Lee Davenport

By Lee Davenport

If you’re in the real estate sales business but feel like no one knows it, then you likely have a branding problem, my friend.

Alexandra Radford, the marketing maven of Edge Marketing Company, has a critical vocabulary word that every real estate pro should respect and prioritize to get their desired business buzz: Consistency.

Here’s what Radford says about the importance of consistency in branding:

In the past, branding was used as “a mark put upon criminals with a hot iron.” Yikes! Criminals were “branded” and set apart so that they could be recognized by the public. It was a stamp, a “scarlet letter” if you will, that sent a message about who that person was without saying a single word.

Today, my message has nothing to do with criminals – the branding I’m referring to is about creating a strong brand for yourself and your business. So, how do you develop a brand SO POWERFUL it is received, liked, and trusted at first glimpse?

Let’s say you have a well branded logo and business card that are an eye catching representation of your business. It encourages your potential customer to visit your website for more information.

And then BAM!

You have a terrible website. It’s not customized and eye catching. It’s not easy to navigate. It doesn’t portray the same message as your business card. And it doesn’t align with the rest of your message.

BRANDING FAIL.

Consistency builds trust. Inconsistency and mixed messages confuse your customer, breaks trust, and leaves them open to other vendors.  

Image courtesy of Lee Davenport.

What can you do today to demonstrate brand consistency?

In essence, consistency in what you project and portray to every personal contact you make is key. For real estate sales agents, this is critical when dealing with the buying and selling public. For real estate brokers, consistency must also extend to prospective sales agents. Here are 10 key reflections to make today about the state of your real estate business (as excerpted from Plan to Win: Transform Your Real Estate Sales Game Plan):

1. What is the current impression your business makes?

2. What is your current brand identity? (i.e. Your distinguished name, logo, package design, or trademark that identifies and distinguishes your services from other real estate service providers.)

3. Is your brand consistently portrayed every time you touch a prospective, current, or past client across all channels? (In every email, voicemail, text, social media post and the like?)

4. Why or why not? (How are you going to solve the problem? Do you need a style guide, a team meeting, etc.?)

5. Where do you want to be seen?

6. On what specific channels and online touch points do you need to portray your brand?

7. Should you be on Facebook? How’s your website? What’s your email signature?

8. Which REALTORS® and real estate companies do you currently admire? (Write down brands that you like and the reasons why, then use that list help guide you in creating a uniform brand.)

9. What is the difference between the brands you admire and the public perception of your business?

10. What improvements can you make? (Be sure to avoid copyright infringements!)

By the way, if you have questions on designing your brand identity (including logo and website), Alexandra at Edge Marketing Company is happy to help.

Lee Davenport is an Atlanta-based real estate broker and business doctoral candidate who trains agents and brokerages on how to use today’s technology to work smarter. Join Lee’s free RE Tech Insider’s Club by visiting www.LearnWithLee.REALTOR.