You have two brands.
Most Real Estate folks, from 1000 person multi-state brands to brokers for a 50 person office, or a single agent building a business, have two brands. Those two brands contradict and fight each other. Collectively, they waste tens of millions of dollars in marketing each year.
You are promoting your brand in everything you do. Your website, your conversations, facebook status updates and tweets all convey what you believe at your core is your messaging and branding. From the car you drive to your foursquare checkins, from yardsigns to yellowpage ads. Perhaps you even have a catchy phrase that sums up your brand like “Dedication, Reliability, Trust”. All of it reflects on your brand and what your brand stands for. What it stands for is your inner brand.
Your inner brand is the message and image you portray and promote. Promoting your brand or printing your mission statement does not make it translate to your customers and potential customers. Your actions like tweeting, typing and talking are how you articulate your brand. Yet these manifestations only define your brand to you, internally.
The far more important brand is your outer brand.
Each time you interact with a customer or potential customer they are consciously and subconsciously categorizing and evaluating you. They are building and creating their perception of you. Your customers and potential customers perception of your brand is important. Frequently its the perception of your brand directs the decision to sign.
You ought to be aware of and in control of your outer brand’s perception. Only then can you align your brands and achieve more.
In other words, What you do is so loud that they will not hear what you are saying.
Exactly, Mike. Your brand is a commonly held set of beliefs about what you deliver and HOW you deliver it. It’s not what you think, it’s what your clients think.
You have to walk the walk. 🙂
Love the post – almost like Zen.
Every since 1000Watt wrote an article in 2009 about “What does your brand smell like” I have been keeping a watchful eye out for smell marketing. Yesterday, I spoke to an employee candidate who works in the industry that allows brands to patent their sound. Their most famous client is Harley Davidson.
I often wonder if real estate sales people can/should build their own brand. The cost to reach enough people enough times to make a brand impression is pretty significant. Many brokers give up on building a brand and lease one through Franchises.
Do you think that all CENTURY 21 agents and offices are Smarter, Bolder, Faster?
Victor – Each individual agent, team etc has its own brand – even if they are not actively promoting a “mission statement” or implementing a concise marketing program.
Everyone has a brand in the eyes of others. This brand perception is not measured and what is ignored.