Every single real estate business has a unique story to tell. Whether it be different services, values, management or the niche they specialize in - no one is the same. When you tell your story, you are presenting yourself to the public in a way that will differentiate your real estate business from your competitors. To effectively convey your message and to build a powerful real estate brand, you must first determine who you are as a business and then back it up with a memorable visual brand identity.
Prospects already have a strong opinion of your real estate business before they search for you online or make enquiries – this impression has mostly been formed by coming into contact with your business’ marketing materials. Therefore, your visual identity plays an important role in your branding.
With a consistent and striking visual identity you can paint a positive and memorable picture of who you are as a real estate brand, while creating an emotional connection and conveying your core message to your desired audience.
To have a successful real estate business and win more mandates you need to develop a distinguishable personality that carries through all design and marketing components. Elements such as; imagery style, fonts, colour scheme, logo, tone of writing – all make up your visual identity, which is essential in telling your real estate business’ story consistently. A visual brand identity is therefore fundamental in any communication strategy and is the first step in dominating both print and online marketing.
Your industry standing is not based on your services alone, especially for first impressions. If you create a strong visual identity, that is recognizable, showcases your real estate brand’s personality and sets you apart you can draw many benefits, including:
Brand Awareness
When you develop a strong identity for your real estate brand you will increase the likelihood of more clients recognizing your real estate business and the services you offer – thus growing brand awareness.
Build Trust
When potential clients know who you are, you effectively form a bond with them that will make your real estate brand more trustworthy, reliable and credible.
Cost Effective
A well-designed and thought-out visual identity has staying power. A solid visual identity can stand the test of time - saving you from constantly changing and reinventing your logo and other marketing materials.
The key to a good visual brand identity is to ensure that it is well-defined, attention grabbing, unique, impactful and most importantly memorable. So, before you start creating your visual identity there are certain steps that you must consider:
Research Your Brand
Whether you are building your visual brand identity from scratch or if you are just tweaking it, this is the most important step. Here you will lay down the groundwork and learn as much as you can about your brand. Analyze everything, from who your competitors, target audience, services and objectives are as well as establishing exactly what your current corporate identity is. You can collect all this data by conducting employee interviews, client surveys and internal analysis. The more information you can provide the company designing or re-designing your visual identity the better.
Creating a Concept
Once you have gathered all the necessary information, you are now ready to collaborate with a design agency and come up with visual representations of your brand’s message. Figure out the best way to visually communicate your real estate brand’s personality, goals and values - bringing your message to life through graphics and design elements.
Developing the Design
Once you know what aesthetic you are going for, you can start designing. Pick a design studio whose work you can align with, then sit back and let them design a logo and supporting art that will clearly communicate your message. Try not to take over the design process as this may lead a logo you like, but your potential clients may not.
In the highly competitive real estate industry, it is of the utmost importance that your brand has a strong visual language that will consistently echo your message by implementing sound design in every aspect of your marketing efforts.