While it may be today’s favorite buzzword—and a much-overused one —brand is a business essential that you must leverage effectively. The very survival of your business depends on it.
Without a vivid understanding of how proper branding affects your business and your ability to promote it, you are doomed to misuse your marketing dollars and stumble in your communication efforts.
When done correctly, brand leveraging makes all of your marketing efforts worthwhile. That’s evident by observing how big brands (think Walmart, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s) are viewed in the marketplace, but the lesson applies no matter what size business you have.
So, what is branding, anyway? It can mean many things, but at its root it is what you are promising to the customer. It is what you claim to deliver in product or service, and it differentiates you from your competition.
In your area, how are you and your business known by local real estate agents, brokers, other investors, tenants and homebuyers? Do others recognize your brand? The unfortunate trend in our industry today is to ignore the need to establish a brand—or worse, to take steps to hide it.
Far too many businesses existing for the purpose of real estate investment shroud their company behind an anonymous LLC that has no distinction. Instead, you should plan for growth! Plan to take over your marketplace! And be ready when that happens, with your branding in place.
Among some things to consider in your branding efforts:
DEFINE YOUR BRAND CLEARLY
As you are developing your brand, the conversation should be steeped in self-discovery. This can be found in the 3 D’s:
• What do you do?
• What do you deliver?
• What differentiates you from your competitor?
COMMUNICATE STRATEGICALLY
Before you ever begin drawing awareness of any kind to who you are and what you do, you must determine how and to whom you will communicate your promise.
BUILD EQUITY
Brands such as Nike, Apple and others all have built massive value in their brands because they have communicated their brand promise consistently over time. Each time you communicate your brand, you either build equity or lose equity. Each time it is associated with a person, it either adds value or takes value away. Nike is great, but where would it be without Michael Jordan?
If 80 percent of all businesses fail in the first two years, I wonder what a proper brand strategy could have done for them? Consider the quote: “Well begun is half done.” they need.
A few of the companies that were under the current Affinity Enterprise Group umbrella were suffering from “brand obscurity.” Many of these were purchased from earlier owners and founders. Today, under the new company Think Realty, they have found new life.
This brand’s promise is to provide the needed content, networking and resources to make anyone successful in his or her real estate investing endeavor. Think Realty ties together Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine, Community Investor Magazine, REI Expo, PREIMA, RE Rights and the Community Buying Group to bring the user a continuous hub of connectivity and service at a very low price. It is on the fast track to becoming the one essential to every investor—and to every person looking to introduce viable products to the investor.
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