Brand Building and Beyond

Some of the most meaningful tips I have heard on brand building came from recent guests on my radio show.

Branding guru Bruce Turkel joined me twice this month: once at the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies Trends and Strategies Conference, and again on my show two weeks later. 

He also is a regular guest on FOXNews and is always on the road speaking to audiences about how to build your brand. He says there are seven key points to doing it right. 

A couple of my favorites are that “It’s all about them” – meaning that you need to have a customer centered focus, and “Repeat, Repeat, Repeat” – it sometimes takes a lot of messages until you get your point across.   If you apply these two ideas, as well as Bruce’s other five points, you can really increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts in a relatively short period of time.

Joining me on my show also this month was Mike Fay, who has one of the best real estate brands in South Florida. I first met Mike Fay over 20 years ago, and we have been friends ever since. Mike runs the local office of Avison Young – and while both of us have closed billions of dollars in real estate transactions, I have to admit he can ride a wakeboard better than I can.

Mike said he joined Avison Young because of its national network and the value he sees in the firm’s brand. We discussed how strong the local real estate market is in every product segment. Mike sees another couple years of growth ahead in the current real estate cycle, and I agree. He believes there is an opportunity in the underserved retail markets in Miami – I agree with that too.  

Speaking of retail in Miami, I was quoted this past March in the Wall Street Journal discussing the new megamall being developed by Triple Five in Northwest Miami Dade County. I think there’s room for a project like that. I look forward to visiting the new mall and I’m sure visitors to our community will want to also.

 Retail today is all about the experience, and this mall will provide South Florida with a shopping and entertainment experience that we do not have in the marketplace at this time.  I’m 100 percent behind anything that will extend the stay of guests in Miami and provide fun retail options for local residents. 

To hear my interviews with Bruce and Mike as well as my full commentary on the Triple Five mall you can go to my website www.friedonbusiness.com. Make sure you tune into my show Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on 880 AM ?