Do you ever wonder how some of the biggest names in real estate create such a vast and powerful brand? While there are several factors, my experience working with global brands, including Sotheby’s International Realty, BMW or IBM, has given me valuable insight into what works and what doesn’t.
Consistency is just one key factor that most far-reaching brands have in common, but how does consistency play a role in building a reputable, respectable, and well-known real estate brokerage brand?
Set the stage
Most powerful brands built a strong foundation and remained true to their identity. So, the question becomes, what is your identity? First, stick to what makes you different, and don’t try to be like your competitors. It seems simple, but far too many brokerages focus on their competitors’ strengths and fall into the trap of trying to replicate them in their own brokerage, and it fails every time. You are unique and it must show in everything you do.
So ask yourself, what makes your brokerage unique? What is something that you can offer or do better than anyone in your market? Finding your differentiation will make you more marketable. If you can differentiate yourself among your competitors, the next step is sticking to your story.
And watch out, if you lean into other features or areas of your business that might seem beneficial to your audience in the short term, you’ll miss out on the long-term benefits of generating a strong brand. Once you start telling your story, you’ll notice how, over time, your brand will start telling your story for you.
Focus on the inside
Your internal branding strategy must focus on aligning your vision and organizational goal with your agents and staff. Why? Let’s take a look at how powerful the role of branding and organizational alignment is within your business.
Have you ever gotten excited about a product or service, and, in the process, things go wrong and your experience deteriorates? Maybe the customer service was below standard, the time it took for you to receive your product or service lagged. Maybe the product was great but everything surrounding the process was sub-par. You might be rightfully disappointed, but what’s worse is that you’re less likely to go with the same brand again or even refer it to others.
It is a brand promise that didn’t deliver, which could have many reasons — likely internal. It could be poor communications, undefined service level expectations or underdelivering and overpromising.
Branding within builds culture among your staff and the agents, vendors or partners with whom they interact.
Brand to the outside
Now let’s take a look at how internal branding links to your brokerage’s external environment. To put it simply, it’s how your brand image is recognized in the market you’re serving. If done right, your external brand strategy is what attracts agents and clients and maintains their loyalty.
The internal branding efforts must align with what your customer expects of your agents and staff, and the delivery of those expectations. When it falls short, you lose agent and client trust.
On the contrary, if you’re onboarding, training and guiding your agents and staff in accordance with your values and goals, you’ll be on the right track to building a strong real estate brand that gives you instant recognition in the marketplace.
All successful and highly recognized real estate brands focus on both the internal and external strategies of branding and the outcomes speak for themselves. Get started today building that for your brokerage and agents. Don’t just tell your story; live it.
