Luxury Real Estate Branding: Branding is Like the Wizard of Oz

The most common misconception that luxury real estate marketing professionals have about personal and company branding is that it is as simple as creating a new look. Given that the average age of most real estate websites is five years old (35 years old in internet years) , a new look can be helpful. But, your brand will not become your “silent salesperson” if it does not reflect your entire package--the soul of your brand.

To quickly grasp the vital importance of what we mean by the soul of your brand, consider the classic story of the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy wanted to get back home. The Scarecrow wanted brains. The Tin Man wanted a heart and the Cowardly Lion wanted courage.

Your personal or company brand must have brains. Your knowledge of your marketplace, your negotiating skills, and your educational background are all logical reasons to do business with you.

Your brand needs a heart. These are the emotional reasons to do business with you. What you stand for, what you value most, what you are passionate about: all of these things must be reflected in your brand.

Although, your superior marketing savvy must be reflected in your brand both intellectually and emotionally it is your courage to be different, to be distinct from your competition and to stand out from the crowd that is the soul of a market leader.

But, the most important aspect of your brand must be authenticity. That was Dorothy’s quest: to get back home. If you are not “at home” with yourself, if you are not totally comfortable within your brand because it does not reflect who you really are, you will not attract your ideal clients. Ideal clients are people like you who recognize that you are a match faster because you exposed and expressed your brain, your heart and your courage within your brand.

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Happy Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving. Painting by Jean Gerome Ferris

Once again we are at that time of the year that we take a break and celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. It is one of our favorite holidays because we pause to notice everything we are thankful for, and draw strength and pleasure as we reflect on the world around us. This is also our moment to thank all the readers of the LOL Blog. We especially appreciate your comments and discussions.

We wish you and your loved ones a very happy Thanksgiving.

Cheers to your continued success!

Ron and Alexandra Seigel

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Reputation Outperforms Google Ranking

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is even more important to be the Google of your marketplace (the first to come to mind) than it is to rank #1 on a Google search results page. The world famous restaurant, Lawry’s –The Prime Rib, in Beverly Hills, California, over 70 years old, exemplifies this essential principle of branding. You may not have been to one of Lawry’s restaurants (now with multiple locations around the world), but you may recognize the ubiquitous Lawry’s Seasoning Salt brand found in most markets in the US today.

Growing up in West Los Angeles, Ron was fortunate to be a close friend of a granddaughter of the Lawrence Frank family. The family still owns the restaurants to this day (they sold the condiments business several years ago). Their first restaurant opened in 1938. For many years it was unique among restaurants because they just featured one entrée on their menu: standing rib roast. This was their uncontested market niche. Many restaurants copy their style, but Lawry’s still does it better than any other restaurant. And, their passion is palpable.

In 1953 Lawry’s added something special. Their menu claimed to be "the first to feature a green salad as an integral part of every meal." The salad bowl is placed on a bed of ice and spun by the server while she shakes the bottle of salad dressing and ceremoniously pours it into the bowl from about two to feet above the bowl. This ritual is a unique part the restaurant’s brand identity, in the same way that consistently and promptly, answering emails and phone calls can be a part of yours.

In 1956 just prior to the playing of the 1957 Rose Bowl Game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Iowa Hawkeyes, Lawry's entertained the two competing teams. This started an annual tradition of hosting a prime rib dinner for both of the teams bound for the Rose Bowls. By the early 1960s, the event had become known as the "Lawry's Beef Bowl." It is often covered by the media.

If you Google “prime rib restaurant in Los Angeles” all ten search results on page one refer to Lawry’s -The Prime Rib. They do not have an SEO strategy. The 9 results that follow their number one ranking on page one are all social media/restaurant reviews citing Lawry’s as the best prime rib restaurant in town. Lawry’s does not have a social media strategy. What they do have is an impeccable reputation and the mind share of the market leader. They occupy the #1 place in the minds of their target market: Prime rib lovers.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Creating Customer Loyalty Offline

We are often asked by luxury real estate marketing professionals for some low cost, off-line vs. online, marketing strategies that produce high impact marketing results, especially client loyalty. We like to encourage our readers and our clients to think about what makes them loyal customers and clients of other professionals. Here are some ideas along those lines.

Recently we visited our local produce market. They often carry items that we cannot find in the outdoor Farmer’s Market. There was a sign posted at the entrance encouraging customers to bring their own bags. They launched a new initiative to contribute a nickel to one of four local charities when you save them the cost of a paper or plastic bag. When you check out they give you a ticket to place in one of the four boxes associated with the charity of your choice.

Many times you see a box at the checkout stand for a particular charity where you can deposit your coins or dollars. But, it is usually a national charity, not a local community charity such as the Girl’s Club, the local food bank, etc. There is something so wonderful about being able to simultaneously contribute to the environment (recycling bags) and also to a local cause here. It makes you feel good about yourself and about the store, thus generating customer loyalty. What was the price of our loyalty? It was five cents!

Later, the same day we purchased a hair care product from a local pharmacy. There are many choices in our neighborhood to find the same product. In fact there are many branches of the same company in our area. On this day, when we checked out, the clerk noticed that a coupon was available for the product we purchased and proceeded to cut it out of the paper for us. It saved us two dollars and made us feel very good about shopping at that particular store again. What was the price of our loyalty? It was zero—just 30 seconds more of customer care!

What are some of the ways your local stores and services are winning you over as loyal customers? What are some of the ways you can engender client loyalty at zero or next to no cost?

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Jumping Off the Internet and Jumping On Your High Horse

Grace Sabeh, Executive Homes Realty, in jump competition

The mantra these days for luxury real estate marketing and real estate marketing in general is: focus your marketing on the internet. However, luxury real estate marketing professional should think about other venues of marketing. Your target market is not on the internet 24/7, and they do participate in all kinds of activities besides surfing the net. How about sponsoring a luxury event, in your marketplace? Here are two examples of event marketing. One is famous luxury brand that is thinking strategically in a time when retailers and luxury brands are cutting back their budgets. The other is a market leading luxury real estate professional who followed a hunch with event marketing that paid off very well, indeed.

The Luxury Brand

Hermes is one of the finest luxury brands known for their uncompromising craftsmanship. They started as a saddle shop in Paris in 1837. Because of their exquisite work and their royal clientele, they became known as the “saddle makers of kings.” Since then they have expanded into fashion, lifestyle and home products.

Recently they announced their return to their equestrian beginnings by sponsoring an equestrian event and competition. This is a revival of the first jumping event that was originally held in the Grand Palais in 1901. The event drew the fashionable crowds of Paris and its environs. By 1957, interest waned and the event was discontinued. Now, by sponsoring Saut Hermès (saut means jump) they are strategically placing themselves in plain view of their target market. No doubt, they will issue a limited scarf edition that will honor the event. This will help to reacquaint existing customers with Hermes’ equestrian roots and reaffirm their loyalty to the Hermès brand. Additionally, Hermès has become involved with a horse race held every summer in Deauville, as well as with an international dressage competition Equita’Lyon, held in Lyon, France.

The Luxury Real Estate Agent

One of our clients listed a home owned by a car collector. Based on the design of the home, the ideal buyer would also a collector. As a strategic move, she rented a billboard that showcased the home at the prestigious Concours D’Elegance car event in Pebble Beach, California, where her target market would be a captive audience. She not only sold the home to an attendee of the event but she also attracted several leads for other sales.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Is It Worth It?

Photo by Jorge Barros

In staying up to date with the new theories of luxury marketing in the global economic downturn, it seems to us that there is a denial, among the purveyors of luxury goods and services, about how consumers are now viewing luxury. The same holds true, in many cases, with sellers of luxury real estate. As we read the various reports and the advice from industry pundits, we are struck by the level of delusion that continues to characterize the industry. Many home sellers are refusing to price their homes in line with current consumer demand.

In retail, some advisors say, “Do not lower prices of luxury goods and services”. The fear is that this may tarnish the brand’s reputation. In the perfume industry, one solution is to sell perfume in smaller bottles, giving consumers the illusion of lowering prices. Have you noticed that store bought coffee usually comes in 12 once bags these days instead of 1 pound bags?

The hospitality industry is also attempting to maintain their prices while adding incentives such as food and spa credits which effectively lower the rate of the rooms. Consumers are not jumping at either offer.

The high end consumer is rejoicing at all the sales. Finding bargains has become a badge of honor. Waiting for items to go on sale has become a new national pastime. Most importantly, consumers are beginning to ask these important questions: Is this item worth it? Do I really need it? Do I have to have it at this price?

As soon as more homebuyers wake up to the new perception of value in the luxury realm, more luxury real estate marketing professionals will start to see significant momentum in their sales.

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Luxury Real Estate Luxury Marketing: Redefining the World of Luxury

Denali mountain aka Mt.McKinley national park service photo

As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is very important to tune into the new psycho graphic trends and changes that luxury consumers are exhibiting during current market conditions. Understanding the mindset of all-cash buyers, in particular is now an imperative. They are the ones who determine the purchase prices in today’s market. Aligning the thinking of your sellers with these viable prospects can significantly increase your volume of business.

Have you noticed that the price of name brand shoes from Italy have increased in price faster than changes in the exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro and also faster than increases in the cost of living itself? Assuming for the sake of this discussion that the cost of labor, materials, marketing and other cost are held constant over the past several years, where is the extra value coming from?

These and many similar questions are now being asked by affluent consumers who are re-examining their own personal values when it comes to purchasing luxury goods and services.

We recently attended the NAR conference in San Diego, California and came away with an interesting insight inspired by an agent from Fairbanks, Alaska. She mentioned that the highest priced luxury homes in her town are selling in the low $400Ks. Her personal residence, a six wooded acre estate with a spectacular view of the Denali mountain range is valued at $200K. And, the market is active, contrary to other markets in the US.

In Alaska you cannot get away with sub par construction given the rigors of the climate. Construction costs are certainly not less than in California, for example, and labor costs are higher because the labor pool is limited.

Clearly, luxury is value added to basic costs of manufacturing (and land n the case of real estate) which makes it completely subjective. Like all-cash buyers consumers therefore, are beginning to realize that they dictate the terms of the value added rather than sellers now that there is an abundance of choices. In our previous market we had a false condition of scarcity that was fueled by the competition of easy money and the ensuing escalation of unrealistically inflated prices. The inflated false value was non-sustentative. And, this is what consumers are now re-evaluating.

A top agent in downtown San Diego sold a high-rise condo unit, with sensational views that are permanently unobstructed, listed at $1.2M two years ago, for half price. This all cash buyer determined the value despite the developer’s insistence that there should be a premium of $50K per story, arguing that the higher the floor, the more value it can command. Was there actually value added between that floor and the one above? Consumers now make that value call as they redefine luxury on their own terms.

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