one’s father or the crowd at large.

It was only when Agassi admitted to himself that he was caught up in a masquerade that he shaved his head and discontinued wearing a wig (his mask). He chose tennis on his own terms and became passionate about the game. No one can minimize his extraordinary accomplishments. But, the best accomplishment of all was choosing an authentic life.

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Attract More High Net Worth Clients with Abbondanza! -the Abundant State of Mind

The most successful luxury real estate marketing professionals have understood and acquired a mindset that matches the general state of mind of their typical clients. As a result, they attract more high net worth clients than their competitors do. That way of thinking can be summed up in a single word that sounds even better in Italian than it does in English: ABBONDANZA! (Abundance)

The holiday of Thanksgiving is a celebration of abundance at harvest time that is often symbolized with a cornucopia, the horn of plenty or harvest cone. Here in Santa Barbara, California we are surrounded by agriculture and are thus very fortunate to have a Farmer’s Market six days a week, all year long.

This time of year is particularly exceptional. The market is overflowing with colorful organic fruits and vegetables that are truly a feast for the eyes. Shrimp and Pacific lobster, caught right off the coast, near the Channel Islands, is also abundant this time of year and sold at the market. Just walking through the market and appreciating the profusion of bright, multi-hued flowers can send you into a state of abbondanza.

Evidence of abundance is all around us if we take the time to appreciate it. Have you ever just stopped to appreciate having hot and cold running water and water that is safe to drink? We often take it for granted. Have you ever noticed the ever present power that runs everything in our homes including our computers? How do you feel when there is a power outage?

Here are some fun musings about the abbondanza mindset and the cornucopia:

Did you know that a cornucopian is a futurist who believes that continued progress and provision of material items for mankind can be met by similarly continued advances in technology?

In Greek mythology Zeus was raised by a goat and accidently broke one of its horns. Feeling bad, Zeus returned her horn with supernatural powers that would give whoever possesses it whatever he or she wants.

Perhaps that is what defines the abbondanza mindset of affluent consumers: They expect to get what they want. They are more optimistic than pessimistic. If you want to attract more high net worth clients, isn’t it worth getting yourself in the abbondanza state of mind? All it takes is the time to appreciate the abundance that is already in your life. You do not need to wait for Thanksgiving!

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Secret Advantage of Being The Popular Choice

The advantage to being top of mind, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, in your marketplace is getting the lion’s share of the business. There is also a secret advantage of being the popular choice. Although, Cherry Garcia ice cream, from Ben & Jerry's, has many raving fans vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream are by far the favorite choices with vanilla winning hands down as "most popular".

Ranking top of mind in luxury branding is even more important that ranking #1 on a Google search, because the overwhelming majority of affluent consumers rely on referrals from friends, family and colleagues when choosing products and services. Any real estate agent with enough funds can hire a search engine optimization expert to help him or her secure the #1 position in a Google search query. But, will the website visitor who clicks through the top listing actually hire the top ranking agent on Google at the end of the day if they are not accomplished and competent--or popular?

There is a lesser known factor that influences the choices of high net worth consumers when selecting a luxury real estate marketing professional. That is, taking into consideration what others will think of them based on the agent they select. While some consumers are “inner-referred”, meaning that they rely on their own judgment more so than others, a significant number of people care more about what others think of them. The “outer-referred” consumer will bypass their gut instincts (and taste buds if they prefer Jerry Garcia) just to look good in the eyes of their peers, neighbors or family (who prefer vanillla).

Have you ever been in a restaurant when the server suggests a menu item and adds, “This is a very popular choice”? Studies have shown that when it comes to choosing brands of food to serve at a party the host will purchase the “popular choice”, e.g., Coke vs.. Pepsi even if the host prefers the taste of a generic brand that is cheaper.

To summarize, if you want to gain or sustain market leadership you need to stand out and achieve “top of mind” status for three important reasons: 1) most potential referral sources can only remember a few brand names (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) when asked for a recommendation for a luxury real estate agent ( see more detail on this); 2) Top of mind generates more leads than qualified search engine leads because affluent consumers rely on personal referrals more than Google, and; 3) The popular choice is a hidden influence in selecting an agent

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Luxury Real Estate Branding: Connecting through Emotional Branding

As a luxury real estate professional, it is important that your brand resonates emotionally with your target market. If you strike an emotional chord with potential clients and referral sources they will remember you much better especially if you tell a compelling story. Here are two example of what Pepsi has done to reach its target audience on an emotional level. One works better than the other.

This commercial is very funny, but did it connect with the people who are viewing it? Will they go out and be moved to buy Pepsi next time, because they identify with this story? Are there enough young people in ashrams practicing martial arts?

In contrast, this second commercial, produced a few years back, hits a bull’s eye. It also has a humorous side to it. However, it makes a strong emotional connection with its audience. Music is an important part of the lives of teens and young adult. This story also speaks to adults who grew up in the sixties and are still young at heart.

Do you remember the Pepsi slogan: “Come Alive—you are in the Pepsi Generation? Pepsi out-sells Coke in the younger demographic. They need to stay firmly on this sweet spot to continue this trend. The first commercial was nebulous about this important brand position which needs to be communicated and amplified with laser sharp precision in order to strike the right emotional chord.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Finding Leads in Closets

How is your return on investment based on the time you have spent with online social networking from a business perspective? Here is a very specific and focused application of online networking that cuts through the confusion and can yield outstanding measurable results.

In luxury real estate marketing, there is an important difference between professional networking and social networking. It is true that social networking can yield referrals. But, professional networking with synergistic non-competitive professionals within your marketplace is more deliberate and focused when it comes to generating business faster.

Here is an example. In your marketplace, are there any luxury homes with pools? Doesn’t it make sense to meet the heads of the most successful pool maintenance companies in your area? How about taking the heads of the companies that design and install custom closets to lunch? Think of potential home sellers and buyers who reside in their address books! These professionals are looking for more business too, and you may be able to introduce them to your contacts, as well.

Business networking has been around since commerce began. The more non-competitive professionals you know the more potential referrals you get, and give. This may sound simple, but it is extremely important because it is easy to lose sight of the fundamentals with all of the hoopla of social networking. Take the internet out of the picture for a moment and consider this: Who you know has always been key factor in your success.

So, if increasing the number of quality professional contacts you have is a major key to success doesn’t it make sense to spend more time developing more professional relationships in a focused way, giving more referrals, and staying in contact with your sphere of influence consistently?

Bring the internet back in the picture. Can you see how using tools like Linked In for professional networking can exponentially increase the number of potential referral sources you have and actually save you time? It is simply a matter of focusing on finding and developing great relationships with more professionals within your local market.

Now that you are getting measurable results from deliberate professional online networking, have a field day on social networking sites. Without the pressure of monetary expectations you probably with spontaneously generate referrals from all the new friends you meet.

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