Monday, November 28, 2011

Marketing Luxury Real Estate: What Are You Trying to Say?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important that you get your marketing message laser sharp. You must speak to your target market in a language that they understand using words that resonate precisely with their mindset. The faster you can communicate your extraordinary promise of value in a way that addresses their most pressing needs the quicker they will want to do business with you.

Apart from referrals, open houses and yard signs, your website is the place where most consumers discover you for the first time. Does your website instantly communicate who you are, how you are different and how you stand out from your competition? Think of your website as a retail store. Does your site compel people to walk in to discover more?

We walked by the window of the Louis Vuitton store in Santa Barbara, California on Thanksgiving weekend, one of the most important weekends of the year for retailers. After “scratching our heads”, wondering what this was all about we just had to take a photo and write this post about messaging.

You can see what we saw in the window depicted above. An elephant doing an “hand stand” on a plank that is balanced on a ball with a designer purse on the opposite end of the plank lifting the elephant. What message does convey to you? Does it make you want to enter the store to shop? Does it make you want to buy that particular item? To whom are they attempting to communicate?

Unless this store is a destination for you because you already know the brand and you intend to shop there for the Holidays, this is a huge missed opportunity to draw in new customers. Window design is an art form in luxury retail stores throughout Europe. With so much competition for attention you only have seconds to capture the the attention of prospective customers. How can you expect to increase sales if you cannot draw customers in the store in the first place.

The same applies to marketing luxury real estate and to marketing YOU. Get your messaging spot on and you will dramatically see an increase fin the number of prospects that convert to clients and sales.

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Monday, November 21, 2011

50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Channel Island Region, CA

We began this article series on 50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA in Santa Barbara, California and its adjacent wine country, the Santa Ynez Valley. But, the Santa Barbara Region is only one of the four regions that comprise California’s Central Coast which begins just north of Los Angeles and Malibu (and just south of Santa Barbara) in an area called the Channel Island Region. The other two Central Coast Regions (north of Santa Barbara) are San Luis Obispo (known for the Hearst Castle) and Monterey (famous for Carmel, Big Sur and Pebble Beach). By far, the least known hidden gem of California’s Central Coast is the Channel Island Region, home to the coastal cities of Ventura and Oxnard.

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Practical Luxury

We often hear that time is money. Having time to enjoy the good things in life is a luxury. Yet, sometimes we are lured by lower prices or special offers, thinking we are saving money, when doing so can actually waste time. Sometimes, paying more seems impractical. But, think again! Think about the concept of practical luxury. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, how much is your hour worth?

Have you ever been offered a dollar to complete a survey that takes 10 minutes of your time? That means that your time is worth only $6 per hour. At a new upscale shopping center we were offered $10 to complete a survey that only took 3 minutes. That equated to $200 per hour--a much better return on our time spent, especially for effortless work. But, the key here is to stay focused on what your time is worth.

With gas prices skyrocketing, many are lured by gas stations wars. Depicted here are two gas stations catty corner from each other. Union 76 always has lower prices than its competitor, Chevron, across the street. The majority of time, the owner of Union 76 is directing traffic around the narrow pump aisles, making sure that everyone is on the correct side of the pump. At peak times, people are lined up to fill up while their engines are still running.

At the Chevron station there is no wait whatsoever. There are more pumps and wider aisles for easy access. What is your time worth while you are waiting to save a couple of bucks? If your car uses premium gasoline you are spending $2.00 more per fill up of 20 gallons. However, you are quickly in and out of the gas station. You can get to where you are going quicker and in a better mood. Now that is practical luxury! Are you worth it?

The best luxury real estate marketing professionals thoroughly understand the mindset of their clients and target market. This nuance of practical luxury can give you an insight as to why some affluent people do not bother to comparison shop. While, there are those who became affluent because of a very frugal mindset. Neither is better. Some just value their time in different ways.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: No-Tech Marketing

No-Tech marketing can pack a bigger wallop than internet marketing. As a luxury real estate marketing professional it is important to have a balance of high-tech and no-tech marketing, as part of your strategy to achieve top-of-mind status in your marketplace. Here are two examples.

Gelson's Market Santa Barbara

Gelson’s Markets like many other markets or food specialty stores in the USA prepares a takeout Thanksgiving dinner. You can order in accordance to the number of people you are hosting. The dinner is complete with hors d’oeuvres, side dishes and dessert. Additionally, they will suggest the perfect wines for the occasion. This season, they added no-tech marketing to their promotion. Last Saturday you could come to the store between the hours of 11AM to 2PM, to sample an entire Thanksgiving meal, without wine.

Williams Sonoma-Santa Barbara

Williams Sonoma had a special sale on all the cookware, accessories, and foods one may need to prepare a gourmet Thanksgiving dinner. This included their special cranberry relish, gravy, spices and more. You can even sign up for free cooking classes this week on how to make Thanksgiving easier. During the classes, their chefs will be demonstrating time saving techniques.

The net result in both cases is increased good will and customer loyalty which, in the long term will pay off handsomely for both stores. How can you implement no-tech marketing in your luxury real estate marketing strategy?

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Monday, November 14, 2011

50 Top Luxury Real Estate Markets in the USA: Park City/Deer Valley

Robert Redford founded the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in 1979. Since then it has grown to become the largest film festival for independent film makers in the world. Two years later Deer Valley opened. This grand ski resort was destined to became a 2002 Winter Olympics venue site. It was also honored by Ski Magazine as the #1 ski resort in North America for an unprecedented five straight years including 2012. For this article, we asked the top agents here why the Park City/ Deer Valley resort town has emerged not only as a great place to vacation but also to live.

deer valley summer

view the beautiful homes in Deer Valley Park City

Park City is considered to be one of the safest communities in the United States. According to Diane Rinehart, “It is a real town with real people; that’s what you want from a second home--you want it to be a home. It’s a small town where you feel you can make a difference”

With a population of under 10,000 people, Park City has a generosity of spirit that is unsurpassed. According to Dena Flemming, “There are over 100 non-profit organizations here. This is a place where second home owners want to participate in the community; it is not just a place to see and be seen”.

Although Park City/Deer Valley is known for having the “greatest snow on earth”, Tyler Richardson says, “The locals will tell you that our summers are far superior to our winters. We are truly a year-round resort with exquisite golf courses, mountain biking, blue ribbon fly fishing and boating”. There is a saying in Park City that sums it up, “I came for the winter; I stayed for the summer”.

Tyler, and his mother/business partner, Peg Marty, specialize in marketing both ski-in/ski-out properties in Deer Valley and gentleman ranches-equestrian properties just outside of town.Peg comments that “this is one of the few places where you can enjoy the year-round ski town lifestyle while owning fee simple, (privately held) property in town, in a rural setting and also on the mountain next to the lifts”.

Ann MacQuoid says, “The summer is all about recreation during the day and entertaining under the stars; it’s light until 10pm. At night there is something for everyone, from dining at one of 17 Zagat rated restaurants, to cocktail boat cruises on the Jordanelle Reservoir, to outdoor concerts".

“It is easy to get around town all year long by taking Park City’s free busses that come along just about every 20 minutes”, states Suzanne Harris. “This works out especially great in the winter for locals and visitors who want to experience the diversity, of the three major ski resorts, Deer Valley, Park City and The Canyons that are in close proximity to each other”.

As the summer season gained in popularity an interesting trend emerged. Heidi Gatch noticed that, “Many home owners who enjoyed being on the mountain for vacations are moving to town to be closer to local activities year-round. Some like Old Town properties that may not have as much land or square footage, but they are within walking distance of restaurants, art galleries and shopping.”

Others just like to walk! Carol Agle says, “With 150 miles of hiking and biking trails locals take fitness seriously.” She adds, “According to the Center of Disease Control our state is one of the healthiest (least obese) in the country".

Steve Chin explains that “One of the main reasons for the huge success of the Park City/Deer Valley area is its proximity to a major international airport in Salt Lake City. It is the only ski area in North America where you can take a morning flight from just about anywhere in the US and still ski for a half-day in the afternoon. In fact, if you present your boarding pass to any ski ticket window from your morning flight you can go skiing free for the rest of the day!”

Steve adds, “Deer Valley in particular offers an extraordinary skier experience. It is so civilized--all the fun of skiing without the hassle factor”. Mary Leader points out that “the Deer Valley Ski School is second to none. If you own a home on the slopes your instructor will meet you at your home for your private lesson”.

At Deer Valley the number of skiers allowed on the mountain is limited. This results in very brief lift lines. There is usually tons of dry powder yet mostly mild weather. Kelly Rogers points out that,”even at the peak, Deer Valley is at a lower altitude than most ski resorts. With meticulously groomed slopes, that means more endurance and more runs!“ When asked to sum up the skier experience at Deer Valley Karen Keating said, “More blue sky days, white glove service and groomed, velvet, corduroy power runs”.

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: What is Your Luxury Brand Personality?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional you have to identify the luxury brand personality of your marketplace and make sure it is harmonious with your personality. If it is a match, then it will be a match made in heaven as those with similar likes will be attracted to you. Here are three examples of luxury personalities.

Sophisticated

The Louis Vuitton store pictured above defines a sophisticated luxury brand personality. This is reflected in the look of the store, with fine leather furniture, beautifully crafted wood and glass counters and display cases, and top of the line accessories. The merchandise is traditional and elegant.

Hip

All Saints Company as is an example of hip brand luxury. The windows are filled with antique sewing machines emphasizing their quality manufacturing and tradition. The lighting is industrial reminding one of a factory, and the clothes are chic, edgy and hip. The clothing tags are handwritten and some of the beaded garments sport an additional “manually embellished.”

Photo by Pietro Cruciatti, Dreamstime

Fun

Moschino, an Italian designer is known for the fun brand personality in luxury, as seen in the helmet above. His tagline is “A Stylish Attitude”. The motorcycle helmet definitely screams attitude. The clothes are quirky and fun. The jewelry is one of a kind. The picture of the brooch below shows three dangling enameled and articulated fish hanging. The inscription on the top of the circle, says in Italian, “If you sleep, you don’t catch.

How does your luxury brand personalityand what is the brand personality of your marketplace? Is it a match made in heaven?

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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: New Trends in the Brand Naming Game

All Saints Store in Santa Monica

In luxury real estate marketing, it is of paramount importance to come up with the right name for your business. One of the traditional rules of branding has been to keep a name short because they are easy to remember, and easy to spell! As the new century dawned the rules have been challenged and some of the new the names became descriptive of their mission statement, their marketplace or who they are.

Some of the pioneers in the longer version name game can be found in the fashion industry. Here are some of our favorite brand names and the story behind them.

Not Your Daughter’s Jeans: This is a brand of women’s clothing including chic jeans designed to flatter every woman’s figure.

Citizens of Humanity: This is a Luxury Denim & Apparel for Women & Men. A portion of proceeds are given charity.

Band of Outsiders: This is a clothing company for “geek chic”, hence outsiders.

All Saints Spittafield: This is a manufacturer and retailer of quality garments. Their stores are decorated with assorted antique sewing machines. All Saints donates to “Not For Sale” a worldwide movement to stop human trafficking.

Rag & Bones: Fashion for men and women, the name is a British phrase for junk dealers of old with a pushcart who bought and sold and recycled discarded items.

Is it time for you to play the brand naming game?

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