When you think about branding, often some of the world’s most iconic brands come to mind, like Coca-Cola, Nike, Disney, Apple and even LEGO, 2015’s most powerful brand. (Yes LEGO! — those colorful little bricks that can be used to build extraordinary things.)
Since many of the best known brands were created to sell tangible products, you may wonder how critical branding is in a service-based industry such as property management. You might think that your customers care less about your brand and more about what you are able to do for them.
But the truth is, your brand, or rather the public’s perception of your brand is the number one factor that will determine whether your business succeeds or fails.
Let us explain why.
Brand is more than just your name and logo emblazoned on all of your communications and marketing initiatives. Brand is the thoughts, feelings and perceptions that enter the minds of customers and prospects when they hear or see your brand name.
The Property Manager’s Guide to Building Brand has all the inspiration and resources you need to build an extraordinary brand that persuades prospects to choose you over the competition.
Your brand is created from the entire customer experience:
• exposure to your advertising and marketing initiatives
• what they hear from peers and industry resources
• the location and physical appearance of the properties you manage
• the amenities and services you provide
• their interactions with your service team
It all contributes to the gut-feeling that people have when they hear your organization’s name or see its logo.
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
– Seth Godin
Your brand is also what differentiates you from the competition.
It’s fair to say that property management is a highly competitive industry. There are a plethora of property management companies out there, all offering similar services, often at comparable prices. So what will make prospective customers choose you over the competition?
We know that most people do not necessarily go with the lowest price. Instead they base their decisions on perceived value. And it’s in this perceived value that their thoughts and feelings towards your brand come in to play.
Even if you come to the table armed with the most comprehensive service package at the lowest price, your prospect might make a decision that defies logic. And if you understand that human decision-making is ruled by emotion, not logic, you will know that brand really is everything in property management.
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Get your free copy of The Property Manager’s Guide to Building Brand. It has all the inspiration and resources you need to build an extraordinary brand that persuades prospects to choose you over the competition.
