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5 ways an award helps sell your property to Chinese buyers

The ability to squeeze an extra ounce of advantage and stand out in a sea of advertising promotion clutter gets more difficult every day. Consumers are bombarded with targeted messages on a daily basis.

One of the most straightforward ways to boost your brand is to win an award in the real estate industry. The benefits of this exercise go beyond bragging rights. The feel-good factor will trickle over to other areas that are important to your business. The positives of winning an award are important when you aim to engage an estimated 500 million Chinese online consumers who spent near to US$790 billion by October 2017¹.

Here are 5 ways winning an award can help your property business: 

1. Quality media exposure

Credible awards naturally attract all kinds of media coverage. It is in the interest of the organisers to drum up excitement and knowledge of the award leading to the final presentation. If the organisers carry any weight in the industry, you can be sure there will be a lot of publicity highlighting the event².

As an award winner, assuming you do win, your company profile could be tagged on in a range of articles and stories that may stretch for an entire year! The best part of this exposure boost is that it will not cost a penny to your marketing budget.

2. Expanded media reach

With the amount of publicity leading to and after the event, your real estate brand will benefit from the frequency and range of channels that you appear in³. The great news is that the media covering your award will most likely be industry-related and its audience are who you REALLY want to talk to. Winning the award helps brand recognition amongst new circles of consumers who are important to your business.

3.  Greater brand recognition  

So now your customers see your brand and may also have positive recollection, how is it different from plowing in sacks of money to advertise extensively? Simple; awards sell the Mission. The award represents the great work that your company had done and it actually tells your customers what kind of benchmark your products or services are at⁴. In this case, best in class. Since there is no one better, why should they talk to anyone else?

Consumers are savvy to marketing messages, so while they may see a brand advertisement in the media often, they may not be as ready to buy in. A top award given by experts in the industry says that the developer, agency or agent has been validated to be the best at what they do. The adage ‘money can’t buy class’ is what this is about, and being the best is what you stand for.

“You don’t have to become known for your products before you become known for your brand. When you have a strong brand, your products inherit the positive perception.”

- ‘Why brand image matters more than you think’, Forbes, 31 October, 2016

4. Increased reputation

The Chinese are notorious for not trusting new brands or a name that they have not heard of before. When you consider that they have limited access to external online information, the chances are they know very little of the quality and efficiency of your agency’s services.

To the Chinese, peer recognition and endorsements are important⁵. It means someone has examined and checked off the quality of the services provided. In a home market where many businesses try to make a quick buck by passing off inferior quality products, awards are a stamp of approval.

When you think about it, it is really the validation that counts. Awards are recognition by industry peers that the work you do is unanimously celebrated. It increases your company’s reputation as a leader⁶, and Chinese buyers tend to go for the best, because of perceived quality and value.

5. Boost morale

As for property agencies, another advantage gained is that an award gives your agents or anyone in contact with consumers, something that they can use to help tip the scales during conversations. It is difficult to argue with a winner and the prestige of the award rubs off on the perceived quality of the property and services. When an employee works for an award-winning agency, or if they are winners themselves, they become more confident, and their jobs become easier on the back of an industry award.

Showcasing an award won goes a long way to increase your reputation and prove that your company is above board to millions of potential buyers from China.

The Global Chinese Choice Awards with an estimated reach of 18 million audience, can assist in your company’s marketing efforts in China. Nominations are currently accepted until the deadline of 12 October 2018. All 6 categories shall be judged by a panel of acclaimed experts.

Sources: 1. China Internet Watch: China’s online shoppers grew to 500M in 2017 in 5 years; 2. Judgify: Get publicity for your company from award events; 3. MarketingProfs: How digital ad frequency impacts awareness and purchase intent; 4. Ask Charly Leetham: Using awards for better publicity; 5. Siegel+Gale: The trust imperative for Chinese brands; 6. Forbes: Win awards to differentiate your brand, build loyalty and sell more.