A Crucial Element to Your Luxury Real Estate Branding
Welcome to our third and final session dealing with branding in luxury real estate.
Last time we talked about how branding is a promise that you make to your marketplace and how important it is to fulfill that promise. So, let’s talk about how we go about conveying the promise so that we can actually fulfill the promise.
Here’s where we finally get to talk about your logo. It’s important because it’s going to convey the image that represents your brand in an easy to digest format. Many people think branding is a logo. It is not. Your logo provides a visual “cue” to your promise. Your logo should be:
- Clean
- Simple
- Elegant
- Absorbed in one “eye bite”
An eye bite is my way of conveying how many bites does the eye have to take out of an image before it can comprehend the image. Think about the Apple logo. The IBM logo. The AT&T logo. Your eye can see these logos and instantly take it all in.
Complicated, confusing, convoluted have no place with a great logo. Keep it simple and down to one eye bite…
Remember how we talked about branding being what people say about you when you’re not around? So, think about this. What do you want people to say about you and your business when you’re not around? Write that down. And make sure all the people on your staff, both your immediate staff and even your vendors are signed on to the same message.
Now develop a tag line. It should encompass your promise. It should symbolize your brand and your promise, and it should convey your brand and your promise. Commit to it.
I recently referred a seller of mine to a contractor to do some work that needed to be done prior to the house going on the market. This is a premier contractor in this category of work in the marketplace where this house is located. And the representative came out and made a careful, complete analysis of the house and the situation that needed to be corrected. And then, never called back. My seller called two or three times and still has not heard back and has since gone to a different vendor to get this small piece of work completed.
That vendor did not live up to his brand and made a bad impression. Guess what? He also tarnished my brand because I made the recommendation. Their service was not congruent with the promise I make to my marketplace. Needless to say, they are off my list. Your affiliates as well as your staff including all the people you refer and recommend have to be signed on to your promise so that they fulfill the promise and don’t let people down like my vendor did to me.
After your logo comes your “look”. Create templates for everything you use in your business to connect with your clients, customers and constituents. Consistency is key.
Letterhead, letters ads, signs–all the collateral you produce needs to look related. Everything you do builds on what you’ve already done and creates the foundation for everything that you’re going to do.
Create a branding standards book for your business. My branding standards book included a section on letters stating that every one will be typed with 14-point Garamond, every margin will be 1.25 inches on the right and 1.25 inches on the left. The top margin will be 1.5 inches the bottom 2 inches.
Everything was consistent and everything we did built on everything that we did in the past and became the foundation for everything we’re going to do in the future. Again, consistency is critical.
For next time, send me examples of your branding and I’ll let you know what I think and maybe share some of the people here in a future video.
Enjoy this week’s video.
Don’t forget, I will cover more of your luxury real estate questions on the first Tuesday of each month. Register RIGHT NOW at www.LuxuryRealEstateUnplugged.com. This is FREE, monthly one-on-one coaching in a group setting. Sign up and get your question submitted without delay.
Action items this week:
- Go to www.LuxuryBusinessPlan.com and download the free business plan, and get Started with your Plan
- Check out www.JackCottonRealtor.com and let me know how you like my videos.
- Go to www.LuxuryRealEstateUnplugged.com and register for the next webinar.
- Leave your question at the bottom of the page
Lastly: Think about your own luxury listings and decide which one could benefit from exposure through my newsletter. Send me pictures and a brief description with your contact information and I’ll include the best one with mine in my weekly e-video news blast. Wouldn’t that be great if we had a referral in our group every single week as a result of this video series?
In the meantime don’t forget to pass this video to a Realtor friend.
