1. Launches fail. The era of the sales launch weekend was not only short lived but it is effectively over. The over-used strategy was to create hype and a false sense of urgency around buying up front. And while the strategy may have driven initial sales when cheap money was available, that is certainly not the case today. Luring buyers with hyped up launches and attempting to create a false sense of urgency in this market can have the opposite effect. Not only will it fail to lure buyers but it has the potential to create a brand image of conveying misleading information. In other words, the entire market knows that real estate development is at a very low point, using misleading statements about the market that are easily verifiable on Google will only damage the marketing efforts. The developer and brand will not be trusted and sales risk rises in a negative correlation to brand trust.


2. Investor speculators are out of the market – focus on the user. The marketing strategy of a development should be based on the eventual residents. Who are they? What do they want in a development? What elements of their particular lifestyle can you satisfy to the degree that they will buy? The marketing then focuses on those lifestyle elements as the core-messaging strategy. Defining a marketing strategy based on investment potential or speculative buyers, as in the case of vacation or second home property, is a very low return, highly risky strategy. Instead valid marketing strategies focus on the lifestyle interests of buyers. If you find the sweet spot between your brand and their personal passions and needs, the demand curve shifts upward.


3. Digital rules. Every one of your potential buyers will research the development online. They will search competitor properties, evaluate your lifestyle amenities and validate or disprove any claims you make. Consequently digital marketing must be the core around which all of your marketing is based. Chris Anderson, Author of The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is selling less of more said, “Your brand is what Google says your brand is, not what you say your brand is.” While this generalization highlights the extraordinary influence that search and other digital media have on a brand, I believe that the relevance to real estate developers is to understand the dialogue and the nature of information, then build a strategy to optimize the multitude of touch points across digital networks.


4. Customization and niche marketing. Ask any development marketer about tactics and undoubtedly you’ll hear direct mail. Of course it will be qualified that the response rates are typically 1 – 3%. BS. Response rates on direct mail (printed) are probably closer to 0 than 3% and the response rates on digital (email) are why spammer’s exist, i.e. the response rate is a fraction of a percent. Both tactics can work, if you are prepared to undertake a massive and sustained effort. For example a .01% response rate yields 10 leads from 100,000 people. An alternative strategy is based on highly customized or niche direct marketing tactics that leverage the enormous potential of database technology with variable data publishing (both print and digital). The example I typically use is imagining a typical direct mail campaign of 5000 pieces. Each person gets the same piece except for the mailing label; now imagine 5000 different pieces going to 5000 different people. Each recipient’s piece was made specifically for them based on their preferences, likes and needs embedded in the database. This hybrid can easily yield double-digit response rates. Reliance on “spray and pray” marketing tactics are not only ill-advised in today’s market but can add significant risk to developer absorption assumptions. Variable data with it’s highly customized and niche targeting can reduce risk in absorption and decrease costs over the long run as ROI increases.


These are just four of the laundry list of common mistakes that are at the core of failed marketing strategies. I’ve highlighted just a few of the emerging trends that are powering successful marketing strategies in many diverse sectors. If you are a developer, marketer or funding source the entire list of common mistakes and emerging trends should be at the top of your marketing meeting agenda.


FORMO not only prepares some of the most innovative marketing strategies in the industry today but we also consult to groups looking for expert eyes to ad value to their own strategy.

Ok, there are more than 7 but I couldn’t help but share these, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the level of understanding of digital strategy is generally weak or the industry has become so mired in tradition that bad practices are being mistaken for best.  Here’s my list:


1. Website’s are for e commerce. Wrong, websites are for clients (guests). If a booking engine is the only thing on your site that engages them, then the answer is yes. If, however, your clients want and need more out of your digital platform that dates, rates and space, then this is a seriously flawed assumption. The fundamental question is one of strategy not e commerce tactics. And that question begins very simply, What are your clients looking for online? Do you know or are you assuming?


2. Style over content. I didn’t originate it but truly, CONTENT IS KING, repeat CONTENT IS KING. Every top performing site in every single industry has content directly relevant to their client base. If your web experts are showing  you visual designs before addressing strategy, substance or content…start over. Or if you think you’ll have a better website if you have more FLASH or another visual design…start over. The point is that a strategy about your content is fundamental to increasing the performance of your site.


3. Don’t use a Copy Machine. Don’t copy other hotel’s websites and don’t hire web development companies that give you the same site they gave somebody else, unless of course your hotel owner, asset manager or board has asked you to finish in second place. If you are considering web developers or agencies, look at their portfolio, if their portfolio sites all have similar IA (Information Architecture) run away.


4. Go Big. Mad Men is a fictitious television show. In the digital sphere, innovation and great marketing can come from a one person shop, a small firm or a mega agency. Big does not guarantee success. Recently I worked with a client that used the “biggest name in Hospitality Websites”. Sounds good but too bad that firm didn’t know squat about strategy. This is not about buying power, the ability to run focus groups or massive staff. It’s about finding a partner that can understand your clients and what they need in an online experience and creating a strategy that is unique to you…and measurably effective in adding value to your hotel.


5. Non-expert experts. The IT Department is not synonymous with web development or digital strategy. True professionals that they are, they are no more qualified for web strategy than the rooms executive is in designing a Food &Beverage POS system. All geeks are not alike. Beware of advertising agencies masquerading as web development companies, those are not the same. Marketing Services has increasingly become a niche industry, don’t be afraid to mix and match. The bottom line is to drive the value to your hotel.


6. Misunderstanding web metrics or worse, ignoring them. Do you read and actively analyze your metrics to understand what your clients are doing, consuming and most importantly, ignoring on your digital platforms? Do you know the percentage of your visitors that watch your virtual tour? all of it? And if they bounce or exit from that page? Is your web development company digging deep into these metrics or are they touting the growth in visits? Have you asked about your PageRank and how this strategy will raise it?


7. SEM solves everything. Yes indeed, if you sell SEM (Search Marketing). But if you are a hotel marketing chief then you need to be as concerned about quality as quantity. Do you know if more visit traffic has a strong positive correlation to increased engagement, bookings or loyalty? Think of SEM (Marketing) as a tactic but SEO (Optimization) as a strategic outcome. There is a very big and important difference to the value you add to your hotel’s revenue strategy.


I hope this is helpful chiefs, my list is not all encompassing and I’m absolutely certain that my peers in the digital sphere can add another copy block, but the point is that a Digital Marketing Strategy is perhaps the single most important factor for any hotel. If you are the equity fund owner, the General Manager, The Marketing Director or even a bellman, it is the factor that will ultimately add the most value to your hotel. If you don’t believe me, then ask your General Manager how much business they got through Expedia back in the day.


If you’d like a complimentary Executive Analysis of your current site or digital strategy (assuming you have one) feel free to contact me at FORMO.  
Robert@formosite.com

Puerta a la Vida, our amazing client in Costa Rica has launched a new landing page…click here

This week FORMO and our digital partner {e} house signed an incredible new account in the form of Richard Mishaan Design in New York. Richard is an amazing icon of interior design and interior architecture. If you want to get an idea of his exceptional work just click on this link to his book Modern Luxury. 

We look forward to this incredible opportunity.

TryonPlaza.com

FORMO in conjunction with Blue Ion launched a new website for Tryon Plaza, an historic commercial office building project located in a near perfect location in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. The Tryon Plaza Building is owned by our client The Simpson Organization of Atlanta, GA and is the second Simpson Project to be awarded to FORMO.

In rebuilding the site, FORMO approached The Simpson Organization with a very simple premise: generate sales leads for the building which had languished for over a year with very few sales leads. FORMO demonstrated that the opportunity lay in a new marketing strategy, not lamenting over economic conditions.

The problem in lead generation for Tryon Plaza was due to a stale and conventional marketing strategy. FORMO developed a new strategy based on extensive research of the existing owners and tenants in Tryon Plaza and then pushed that forward in a cloning strategy to find more prospects just like the current owners. As a result the strategy became centered on providing tools and straightforward information to entrepreneurial small business owners.

The launch of the site was timed to match the first of a series of Professional Entrepreneurial Events to be held in the beautiful conference facilities at Tryon Plaza.  Not coincidentally the first series was titled, “How to Grow your Business - Leasing or Buying your commercial space”. The Speaker, John Bly with The Charlotte-based accounting firm of Toler, Bly & Associates actually referenced and used the Lease-Buy Tool embedded in Tryon’s new website to demonstrate the inherent value and benefits for a small business to own their commercial space. A resounding and qualified endorsement of the technology and the strategy.

Check out the site, Tryon Plaza

2.0 Blog & E-magazine

FORMO in conjunction with our amazing digital partner {e} house launched the 2.0 version of the blog & emagazine for the Turks & Caicos Sporting Club at Ambergris Cay, Life on the Cay. The new blog replaces the original version launched in 2009.

When we first proposed the concept in 2009, the client’s initial response was that affluent people don’t blog or read blogs. Fortunately the results proved our theory to be overwhelmingly correct. Since its launch the blog has rocketed to the top of the list in terms of lead generation among the super-affluent clientele of the Sporting Club. The client experienced a 12x increase in qualified, lead generation during a period when the real estate market was in precipitous decline.

We think the reason is simple: Authenticity. The affluent clientele targeted by the Sporting Club are not only discriminating, they are immune to the typical hyperbole of real estate marketing. They ignore it and as a result it has very little influence in terms of generating actions (sales leads). However, when authentic, real world content is served up in a technologically savvy and sophisticated environment…engagement happens.

Of course there is more to the strategy than the summary of the preceding paragraphs, but suffice it to say that it works and it worked so well that the client funded an upgrade and expansion of the platform. All of this further validates FORMO’s proprietary digital strategy, “COBWEB”.

Fantastic article by Susan Kime, read on

Ok, it’s big headline and I don’t expect a waiting list for seats. I had breakfast a few weeks ago with Greg Furhman, Founder and Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council. Greg and I were discussing some applications of positioning with luxury products and services when he suggested that I participate as a speaker for an upcoming event they were planning on the Aesthetics of Luxury through Design & Print. I was honored by Greg’s invitation and humbled by the opportunity to speak to such a prestigious group. Nonetheless, I have a very relevant and fascinating case study to share with them. I’m going to talk about the positioning process and application that we implemented for the DPS Sporting Clubs. This is a fascinating and highly relevant case study not only for the real estate development industry but also any product or service that requires a very precise marketing model.


The event is May 20 at Madam Tussauds in Manhattan. For more information click here.

From real estate developer perspective, marketing resources must produce directly measurable ROI.

We understand that as we are an in-house marketing company for a successful development company that remains highly active: DPS SPORTING CLUB DEVELOPMENT COMPANY.


In the current economic times, the conversation with potential prospects will simply not happen if you follow the same old agency strategies of big advertising, production marketing and template communications. The conversation with potential prospects is one to one and it initially takes place online where the prospect controls the space with the close button on their browser. The content therefore must engage the prospect and hold their attention. To do that it must be authentic and real. Its too easy for any of us to Google your project and find out “everything” about it from other sources. And we are all immune to advertising tag lines, manufactured copy and clearly staged photos in over-sized, expensive brochures. We simply ignore them. Think about how many ad messages you experienced last night watching television from your home. Do you recall any? Chances are that you don’t. You’re immune to them. In order for that strategy to work the Developer must devote massive resources, which is a viable strategy if you sell consumer products in a global marketplace but not for a struggling developer selling a niche product. The ROI is just not there anymore.


Still, I continue to be amazed at how many development firms remain trapped in their own marketing/advertising paradigm yet exhibit a very different behavior as individuals. When asked how they obtain information…the web. When asked how they research a product or service…the web. When asked the last time they called for information from an ad they saw in a magazine…they can’t recall.


The danger however is the “I’m an expert” reaction. “We need a new website.” Unfortunately that’s not necessarily the answer. If their “expert” opinion views the web as an electronic brochure or a digital means to shove ad copy down the prospect’s throat then the ROI will be low.


The web is not the alternate path for the same old marketing strategy.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) - During the flush years, luxury brands seemingly cemented their exclusive status by shunning one of the ultimate mass mediums, the internet. According to a new study, only 33% of luxury brands were selling online a year ago, but the recession has had a profound effect, as 66% of luxury brands are now peddling their wares on the web.


But, despite the increase, most luxury brands lack digital savvy, said Scott Galloway, an associate professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business who looked at 109 luxury brands across 11 categories, including fashion, electronics, jewelry, hotels and automobiles.


“It was fine when revenues were growing 11% a year. And then everything changed. They’ve woken up and said, ‘Last holiday season sales were down 34% but traffic to our website was up 61%.’ Brands are innovating out of necessity.”


In his study, Mr. Galloway awarded brands designations of “Genius,” “Gifted,” “Average,” “Challenged” and “Feeble.” He found that the high-end automobile and electronics categories tended to have more digital savvy, while the cruise and tours segment, along with jewelry, were the least savvy.


Luxury marketers’ fear of losing control of their brands, when coupled with a lack of digital and social-media skills, has contributed to the dismal state of the category online, Mr. Galloway said. But he expects that will change dramatically over the next 24 months, as brands realize they can’t ignore technology. The days of a tightly controlled brand, with beautiful merchandise and flagship stores at tony addresses, along with ads shot by high-profile names in Vogue and Vanity Fair, are over, he said.


Luxe Exemplars
But some brands have been rolling with the times, and it’s probably no surprise that Apple and Sony have been at the forefront with robust digital presences that utilize search and incorporate video and user-generated content. In the auto category, more than half of the brands in the study are reaching consumers via mobile devices. BMW sends text messages to remind owners to purchase winter tires, while Ferrari’s mobile game lets users customize and race vehicles.


There are other bright spots. Ralph Lauren has been aggressive in the mobile space, with the launch of an iPhone app. And Estee Lauder has a makeover widget that allows users to upload a photo and virtually test products on their faces.


When it comes to Twitter and Facebook, luxury brands are making a showing but have not had nearly the same impact as other marketers. The Four Seasons and Fairmont hotels have separate Twitter accounts for each property and post updates with special events and promotions. And Trump Hotels, tweeting via @ivankatrump, boasts the largest number of followers, just shy of 260,000. After Apple, Lamborghini has the highest Facebook fan count, with about 1 million fans.


Still, less than half of the brands included in the study purchase search terms.


Mr. Galloway suggests that the excuse that luxury customers are not online is dated, pointing out that 40- to 55-year-old women, a sweet spot for these brands, is the fastest-growing segment on Facebook. Likewise, Generation Y, a growing group of luxury consumers, is poised to outnumber baby boomers by 2010.


“Luxury has become very complacent, as they’ve had the curse of being monstrously successful over the past 20 years. There hasn’t been a great deal of urgency around innovation,” he said. “All of a sudden the model has become very broken.”


CLICK HERE to view the entire article and the brands designated as “Genius,” “Gifted,” “Average,” “Challenged” and “Feeble”