KAMPALA: The real secret to strong real estate brands is putting together creative elements and messages that are on point.
In this article, the sales and marketing assistant of Property Services Limited focuses on the visual elements behind the real estate agency as a brand.
Founded in 1990, Property Services Limited, as the leading commercial and residential real estate agency in Uganda, has showcased itself as a major brand in the real estate industry. As a real estate agency, you already have a brand, whether or not you have made a conscious effort to create one.
But the question is, is it the one you want?
While many real estate agencies present themselves as having “integrity” or being “the best,” these qualities, while important, don’t necessarily make them distinct from others.
What specific skills and knowledge do you offer as a real estate agency and how should you promote these characteristics?
Firstly, we all need to know what a brand is!
Typically, a brand is the sum total of the impressions that clients and prospects have of your business. These impressions are made through the words you say, the images and colors you use, and the ways in which you interact (or fail to interact) with your target market.
Property Services Ltd, a commercial real estate agency founded by businessmen Minex Karia and Pradip Karia, invests heavily in improving its brand image each year because we know that image has a direct impact on whether or not people rent from us. In so doing, we made sure we built a good brand that inspires a positive emotional response so that our clientele can feel a sense of camaraderie and connection with us or they can feel safe and secure putting themselves in our hands.
A good brand for your real estate business will show how you differ from the competition. If you don’t know how you differ, then you should look closer. Your personality alone is a differentiator. Your knowledge of transactions and how you work; your experience dealing with people; the types of people you like to work with; the number and extent of the testimonials you’ve received; what ratio of your business is customer vs. you; how much of your business is by referral; what systems you have in place to market, promote, and close deals-all of these things make you unique as a real estate agent. From there, it’s a matter of turning your unique qualities into a workable brand.
A clear example is our own strengths as property services limited. We have a deep understanding of our clientele and their needs and are a true advocate for them. This entails having a strong hand at guiding them through the transaction, a high level of integrity and systems, and being professional in the marketplace. We are also one of the best real estate agencies in Uganda, but we choose not to call attention to it because we want our brand to be about the clientele, not about us.
In regard to consistency in business and experience, our brand image isn’t just what we market; it’s also every experience a client or prospect has with us.
Once you settle on a brand image that really reflects who you are, make sure that your clientele experience always reflects that. If you’re going on high integrity, then make sure you follow through on promises.
If you’re emphasizing that you have systems, make sure you have them for every part of the process. If it’s all about the clients, then be certain that you slow down enough to be fully present with your prospects and clients, whether they are in front of you or on the phone, and never take calls from other people when you are with someone. This is the consistency of the experience we have.
With that, no matter what, you will brand yourself. The fact is that everything you do has to create a brand for you. Whether you are conscious of your choices or not, you’ll create an image in the eyes of the public, your clients, and other practitioners. Wouldn’t it be better if that image was consciously created rather than the result of a bunch of random choices that may or may not be consistent?
As part of any presentation I usually make, I always say the phrase, “I won’t always tell you what you want to hear as a customer; I’ll always tell you what you need to know.” It said that I would tell the hard truths and also implied that I would put the clients’ needs before my own.
If I’m willing to tell someone the unvarnished truth, it means I’m also willing to take the risk that I’ll upset them and lose them as a client. That’s a risk of a loss for me in order to serve my client. That’s one way of saying that you have integrity without speaking it out loud.
For inquiries on all your commercial and residential needs, please reach the Property Services Sales desk on: