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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Personal & Company Branding: What Is Your X Factor?

Courtesy of Coca Cola

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, what does your personal brand stand for in the minds of your target market and how is that distinct from your closest competitor? What is your X Factor? This is a question that baffles even the most seasoned consumer brands. If you cannot articulate in a word or a very brief phrase how you stand out from your competition you are going to swiftly lose market share to those who can. Take head from one of the most well known brands in the world.

Simon Cowell will not be drinking Coke this fall on his new (to America) show, X Factor, like he did on American Idol. Pepsi has become a $60 million sponsor of the show as they beef up their advertising to help regain lost market share to Coke. Pepsi is now #3 (9.5%) in the beverage contest for market leadership behind #2 (9.9%) Diet Coke and #1 (17%) Coke- Classic. Pepsi is not that far ahead of #4 Mountain Dew and # 5 Dr. Pepper.

What happened to Pepsi? Pundits are blaming the shift in focus from soft drinks to PepsiCo’s healthy foods in terms of ad spending. The resulting neglect of their most important brand in the entire company has cost them plenty. The experts are basically saying, “When you snooze. You Lose”!

But, we say, Pepsi was losing way before they began snoozing on ad spending! They were losing mind share before they began losing marketing share. What does Pepsi stand for in the minds of their target market and who is their target market, today?

It used to be the brand of choice for the younger generation. At one point Pepsi’s brand strategy was spot on, the perfect strategy for the challenger. Pepsi framed a two-brand contest between young (Pepsi) and old (Coke) because they knew more young people were buying their product. Pepsi OWNED the ‘younger generation” as their brand position and they spoke their target market’s language.

Pepsi’s new ads are anything but cool or youthful. The slogan is “summertime is Pepsi time”. Does that mean anything to you? Summertime may be the biggest selling time of the year for soft drinks in general. But, why choose Pepsi over Coke?

Their new ad has Santa (an old man with a white beard) in a Hawaiian shirt drinking Pepsi instead of Coke, saying “I’m on vacation”, intimating that he drinks Pepsi in the summer (but don’t tell Coke his secret summer passion). Pepsi’s previously strong brand position has totally evaporated!

Contrast this to Pepsi in their brilliant branding heyday when they had Michael Jackson singing “you are a whole new generation” (to the tune of Billy Jean) in a commercial in which he also made a personal appearance. Kids where moon dancing in the street, imitating the “gloved one” and drinking Pepsi, when Jackson himself appears in the commercial. What could possibly be cooler than that? Check out the commercial below which has been seen over 31, 500,000 times on You Tube. Click Here or view video below.

Pepsi needs to get back to its roots and reassert its unique promise of value. It needs to amplify it’s X Factor! Otherwise, all of the advertising dollars that they are spending are going to become, as Simon Cowell would say, an “utter waste”.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, have you lost touch with your unique promise of value? What makes you stand out from your competition? What is your X Factor?

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: The Secret of "Pull" vs. "Push" Marketing

Identifying and serving an underserved market niche better than anyone else can take the notion of sales out of your business equation, all together. In your luxury real estate marketing practice a niche may be a geographic area or a category of properties or a group of consumers with the same values such as environmentalists. The key to marketing to a group of consumers with the same mindset is to fully understand how they think. Most importantly, this includes knowing their deepest concerns or pain points. If you can clearly and quickly communicate that your service can relieve their pain you literally will not have to sell them on working with you. They will sell themselves on you.

Crafting the right marketing messaging is the art of precisely communicating your extraordinary promise of value (through all facets of your brand identity) in such a way that your target market can instantly recognize that you are the one who can best meet their needs. Essentially, you need to know their mindset or psychographics so you can speak to them in their language.

In the realm of luxury real estate you are dealing with achievers of wealth, those aspiring to achieve wealth or those who just want to emulate the wealthy. Your message to achievers will be entirely different from your message to emulators because their needs are distinct. To understand how important the right messaging can be let us take L’Oréal hair coloring products as an example.

Headquartered just outside of Paris, L’Oréal is the world’s largest cosmetic and beauty company. For a while Sex in the City star, Sarah Jessica Parker, was the spokesperson for their hair color line, which usually sells at somewhat of a premium. Ms. Parker’s character in the show is the quintessential emulator.

The question of self-worth is often a pain point for emulators. L’Oréal’s classic advertising slogan, “Because I’m worth it” spoke directly to emulating consumers. The “it” word in the slogan presumes that the product is superior and worth the premium price. Since its first use in the mid 2000s the slogan has evolved to “Because we’re worth it” because research proved that ‘we’ evoked an even higher level of consumer involvement in the L’Oréal philosophy and lifestyle. Plus, it elicited more “perceived” consumer satisfaction with the products themselves. The new slogan was further extended for the kid’s line of hair and body products with, “Because we’re worth it, too”!

Are the ingredients in the product that much better than the competitor’s product line? That is debatable. But, the perception that L’Oréal has created is one of superiority. With just four words L’Oréal has created what is known as “pull marketing” vs. “push marketing”. They are not selling hair color ingredients here. They are offering self-worth as their unique promise of value and their target market is reaching for the relief that represents.

With this “pull marketing” strategy L’Oréal does not need to compete on features that any competent competitor can copy like “foam” or “mousse” versions of the product. L’Oréal has also come out with a “mousse” version of their hair color product just to match the competition. But, competing on features alone is futile.

With one brilliant preemptive move, L’Oréal OWNED the word “self-worth” in the minds of their target market. No other competitor can stake claim to it without looking like a copycat. Test it for yourself. Just ask any woman what brand comes to mind when you say “Because I’m worth it”. This is brand strategy at its best. L’Oréal has achieved and has sustained top-of-mind status.

Pull marketing is what happens when you get your branding and messaging spot on. Instead of going fishing for prospects, the fish jump into your boat. That is because you are communicating your extraordinary promise of value to your target market with precision, in their language. You are not selling. You are solving their problem and you are relieving their pain.

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, do you know the pain points of your target market? If you have not taken the time to articulate your unique promise of value in such a way that you are solving problems and relieving pain, you are working way too hard at selling. And, you are probably annoying your target market in the process.

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Apple, What's Your Secret? Part 2

Courtesy of Apple

We have identified the phenomenon of “complacency” as is one of the potential vulnerabilities of market leaders who have outdistanced their closest competitors by a considerable margin. There is tendency to coast on their momentum instead of continuously reinvest in staying sharp. They tend to “rest on their laurels”, relying on the recognition of their previous achievements to stay on top. As a luxury real estate marketing professional, if you want to challenge the market leader this is an important symptom of vulnerability to be able to recognize and also be able to exploit.

In Steven Covey’s mega-bestselling book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People he writes about the flip side of complacency which is working too hard, for fear of losing ground to the competition, and not taking the time for self renewal or “sharpening the saw”. In our strategic branding consulting practice and also as syndicated bloggers we are continuously interviewing top producing agents. We notice that the market leaders who are workaholics are equally vulnerable to being challenged as the complacent ones.

When a new idea of doing business is introduced to the complacent market leader, the response is often “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it”? When a new idea in proposed to a workaholic it is often rejected because they do not have the time to take a break from sawing in order to sharpen the saw. In both cases there is a paucity of innovation, ingenuity and imagination at the top which makes them vulnerable to challengers who are eager and willing to “think outside the box.”

In our previous post we highlighted the brilliant success of Apple’s retail stores. Clearly, Apple is an enlightened market leader that does not rest on its laurels. It continuously stays sharply focused and is an uninterrupted font of innovation. Within a year of the debut of the iPad, iPad 2 trumped its predecessor and preempted many of its would- be competitors by including superior features like two cameras and a skinnier profile.

The genius who is mainly credited for the success of the Apple stores is Ron Johnson, the Senior VP of Retail Operations, who recently was tapped for the CEO position of J.C Penny to restore its prominence as a market leader. In an interview, Johnson said, “I’ve always dreamed of leading a major retail company as CEO. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help J.C. Penney re-imagine what I believe to be the single greatest opportunity in American retailing today, the Department Store.”

A true market leader is willing to continuously re-invent and re-imagine its business model. Essentially, a market leader never stops thinking like a challenger.

If you are a market leader and you find yourself getting complacent or becoming a workaholic these are warning signals that your health and the health of your luxury real estate marketing practice is in jeopardy. You are definitely vulnerable to being caught off-guard by a challenger who is open to new ideas.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: Apple, What's Your Secret?

Courtesy of Apple

Customer or client loyalty is one of the aspects of marketing luxury real estate that can be measured with reasonable accuracy. We recently heard a story about an agent who thought she had the loyalty of a particular client. Then, after spending a considerable amount of time abroad, the client came back into town for the weekend, noticed that a home that he and his wife admired for years came on the market. They bought it on the spot from the listing agent with whom they also listed their current home for sale. The terms of this multi-million dollar purchase were all cash with a very short closing. And, the listing had an equally sizable price tag. Ouch!

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, what does it take to keep your clients loyal? It may be wise to study the secrets of Apple, the world most valuable technology company. Oddly, the Wall Street Journal uncovered the confidential employee manual for running their retail stores and wrote an “exposé” on the subject. The funny thing about the manual is that there were actually no real secrets at all. Anyone can easily observe their “secrets” by visiting the store and experiencing their superb customer service, first hand.

Do the following aspects of customer service sound like secrets to you? Or is it simply attention to every detail of the customer experience

Passionate employees who love the products
Highly trained staff that acquires thorough product knowledge
Customer respect--no ridicule of those who do not understand something
Buffering the frustration of the tech-challenged with excellent listing skills
Solve customer problems vs. push sales
Up-selling subscriptions and tech support services
Employee tardiness is unacceptable
No sales quotas + no commissions = no pressure
In-store tech support

According to the Wall Street Journal, sales per square foot in Apple’s 326 retail stores range between $4-6,000. To put this into perspective, Tiffany & Company sells $3000/sq. ft and Best Buy sells $880/sq. ft. Best Buy’s, who sells multiple product lines, has a profit margin around 1% before taxes. Apple’s profit margin, selling only its own products, is 26%.

Having an Apple Store nearby where you can have all of your questions answered by a cheerful staff vs. overseas tech support is quite conducive to customer loyalty. Being able to upload, store and sync all of your photos, documents, music and videos via iCloud, with all of your Apple computers and mobile devises “seals the deal!"

What are your “secrets” to maintain client loyalty in your luxury real estate marketing practice? Are you paying close attention to every detail of your client experience like Apple does in their stores?

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Monday, June 20, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing: What Is Your Brand Worth?

Choosing the right brand name is extremely important for luxury real estate marketing professionals. Some of the best brand names deliver an emotional impact that makes it easy to remember and also propels sales. Striking just the right chord with your target market is the key. What emotions are summoned with the name Shark Tank?

Have you ever watched Shark Tank, the TV reality show on ABC? It stars Barbara Corcoran, the luxury real estate marketing professional who sold her highly successful brokerage firm in New York several years ago, and other successful venture capital superstars including billionaire Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. The premise of the show is that entrepreneurs seeking venture capital give their pitch to a panel of investors who fight, like sharks, over who will offer the best deal.

On a recent episode, a couple of guys pitched the idea of investing $50,000 in their clothing business in exchange for a 25% interest in the company which is called Hill Billy™. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy (one of the sharks) immediately recognized the value of the Hill Billy brand name because he has made a fortune with his “red neck” humor and Blue Color TV.

The entrepreneurs, who trademarked the name, proved that there is a market for Hill Billy™ brand clothes by selling them at country music concerts and often outselling the performers T-shirts and concert paraphernalia. But, none of the sharks took the bait. Instead, they all insisted that the true value of the company was in the trademarked brand itself, asserting that the clothing business is extremely risky. They did see value in the brand name, but only in its limitless licensing potential.

Three of the sharks agreed to offer $25,000 each to buy the Hill Billy™ brand name for licensing purposes and not to invest in the manufacturing of the clothing line. They also offered to give the entrepreneurs a 7% royalty on all licensing fees. The deal was accepted.

The term Hill Billy refers to people in the United States who dwell in remote, rural mountainous areas, such as Appalachia, or the Ozarks. It sometimes has a derogatory connotation depending on the context of its use or the attitude of person using of the word. But, all of this meaning plus the values that are inferred are wrapped up in the brand name. The brand obviously offers a form of self-expression for certain consumers who can identify with it whether or not it is taken seriously.

The Hill Billy™ brand clearly strikes the right emotional chord with its target market that drives sales. That is exactly what makes it a valuable brand. How much is your brand name worth?

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Luxury Real Estate Marketing:Are You Playing Your "A" Game?

One of the core attributes of a successful luxury real estate marketing professional is consistent focus. Complacency begets inconsistency. When you get complacent, you are vulnerable to those competitors who maintain their focus.

Notice the consistency of focus in top professional athletes, musicians or entrepreneurs. Let’s use professional musicians as an example of consistent focus.

The very first thing a musician in an orchestra does is tune his or her instrument with the perfect pitch of the oboe playing the key of A. Think of perfect pitch as your pure brand signal. What do you do to align yourself each day with your pure brand signal and your vision for your luxury real estate marketing practice?

Professional musicians practice consistently. Once you have defined your winning formula in your real estate practice you must focus consistently on practicing what works, over and over again, fine tuning as you go along.

We recommend deliberately quieting the mind on a regular basis. When your mind is quiet all opposing or contradictory thoughts disappear and you are most receptive to “possibilities thinking”. That is a good time to contemplate your vision for playing your “A game” in your business.

Take what we call “transaction engineering” out of the picture for a moment. You are expected to be able to see a transaction all the way through to close of escrow. Let’s concentrate here on consistently doing the things that together comprise your “A game”. These are the things that are necessary to get transactions into escrow in the first place. Focus is all about the doing the small things like consistently:

Staying in touch with your sphere of influence
Promoting new business
Returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner
Showing up for appointments on time
Meeting new people who can be referral sources

If you get complacent and neglect these small things you are sacrificing your winning formula that has made you successful. To play your “A game” consistently over time you must find a way to stay focused and stay in perfect pitch. One way that we recommend to do this is to delegate everything you possible can that you do not absolutely love doing. This can be challenging. But, then if you are showing signs of complacency, a good challenge may just be the ticket for you.

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