Start with your passion and what you believe in

Posted on 11th Apr 2012 by Katy Cowan in Blog

I currently live in a city in the South of England where the rental property market is buoyant and fast paced. Properties come and go at an alarming rate and if you're a tenant on the lookout for a new place to call home, you'd better be ready to move fast as there clearly aren't enough properties to go around.

It's not surprising that there is no shortage of letting agents up and down the main high street - all fighting for a piece of the lucrative property pie. But one unfortunate consequence of a high demand market is that the quality of housing tends to be poor overall. The agents seem to get away with daylight murder as they hike the prices up and fire out all sorts of awful properties to tenants who are happy to pay the inflated rates.

But as someone who is currently looking for a new apartment, I'm not prepared to move into any of these places. I'm hoping to find somewhere that can really feel like home. But on researching the market I was beginning to lose all hope of finding anywhere until I discovered an estate agent at the end of my road.

Rather than display all the usual rubbish like its competitors, this place was only showing properties of the highest quality. The agent also had a very smart looking website, which displayed different apartments available to let with beautiful photography and helpful information. I was hooked.

What also stood out was their brand philosophy. With a tag line of 'From House to Home' underneath a very smart looking logo and a company statement that reads "Every move we make is the beginning of something new, an exciting change. To be part of that process is a highly rewarding experience." - you can understand why I fell in love.

For me, I identified with this estate agent. Their passion and what they believed in was hugely appealing. They stood out from all other letting agents, which - quite frankly - seem to just want to 'take the money and run'.

On meeting the people behind the logo, I wasn't presented with some arrogant hotshot driving an expensive car and chewing gum (yes - I know that not all estate agents are like this, but in my experience - they often are), I actually met some remarkably nice people who were professional, friendly and down-to-earth. They listened to my needs and provided me with what I wanted. But most importantly, it was clear their passion for quality property and belief in providing first-class customer service resonated in everything they did. They had started a business based on their passion for property and I completely hooked in to that passion.

When it comes to your own brand or business, focus on what you believe in and really mean it. Your passion will stand out and appeal to customers out there. Don't just go for the end sales result. By believing and standing for something, you'll attract a wealth of new business and rise above the competition again and again.