52 | PACKAGING WORDS | Francine Carrel
Packaging a lifestyle I
don’t know about you, but I have spent many an idle moment wishing I were sitting under a golden sun in a beautiful resort. The beach is only a stone’s throw away and a pool gleams, sapphire-like, to the left of my deckchair.
Others, more active than me, may spend their allotted day-dreaming hours mentally whizzing down a ski-slope, abseiling from a cliff or dragging their families around cultural hotspots. Whatever your preference, ‘lifestyle’ real estate products are a big market. Many potential clients will be looking for simple holiday packages, while some will be up for a more long- term investment through timeshare, fractional or full-out purchase of a holiday home.
While there are many, many, people seeking lifestyle products, there are also an awful lot of the products already in the market. So – how do you make yours stand out appealingly amongst the crowd?
The website
The all-important web presence deserves to be mentioned fi rst.
• While, as always, I would recommend a ‘clean’ and professional- looking web page, it is a good idea to brighten up the style a little for lifestyle products. You will benefi t from colorful, eye-catching images to draw in potential clients.
• If you are looking to draw in families, especially, a brighter color scheme (not garish, though!) will appeal. If you’re targeting adult-only clients, a more serene and minimalist approach is preferable. • If you don’t have someone with design experience within the company, it’s defi nitely worth splashing out on a professional web designer.
• Make sure your contact details are easily found on the front page; it seems like such a small thing, but instantly marks you out as more legitimate.
The Four ‘F’s
As our editor mentioned in the overview of these articles (see OPP’s October issue), you can break down the vital components of product packaging into four ‘F’ words that won’t offend. As lifestyle products cover such varied groups of people, I’m going to further
subdivide information into: Sporting, TWINKS (twin income, no kids) and Family Groups.
Features
Features have always been an important part of your real estate project – but the number of choices in the market have grown and people are starting to look more specifi cally at what will benefi t their lifestyle.
Sporting
Those seeking a life of action want to spend very little time thinking about the fi ddly bits. Making it easy for them is therefore paramount – can you supply extra storage space for their mounds of skiing equipment and label it as such? Perhaps a wet room for diving or sailing gear, if your property is in close proximity to a lake or the sea. Sporting features will, of course, vary hugely – but simple additions can be very effective if you spell out the fact that they will benefi t the sporting lifestyle.
TWINKS Forgive me if I verge on the stereotypical for this subgroup, but for the purposes of this article I’ll be treating TWINKS as professional couples looking for a place of relaxation and serenity.
Again, features you’d usually want to include in a property can take on a renewed sheen if packaged properly. A big kitchen – perfect for romantic meals in or sophisticated dinner parties. Make this clear with images of such. Well- designed bedrooms will immediately lend an image of a life of luxury, as will a pool or hot tub on the immediate property or in the complex. If the area is already full of such couples (especially those speaking the same language as your target audience), point this out – the appeal of like-minded neighbours should not be under-estimated.
Getting the cash | Helping with your customers’ fi nance is important
Family Groups A decent amount of space is a great feature to focus on for this group. Nobody wants to cram children into claustrophobic areas. That’s not to say your property has to be huge – just make sure you upsell the parts of it that are large. Whether that’s a garden, a
FEATURE
www.opp-connect.com | DEC 2012/JAN 2013
In the fi rst of our series about packaging product, Francine Carrel looks at properties for lifestyle. The type of customer you’re looking to draw in – be it an adventurous sort, a couple looking for a serene lifestyle or a bustling family of fi ve – will determine how best to package this particular kind of property...
living room or bedrooms, make sure you mention it.
Those with families will treat security as highly important (as will most customers, but it shoots to the forefront if children are involved). While security may not be the fi rst thing you want to mention, make sure it’s noticeable in your advertising. Other features are more obviously family-orientated: a playroom, storage space for toys and clothes, baby-proof
“Those seeking a life of action want to spend little time thinking about the fi ddly bits”
sockets and cupboards. If you have children, think about what would make your life easier in a property, or talk to family, friends and colleagues about it. In a lot of cases, the property won’t have to be drastically altered. Small changes can make all the difference as long as the potential customer is aware of them.
Facilities
Facilities extend beyond the actual property; but they will have a massive infl uence on the buyer all the same. Providing facilities offers you a twin
benefi t. Not only does it make it easier to sell your property but it could also make you more money. In many cases, adding facilities might only add 5-10% to construction costs but justify a 20% increase in the price of the property.
Sporting
Sporting facilities are probably the most obvious. Having a property that’s part of, say, a golf complex will immediately catch the eye of golfers. Looking slightly further afi eld, take time to research other sporting activities in the area.
Are there diving schools at the nearby beach? Exceptional skiing conditions at the mountains on the skyline? If so, perhaps you can go further than just pointing these out to clients. Try talking to the local providers and working out a deal to make it cheaper for your clients and give guaranteed business to the facility
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