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Branding is the purpose and experience your business runs itself on. With the right elements, a brand can establish an identity that sets itself apart from the competition and creates a personal connection with its audience.
When you’re establishing a brand for your team, it’s important that you create an image that people can trust, relate to and want to keep coming back to. Here are five essential factors to focus on.
1. Invest resources
It’s absolutely crucial to start working your brand by investing in the resources and energy that will help you build it. Remember that without a well-established brand, you won’t find a steady flow of leads and ensure client retention.
By building your very own amazing brand, you set yourself apart from your competitors. It’s a way for you to prove that you are individualistically you — and that no one can change that.
When you take the time and money to invest in your brand, you are furthering its purpose and experience, which ultimately benefits your clients and your target audience.
2. Brand neutrality
Being brand neutral is more important for your real estate team than you think. Don’t worry — you can still have your name attached to the team while maintaining a neutral brand.
Of course you have to be associated with your team, but when potential clients call the office, do they think they’ll be speaking with you? Or are they prepared to speak with your team?
If they are prepared to speak with your team, you are doing it the right way. If the lead is expecting to speak directly to you, you will need to do more work on separating yourself from direct lines of communication and marketing.
You’ll want your brand to stay this way, especially if you plan on selling it or passing it on in the future. The name will stay the same after you’ve moved yourself further and further away from working on the team.
3. The humanistic approach
What do you see when you scroll through the Instagram feeds of a lot of real estate teams? You don’t see faces; you’re typically staring at different listing photos.
Don’t get me wrong — this means that those teams are doing a great job at marketing their inventory. However, this approach does lack a characteristic that Instagram users absolutely love.
Instagram users love to see faces, which is why I recommend for teams to always take the humanistic approach. Everyone is looking to relate to someone — especially if you’re choosing to follow them and like their content.
When you’re looking to brand, you don’t want it to be a faceless entity. You want to promote your team members on your page so your audience can love and trust your brand.
Think of the humans who work on your team, and use them to your branding advantage. Create “meet the team” posts, and even show off behind-the-scenes videos at the office. Once you reveal the human side of your brand, you’ll notice that your engagement rates will increase.
4. Building relationships
When you’re cultivating and creating relationships, you’re actually building the reputation you and your team are going to have. Your brand is going to represent your team, which means everything built through it will come back to you.
Your community and clients are the most important people when it comes to establishing your brand. By building relationships with them, you’re encouraging them to trust your brand more than your competitors’.
If you build a personal relationship with your clients and community, they’re going to consider your brand more of a friend than a stranger. Loyal customers stay for the way a company creates and delivers a product, not the product itself — which is why your client process is so important.
5. Unique client process
Everything you do in your business is based on three things: strengthening the brand, improving your client experience and building your database. One of the essential parts of establishing your brand is carving out the consistent high-quality experience you’ve planned for your clients.
You are the master of sourcing the playbook that’ll help you create a unique client process for your business that’s set to your standards — regardless of who is there face to face for delivery. Having that process in place isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity for expanding your business.
If you create your client process the right way, it becomes an essential part of your brand. Think about a restaurant or business that’s known for giving good service, like Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A has developed specific client processes that make their clients loyal and their retention high.
If you’ve never been to one of these fast food restaurants, here’s what happens: The workers greet you with pleasantries like “my pleasure” instead of “you’re welcome,” placing flowers on tables and offering free food. This is why they’ve continuously ranked No. 1 for customer satisfaction and why this behavior has become an essential part of their brand.
When it comes to your brand, the essentials you need to focus on are the ones that are people-based. Your clients and your community can make or break your brand. Whether it’s by connecting with your clients or serving them, your brand needs to create a strong humanistic presence to build loyalty and trust.
Kathleen Black is the CEO of Kathleen Black Coaching and Consulting in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Connect with her on Instagram at @kathleenblackcoaching or through her website ItTakesa.Team.
