Real Estate Agents

What’s In a Brand And Should I Brand?

Branding is the process of associating something unique with a company. A logo, a phrase, colors, and so forth. It is used to associate certain service or need with a company.

Majority of large companies use branding. in fact, if you ask Advertising companies and Public Relations "Experts" about Branding, they will tell you that Branding is the way to go.

How are we using branding in our business today?

Just about every Real Estate Agency, and some Real Estate Investors are using some sort of branding today.

If you are a Real Estate Agent or Realtor, chances are you are already using a brand. You are using your Broker’s logo and company name on your business cards, flyers, signs, and other marketing pieces. You are helping your Broker build his business and hoping your prospects know you work for him.

Investors tend to take a different approach. One investor in my town for example decided to brand his company using a logo. He hired a company to design a nice logo for him for $350. The logo was an abstract picture of a house’s roof in light blue on white. He then went on to use that image on all his marketing including bandit signs. His bandit signs now consisted of very large logo and in small font "we buy houses" and phone number in light blue on white. Picture it for a second.

This is a common practice Real Estate Agents and Investors tend to follow when marketing. They pick a brand image, then use it to market themselves. They design all their marketing material around their brand to build brand awareness.

wrong wrong wrong wrong!

To have an effective Brand Awareness you need to be the first to market with an idea or concept, or you need to spend tremendous amount of money on marketing that brand to penetrate an existing market.

Real Estate industry is no difference.

A practice most of Real Estate Agents, Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, and Real Estate Investors cannot afford. It is cost prohibitive. Not because of the cost associated with the brand design, but rather because of the amount of marketing you will need to do in order for people to associate that brand with you specifically over any other competitor.

I cannot tell you how many calls I get from prospects thinking I am the person marketing using the "We Buy Ugly Houses" brand. That brand belongs to HomeVestors, Inc. but I am getting the benefit of their brand and their advertising by simply using same colors (black on yellow) with easier to remember phone number.

YES YOU DO NEED TO BRAND! BUT…

The problem with the way branding is done today is not with the concept, but with the implementation. You are coming up with a Brand, then designing your marketing around it. Remember, you are not in the business of Branding, you are in the Real Estate business.

Your first and up highest priority is to market and solicit leads. Branding should be byproduct of your marketing. You should design your marketing to be extremely effective in getting leads. It should have all the elements of an effective direct marketing campaign.

Once you have an effective marketing campaign or marketing plan, you then look for a way to tie in your marketing pieces together. Here are some methods to help you come up with a brand AFTER you decided on your marketing message:

1. Try to use your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). "in 30 minutes or less or its free" rings a bell?
2. Do you have an excellent Vanity Number that conveys what you do? 1-800-FLOWERS works for them
3. Is your website something you can brand with? 
4. Your logo or graphic, as long as it does not dominate and dictates your ad design and can be used in black and white

The benefit of establishing a brand is not for general brand awareness. You should use branding to help your prospects associate your various marketing pieces together.

If they see a street sign, they recognize it to be from the same company that sent them a post card. If they get a letter, they remember it is from the same company that sent them a letter 2 weeks ago.

Remember, the your priority is to generate leads. Branding should be a byproduct of your marketing. If you cannot come up with a brand that is fine, you still have good marketing plan to follow because it is not built on an image or a logo. Brand later.

Prospects do not care what your logo looks like, or what colors you use (However, do follow recommended color matching for better readability). They only care about what is in it for them. If they call you, what should they expect.

© 2008 Fadi Zeidan’s Articles.