Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Why Write Localism Posts

Luxury real estate marketing professionals should include as, part of their blog posts, a section covering local news.  This would include restaurants, seasonal events, and locals of note.  One of the comments, we recently received on one of our own posts in which we reviewed a local restaurant said,

“One of my blog posts about a wonderful little restaurant in Camas, has over 50,500 views.” –Debb Janes, Realtor in Camas, WA

Whether or not your audience is currently living in the marketplace you are writing about, these posts bring to life your place of work.  They may even spark a desire to explore, even if it was not their original choice.  For the locals, it may be fun news. We are certain that, if we polled the locals around here in the Santa Barbara area, very few would know that Sue Grafton lives in Montecito. Ms. Grafton is author of the best-selling alphabet mysteries, which she started in 1982, with A is for Alibi.

The setting of her novels is a thinly veiled or “artfully arranged” Southern California town named Santa Teresa, is actually based on Santa Barbara. Montecito is “Montebello”.  Her latest novel, “W is for Wasted”, is set around the bird sanctuary (there is actually a bird preserve across from the beach) and near a Mexican café that also exists near the preserve.

This novel is one of my favorites thus far, and I think that these statements summarize my feelings best:

“I’ve come to believe that Grafton is not only the most talented woman writing crime fiction today but also that, regardless of gender, her Millhone books are among the five or six best series any American has ever written.”—The Washington Post. 

“Millhone’s (the heroine of her novels) complexity is mirrored by the novels that document her cases: books that nestle comfortably within the mystery genre even as they push and prod its contours.”—The Wall Street Journal.

Ron and I had the pleasure of meeting Sue at the home of a mutual friend.  I asked her about the fate of Millhone.  She said that she had received many suggestions from fans but was not sure where it would all end up. However, she did know that the last of the alphabet series is going to be named “Z is for Zero”.

Locals of note make a perfect subject for interviews in your location-based posts.  As a luxury real estate marketing professional expand your horizons beyond just homes.  High net worth consumers fall in love with a location before any particular home in it.  Spark love affairs between your potential buyers and your local marketplace.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Strategy: The 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year - Part 3

 

Tesla Model X

PART 3:  Innovative Design & Dazzling Presentation

To achieve market leadership fast, as a luxury real estate marketing professional, you must identify an uncontested or under served market niche that you can service better than anyone else in your marketplace, with passion.  But, the quality of communication of your extraordinary promise of value in your listing presentations must be concise and compelling in order to spark instant demand and trigger buzz. 

In our opinion, the unveiling of Tesla’s Model X was equally as exciting for the automotive industry as Steve Job’s introduction of the iPad was to the digital world. That presentation was what prompted us to name Tesla as the 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year. These polished, dazzling presentations can serve as models for your own listing presentations. 

Each company identified an under served market niche that they could dominate by offering an extraordinary value proposition. Both companies are extremely passionate about their mission; they THINK BIG (see Part 2) and are driven by the desire to innovate, i.e., to “change the game”. 

Tesla understood that to create a truly successful all-electric crossover urban vehicle (CUV) it would have to be far superior to SUVs and Mini vans at some key things.  For example, Tesla included the 17” digital display that was also a standard feature in their Model S (see Part 2). They tapped the Mac Book Pro supply chain and actually achieved higher contrast and a higher lumen level because they did not have the same design constraints that a laptop has. Tesla also understood that consumers want at least the same digital experience that they have with their other devices. 

Tesla reasoned, “Mini Vans have lots of room but not much style. SUVs are big on the outside but tend to be small on the inside. What if you could have a seven-passenger car that has more FUNCTIONALITY than a Mini Van and more STYLE than an SUV?”  One key answer was the creation the best car door in the world. Another answer was offering tons of storage, both in the back, behind the third row of seats, and under the hood where gasoline-engine cars have no storage room at all. 

The Falcon Door is not only a sensational design it also allows easy access to the second and third rows of seats. Adults can actually stand up under the raised door and place a child in a car seat without straining their backs or getting wet from rain.  WATCH THE VIDEO.

But, the primary missing element in Mini Vans and SUVs is PERFORMANCE.  The Model X is the size of an SUV, but it has a better turning radius. It has dual motor all-wheel drive and is actually faster than a Porsche 911. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds vs. 4.6 for the Porsche. 

In your luxury real estate listing presentations you must be able to precisely articulate your extraordinary promise of value with passion.  When you can state in just three words how you are better than your competition, like Tesla can do (Functionality, Style & Performance), and clearly demonstrate this with your distinct features and benefits, then you may become the emerging luxury brand of the year in your own marketplace, and get there fast! 

PART 1   l   PART 2   l   PART 3

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Strategy: The 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year

 

Tesla Model S

PART 2: Tesla’s Innovative, Visionary Brand Strategy: 

If you are thinking of creating a new luxury real estate brand for yourself or your company, or if you are thinking of re-branding keep this in mind if market leadership is your quest:  THINK BIG! That is exactly what the founders and top executives did when they imagined Tesla Motors into existence.  

Since his college days, Tesla’s Chairman, Elon Musk, had the dream to commercialize electric vehicles. But, according to Musk, his BIG goal is “to help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy, which I believe to be the primary, but not exclusive, sustainable solution.”  

His visionary leadership is evidenced in the Tesla brand strategy: Start with a premium sports car aimed at early adopters, those who could afford the premium due to higher initial production costs, and then move as fast as possible into more mainstream vehicles, including sedans and affordable compacts.  This strategy has worked in Silicon Valley, but has not been attempted in the automotive industry. 

Mission critical to executing this strategy was creating an exclusive luxury electric sports car, the Tesla Roadster (depicted in Part 1) that was “designed to beat a gasoline sports car like a Porsche or Ferrari in a head to head showdown… and have twice the energy efficiency as the Prius.  When someone buys the Tesla Roadster sports car, they are actually helping pay for development of the low cost family car”, said Musk. 

The next step was the creation of the fully electric Model S (see photo above), which won The Motor Trend Car of the Year award in 2013 and competes price-wise with similar gasoline luxury sedans such as Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Audi.  To market this magnificent sedan Tesla hired former Apple and Gap Executive George Blankenship as Vice President of Design and Store Development to build Tesla's retail strategy and network of retail locations worldwide.  Show-rooms in Los Angeles are in upscale shopping centers, where you can find Apple stores.

Then, they launched a network of Tesla Charging Stations in highly trafficked corridors. It takes only 30 minutes to recharge the battery at these stations.  But, if you are in a hurry, you can swap the entire battery in less than 2 minutes.  They call it "'The Fastest Charging station on  the Planet". The cost of electricity is a fraction of gasoline. And, the range per full charge is over 200 miles.

Launching a new luxury brand with the aim to achieve market leadership requires visionary thinking and strategizing; it requires that you THINK BIG! How can you think big in your own community? 

In Part 3 of this article series we will cover the launch of Tesla’s Model X. For us, this was the most exciting consumer product launch since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. By studying Tesla’s presentation of the Model X you can learn extremely important lessons when it comes to your own luxury real estate listing presentations.  (All photos, courtesy of Tesla)

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Strategy: The 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year

              

PART 1

Many luxury real estate professionals set out to make a name for themselves or to establish a new independent firm and emerge as the standout luxury brand in their marketplace.  Few have the vision to start something truly unique with the idea of “making a dent in the universe” as Steve Jobs referred to his personal mission in life.  

For those of you, who are genuine visionary leaders, let the exciting brand story of Tesla Motors become a vital source of inspiration.  We believe that California based Tesla Motors is the 2013 Emerging Luxury Brand of the Year in America, perhaps in the world. 

Stay tuned to this article series as the Tesla Motors brand story unfolds.  We are about to demonstrate how the same principles that have made this breakaway brand so successful can apply to your own luxury real estate personal or company brand.  From the Tesla Roadster (pictured above), the first fully electric sports car, to their fully electric luxury sedan, the S Model, to their fully electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV), the Model X, you will see for yourself how visionary leadership is the secret ingredient in market-leading luxury brand strategy.

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Luxury Real Estate Personal & Company Branding: Benefit by Studying Up-and-Coming Luxury Brands

Luxury real estate personal and company branding is an art. But, it is also a science, as it requires a considerable amount of research and objective analysis to get it right.  What is at stake when you nail a luxury brand?  A healthy share, if not the lion’s share of the business as you achieve top-of-mind status in your marketplace or a niche therein. That is the benefit of studying up-and-coming luxury brands. 

On a recent trip to Rome, Italy we studied many of the Italian up-and-coming brands as well as some of the global brands that also have store fronts on the same famous shopping streets. Some of these brands are well known, but not as famous as the majors like Ferragamo, Gucci, Pucci and Valentino.  

So much creative energy goes into creating a great brand identity, the logo, the packaging and the store design, etc.  But, does that symbol summarize the essence of how the brand stands apart from its competition that is right next door?  Does it tell the entire brand story that engages you as a luxury consumer to want to “join” the brand and become its brand ambassador?  Does it tell you what the brand stands for so you can readily identify with it? Does it quickly communicate its brand values so you know if you are a match to them or not? 

These are some of the questions that you need to ask yourself about your own brand as a luxury real estate marketing professional or company.  That is, if you are truly interested in gaining or sustaining market leadership. 

Join us for a quick trip along two of Rome’s famous shopping streets, Via dei Condotti and Via del Babuino. See if you recognize some of the up-and-coming luxury brands.  [Click Here to Watch the Video If it Does Not Appear Below]

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Marketing Luxury Real Estate: Telling the Brand Story in Beverly Hills

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, it is important to pay attention to details. Attention to details is what give an item or a marketing piece that luxurious feel... Whenever a store is remodeled in Beverly Hills, the business creates a beautiful structure to camouflage the construction.

The one we saw today pictured above on our monthly trip to Beverly Hills is of Nepresso coffee makers.  We thought that the little capsules that contain coffee (actual capsules sized for the barricade) for use in the Nepresso machine really told the brand story and emphasized the details beautifully.  What a way for this French brand to make an entrance on a street with several coffee places!

We are looking forward to the big reveal for this store on Beverly Drive.

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Luxury Real Estate Marketing Tip: Balancing High Tech and High Touch

Luxury real estate marketing professionals are faced with the double-edged sword: the dilemma of finding the balance between high tech and high touch.  In the long run, it is high touch that will win out.  Here is how high tech is currently winning the luxury real estate game and what you can do about it.

Recently we have noticed when searching for a particular property by address, that companies such as Zillow and Trulia are outranking the agents who have the listing. 

We have also noticed right behind Zillow and Trulia are the company brands, then the agents who are promoted by Zillow and Trulia.  The probability is that the listing agent ranks # 4 or #5 in the natural search order.  When searching using keywords for an area, similar results are likely to be found.  Zillow, Trulia and the company brands have more pages indexed by Google than an individual agent or small firm could possibly accumulate. This accounts for their priority ranking.

How can a luxury real estate marketing professional compete in this high tech environment?  Shift your emphasis from high tech to high touch!

Have a great online presence. Make sure you web site is up to date and shows off your listings.  Write a blog with a follow worthy point of view.  Make it so interesting, that people want to subscribe to it, because they know you have the inside scoop, and shows off your expertise.  

Develop a high touch system.   This is something that high tech cannot do.  Although we are all digitally dazzled and connected, realize that the big fundamental secret of caring for your sellers/buyers cannot be transmitted digitally. 

One of our clients is a mortgage broker team.  They attribute their success as the #1 team in their marketplace to their high touches system.  Their referral numbers are through the roof. 

Maintain high visibility in your community.  Our clients have adopted the local elementary schools in honor of their wives who are teachers.  They are always willing to lend a hand by either funding a project or coaching the little league and soccer.  The possibilities for community involvement are endless.

In the bigger picture, high touch will always beat out high tech.  Apple is a high tech company who understood the importance of high touch by caring for their customers unlike any other tech company.  They have just displaced Coca Cola as the #1 highest valued brand in the world. 

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