I hear that sentence all the time.  “I don’t know what a brand is, but I don’t think I need one”.  I decided to take this opportunity to try to define the concept of branding to explain why you need a brand.

In a way, it’s like explaining why we need air.  So, please hang in there with me, and let me know if what follows makes sense.

How Can You Recognize a Brand?

Raise your hand if you recognize the car in the photo above. If you didn’t raise your hand, you know that it’s a sporty-looking car.    Just looking at the car, for all you know, it could be a hybrid with a top speed of 60 miles an hour.  That could be your perception just from looking at the photo.

If you did raise your hand, you know that you’re looking at an Aston Martin.  A 2010 DB9 Volante, to be exact.  And, now that the rest of you know it’s an Aston Martin, you probably have quite a different perception of the vehicle.

What do you know about Aston Martins?   If you’re a car buff at all, you know that James Bond was fond of Aston Martins.  So, does that fact make you feel differently about the car than when you thought it might be a hybrid?  Indeed.  Why?

Because you now perceive the car to be a hot sports car, capable of making beautiful women swoon, achieving high rates of speed, completing very sharp turns, and in the hands of  “Q”, launching rockets.  And, that perception is reinforced by other things you may know if you are a car buff.

For example, here is a short list of famous folks who drive Aston Martins:  Jennifer Lopez, Pierce Brosnan, Janet Jackson and Ryan Seacrest.  So, even if you’ve never driven an Aston Martin yourself, every perception you have of the car is consistent. It’s a hot car that anyone would love to own.

So, That’s It.  That’s the Brand.

Now, look at the photo again, and point to the brand.  You can’t, can you?  Why? Because a brand is a perception that has been implanted in the public’s mind.

It’s your perception of what the Aston Martin is all about.  And, you developed that perception because everything you were exposed to concerning that car reinforced its brand.

When people ask me what the end product produced by branding is, it can be difficult to explain.  There isn’t something you can see, feel or taste.  It’s not like a website or a marketing brochure.  And, that is a big part of the reason why branding is often misunderstood.

When we do branding, the end product is a market positioning statement and a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  Just words on a page.  But, the point is that you can take those words and use them to start implanting a perception in the minds of the people in your market area.

The branding process gives you the opportunity to clearly identify your target market, their needs, and how you satisfy those needs in a way that is DIFFERENT from your competitors.

Without a Brand, You’re Just a Real Estate Agent

It’s the “different from your competitors” part that is critical.  Until you know what the Aston Martin’s brand is, it’s just a car.  Until you, as a real estate professional, have a brand, you’re just a real estate agent.

And, that’s why you need a brand.

 This guest post was written by Chicago Condos specialist, Mert Sahinoglu.

Here are some offline website branding techniques that every real estate professional can apply.  Some are very untraditional.

Home/Office Roof

Your Real Estate Office/Home-Office Roof should have your domain name on it. It is great branding for airborne traffic as well as Google/Bing Map Satellite view.

Car

Many real estate professionals already place their website on the side of their cars through stickers. There is one place they miss:  the License Plate Frame.  No better advertisement in the city or highway traffic jams.

Voicemail/Phone Listing Ads

Make sure that all office/cell phone voicemail messages and real estate listing presentations have your domain name in the message.

Phone Number

Get your phone number to have your domain name (800-real-estate-domain-com).  Anything up to a 7 letter domain name should avoid confusion.

If your domain name is quite long (such as buildrealestateresults.com), you can consider getting a short URL.  For example, buildrealestateresults.com could be brer.fm.  You could advertise it as 1-800-1-BRER.FM.  The short domain version of your site can also be used for Twitter links & other social media branding. 

Real Estate Office Supplies

All your real estate office supplies should have domain name branded on it. Especially pens and notepads that get “relocated” by your guests. 

Donate Domain-Branded T-shirts to Clothing Drives

Donate T-shirts/Caps to clothing drives that aim at the local poor in your area. It is a tax write off and a free advertising. Oh, by the way, you should sometimes wear your own domain branded clothes too. 

Brand Your Dog or Larger Pet

All Clothing worn by your dog should have your domain name branding.
 
What other offline real estate website branding techniques can you think of?
 

Note from Kathleen:

Mert, the telephone example is really unique.  I did a search at GetRealEstateDomains.com (a Godaddy registration site we sponsor), for BRER.com. 

While that one is taken, of course, the search always shows alternatives, and there were quite a few.  BRER.biz for example, (although it’s not available any more)  BRER.tv, BRER.us, etc.

On the screen with the alternatives, there are some tabs under “We also recommend”.  Clicking on the International tab brought me to even more alternatives.  So, if your desired short name isn’t available, look for alternatives you wouldn’t ordinarily use.

Naturally, you’d always want to keep a clear, .COM name as your default for SEO and to ensure that folks who can’t remember the abbreviation can find your site on a .COM domain.

Now, my only problem is that the acronym for BuildRealEstateWebsites.com is BREW.  And, looks like all the beer drinkers of the world have already snapped up all variations of that one!

Based on some statistics I receive, I’ve noticed that an article I wrote about branding is the most often copied page on our main website.  The message of that article was this:

Your Logo is NOT Your Real Estate Brand!

That may cause you to say Hmmm.  But, here’s what I mean.

Your logo represents your brand.  Your logo is the visual clue you give the world to help them remember your brand.  So, if the logo is a visual clue, then what is your brand?

Your brand is the definition of what your
real estate business offers to clients and customers. 

Think about that for a minute.

Would you stop by KMart to buy a wedding dress?  Would you drop in to Saks Fifth Avenue to buy a $2 pair of socks?  Of course not.  And, why do you think that is?

It’s because the marketing folks at KMart and Saks have worked very hard to train you about what to expect when you shop there.   Would your answers to  the questions above change if the KMart logo was blue with a happy face?  Or, if the Saks logo was printed using Arial as the font?

The point of developing a brand is to define your position in the marketplace and your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  It’s identifying the things that differentiate you in the market and translating those things into benefits for the consumer.

Don’t get caught up developing a logo until you know what it’s supposed to stand for.  And, if you’re like most people, it’s a tough thing to do for yourself.  So, give us a call if you’d like help.