Market Share: Creating the Elephant in the Highways of the Mind First!

Mind share precedes market share; that is the most powerful law of niche marketing.  There is tremendous leverage in this mighty real estate niche marketing law.  Therefore, capturing mind share should be your priority, unless you absolutely have the need to justify your success with a real estate marketing strategy that involves heavy lifting.

Here is a real estate marketing branding case study of a friend of ours, Joe Petrowsky, president of Right Trac Financial Group, Inc., who we met through Active Rain.  This case study demonstrates the incredible leverage you can enjoy if you apply this powerful niche marketing law.

Prior to being a highly successful mortgage broker, Joe opened his own real estate company in 1970. Starting from scratch Joe had no brand name recognition and needed to create an identity in a hurry.

He decided to buy three 40’ trailers at an auction that his brother ran. He had both sides painted black on yellow. They said the following,  “PETROWSKY REAL ESTATE CO. IF YOU DON’T KNOW US YET, YOU SHOULD”. Can you imagine how big each letter was, especially with this color combination?

He then rented three parcels of land that abutted the interstate, two on one side and one on the other. Each parcel was leased for 5 years. Joe figured the state would eventually start an action to have him remove the trailers.  But, between the ostentatiousness of these trailers along the highway that no one could miss and the press that he got (which he made sure of) he was able to capture a huge amount of mind share, fast!

Joe’s company became the number one volume producer in Eastern Connecticut in just 17 months!  He quickly controlled the listings throughout the area.  Then in 1985 he sold the company to 13 of his agents. He had 100 sales people and 5 offices at the time.

If your quest is market leadership leverage the power of niche marketing’s most powerful law: Mind share precedes market share.  How can you leverage this law in your own practice?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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Re-Thinking Your Social Media Strategy: Time for Social Media Spring Cleaning?

Apart from connecting with actual friends, have you been experiencing social media clutter in your luxury real estate marketing business?   The way we evaluate the benefits of social media in a business context is simple. What is the return on time invested?  We define return as actually communicating with someone who can be a potential friend or networking contact that can eventually lead to business. 

We definitely experience a high return on investment on Active Rain, the leading social platform for real estate professionals.  We find that members on Active Rain are genuinely and consistently engaged in quality communication in the true spirit of a community. On other networks, we have mixed results. To avoid social media clutter, we did some spring-cleaning to limit the social platforms on which we spend our time.  It is amazing how much time was freed up.

Is it time for you to re-think your social media strategy, and do some spring-cleaning?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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Is Your Brand Speaking The Language of Your Target Market?

As a luxury real estate marketing professional, selecting the right personal or company brand name is very important if being top of mind is your quest. Getting it right the first time can save you aggravation and expense down the road by understanding the mindset of your target market.

Recently, I (Alexandra, here) encountered a women’s shoe brand by the name of Me Too. The company is from So Ho New York and has been around for twenty years. It made me wonder who their target market was. 

There is marketing term known as “belongers”, those who want to fit in and conform rather than stand out. If belongers were beer drinkers, Budweiser, the best selling beer in the world, would likely be their beer of choice. Belongers would be the ideal target market for Me Too shoes (as a brand name), provided that they focus their brand strategy on this mindset. 

It is unclear whom Me Too, shoes is targeting as their customers.  If they are trying to reach “achievers”(highly successful, upper 2% of the population, who are independent-minded consumers) or those who are "aspirational" aspiring to be achievers,  they may be sending the wrong brand signal with that name.  

Achievers, who unlike belongers and those who are aspiring to be like them, might reach for some of the world’s most expensive beers (because they can). Their choice might be Carlsberg Jacobsen Vintage ($400/375ml) or Samuel Adam’s Utopias ($150/700ml).

Before you decide on a brand name, be sure that you are totally clear as to who your target market is and what comprises their mindset. Then craft a brand name that speaks to them in their language.

Does your brand speak the language of your target market?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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Luxury Real Estate Brand Position: Energy Bar or Cricket Flour?

 

As many of you know if you read our posts, we are fans of Shark Tank.  We enjoy watching the potential investors analyze a business investment in order to discover its extraordinary promise of value and its potential to provided a healthy return on their investment.  Here is an example:

One of the candidates invented an organic energy bar using cricket flour for protein.  Reluctantly the investors tasted it and proclaimed it good, however, they were not willing to invest. Who needs another protein bar in the market regardless of how good the ingredients are?

As the owner of the company talked, he let them know that crickets are a rich sustainable protein and a favored food of many countries.  Three of the investors were still not interested and expressed that they were “out”.

As he continued to talk, he mentioned that the FDA (Federal Drug Administration) had given him approval (he is the only one, so far) for his cricket flour.  He also mentioned that other manufacturers of protein bars had approached him to purchase his flour.  Then, Mark Cuban jumped in, and said you should be in the cricket flour business and not in the protein bar business, at which point he was ready to invest.

Defining the right brand position can determine whether or not your target market will perceive your extraordinary promise of value.  Are you just another agent or broker in the sea of sameness, i.e. another energy bar?  Or, do you have a value proposition that is a clear stand out, i.e. cricket flour?  Whenever possible, the best way to position your brand is to define your professional services in a unique category.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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Follow Up to FOMO Marketing & Pinot Noir: A Personal Perspective

This is a follow up to our recent post on FOMO Marketing. Recently, we visited a winery in our nearby central coast wine country. We tasted their Pinot Noir (“Limited Edition”), Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Our favorite was their Limited Edition Pinot, which was absolutely outstanding and fairly priced. 

But, we were told that we had to join their wine club to purchase it, as club members were re-ordering and they did not want to run out.  That tugged at our F.O.M.O (fear of missing out) heartstrings. But, we resisted joining the club, knowing that we would be obligated to purchase more wine that we did not want by doing so.

This experience led us to take a closer look at F.O.M.O. marketing as a tactic in marketing luxury real estate.  Personally, from a logical standpoint, we do not buy into the premise of SCARCITY of anything!  In fact, as consumers, whenever we feel tempted by the knee-jerk reaction of F.O.M.O marketing we head the opposite direction.  We have purposely tested this out and discovered that in every case there was another opportunity just around the corner. Or, we lost interest altogether in what we wanted in the first place.

We believe that scarcity is fundamentally a false premise. For us, at the very core of the luxury mindset is the premise of ABUNDANCE. Stepping back and regaining perspective, there certainly is an abundance of well-priced high quality wine out there. In fact, there is a plethora of fine wine all over the world.

Even when there appears to be a scarcity of luxury real estate on the market, some agents are still doing very well.   To be one of them, you just need a bigger slice of the market that is selling!  But, you may need a better strategy to acquire that business.

What do you think?

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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Food for Thought: Unsurpassed Natural Goodness!

OK!  We admit it.  We are chocolate lovers inside and out. 

We may have stumbled upon the ultimate (for now at least) double dark chocolate, hand made (by us) ice cream sandwich. Recently in San Francisco, we visited the Cowgirl Creamery store in the iconic Ferry Building close to the Bay Bridge. 

Cowgirl is one of the finest artisanal cheese makers in California.  There, while picking up some cheese as a treat for our friends, we were introduced to the best chocolate cookie we have ever tasted.  The cheesemonger suggested that this cookie would be good with a touch of fresh triple cream cheese topped with cherry jam.  Yum!

The Bay Area’s Rustic Bakery makes this delectable, sophisticated cacao nib shortbread that combines both Valrhona chocolate and cacao nibs with a tiny bit of salt on the finish.  They stand on their own as a delicious dessert.  But, when incorporated into a mini sandwich with Rori’s Artisanal Creamery’s “serious dark chocolate” ice cream we were speechless!

At Rori’s, “We create organic ice creams that not only take you to a new planet, customers even credit it for making them want to be better humans!  We use only Straus Family Creamery organic milk, cream and eggs. All those cows eat is grass, baby!”

Rori’s just happens to be within a couple of blocks from our office in Carpinteria, (Santa Barbara-Central California). The Straus Family Creamery is located in Northern California and sources the milk and cream for Cowgirl Creamery, as well. 

Perhaps you are connecting the local culinary dots.  There is a fabulous trend here in California to go organic and champion the artisans who have paved the way to a brave new world of natural goodness that is simply unsurpassed.

Happy Friday, 

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-
ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace.

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GET MORE HUMAN: Re-Tool, Re-Think, Re-Invent YOU!

Leonardo Da Vinci, Self Portrait, The original Renaissance Man

At an accelerated pace, technology has consumed far too much time and energy for most luxury real estate marketing professionals. Let us regain some perspective on this ever-pervasive fact of modern life. After so much retooling, it is now time to rethink and re-invent YOU!

The Renaissance was considered one of the most explosive periods of change in human history.  Due to the availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type the dissemination of ideas sped up faster than was ever thought possible.  Today,, the internet is having a similar impact on our lives.  But, have you had time to rethink and reinvent yourself as the person who is the master of the new tools and not as the slave to them?  Could it be time for a Renaissance or rebirth in your life?

Recently, we encountered three rounds of annoying menus in a voice mail maze, while attempting to make airline reservations. Then, after a fifteen-minute wait, we were connected to a customer service representative who spoke incomprehensible English.  Does this sound familiar?  Think about the cumulative effect of millions of people encountering similar situations!

Then we discovered a website called GetHuman.com.  This site offers, “Shortcuts through the phone maze, expected wait time, as well as support ratings”. What a relief from the tedium of voice mail! 

This experience sparked our thinking about the overwhelming need for luxury real estate marketing professionals to GET [MORE] HUMAN in the way they do business and less reliant on technology.   But, this requires rethinking and reinventing YOU.

Written by Ron & Alexandra Seigel-

ABOUT:  Napa Consultants, International is the leader in brand strategy for the luxury real estate industry.  They work exclusively with professionals who are passionate about gaining or sustaining market leadership. With an expertise in personal branding, company branding, luxury real estate website design and social media marketing they help their clients become the breakaway brand in their marketplace. 

-WATCH VIDEOS-

 Buzz-Worthy Luxury Real Estate Websites  

Personal Branding Case Studies   Company Branding Case Studies  

About Language of Luxury 

 GET FLUENT. GET AFFLUENT! - JOIN THE LOL COMMUNTIY 

 Linked In, Facebook, Active Rain & Twitter