Luxury Marketing: Insulation from the Cold Of a Recession

Learning to market luxury products and services can help wrap that insulation around your company, too.

Quoting Anthony Hopkins in the movie, The Edge:

“Never feel sorry for a man with his own plane.”

Marketing to the affluent is different in its aspect from marketing to the middle-class consumer. We really don’t have to feel very sorry for the product choices that are open to those with healthy disposable incomes. Those with accumulated wealth and cash reserves have the ability to make decisions based on a wider range of choices. Because of that, luxury marketing helps businesses recession-proof their own business while bringing the enjoyment of servicing high-quality products and services and a higher return on your dollars and efforts.

How tight is today’s money?

Regardless of the chatter about down-turning economy and the official administration position on that the price of gasoline is not going to adversely affect the economy, those of us who work for a living have a clear view of the recession that has been underway for the better part of last year and this. Even the price of gasoline is approaching the price level of a luxury item.

However, those with wealth make purchasing decisions in a different way that the rest of us. When marketing to the more affluent audience, one of the challenges is to be able to think in those terms. The wealthy consumer exhibits a loyalty to products that is different than those who select products out of need or budget limitations. The affluent do not simply choose a product to fill a need at a reasonable price. For example, usually, what each of us buys is to fill a specific need: tools for the garden, basic cars for basic transportation, or office, school and business supplies. Luxury items are bought for reasons surrounding the experience of owning them, and the decision process does not make a lot of sense to the average consumer.

People choose between luxury products with a different measure than other products

It seems funny for most of us to imagine basing a purchasing choice between a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW because one has a better stereo system than the other, or because one has wider arm rests than the other. Again, that is because the decision is based on the enjoyment of the experience rather than filling a specific need to solve a problem (in this case, providing basic transportation). The choice between these two products isn’t about practicality or efficiency; it is about sensory pleasures, quality and status. These consumers, like most consumers, are discriminating about their product choices but the game of product discrimination for luxury products is played by very different rules.

Marketing luxury products has an enjoyment not unlike owning luxury products

Marketing luxury services and products is enjoyable, too. Because decisions are based on superior experiences rather than need fulfillment at an economical price, the style of selling such services and products is different.

To get into the proper mind for creating marketing for luxury products, exercise your expensive tastes and aspirations for top quality. For example, think about automobile marketing. For most of us, we look for comfort, roominess, fuel economy and good luggage space. For the wealthy, the choice has more to do with style, elegance or sportiness, leather, wood, and steel. The choices are not so much practicality as it is touch and feel. For vacations, most of us check rates, get a good deal on transportation and have plenty to do at little cost, like nice lakes or beaches. For the wealthy, the choices have more to do with new adventures, isolation, superior service and uniqueness—something to talk about when they get home.

The basis of choices differ and so do the basis of marketing strategies

Likewise, the strategies differ.

Do you think that BMW runs magazine advertising in consumer magazines with the idea that one of their readers would be prompted to go out and buy a BMW? That isn’t really the strategy.

The intent of the advertising is really to substantiate to those who buy BMWs that they have made an intelligent and quality-oriented decision. This is a strategic aspect of luxury marketing that may not occur to those who are used to broad-based consumer marketing. Consumer products companies would not spend the kind of money needed to run a decision-substantiating advertising campaign.

Not only does the wealthy consumer get to enjoy luxury products and services available for his or her choice, but also marketers of luxury need to have the same appreciation. If a marketer does not have the sense of what touch points trigger the purchasing decisions of the affluent, then the target may be missed.

Thrive Marketing can help your business become better at reaching the luxury products and services market. Not only do we have good taste, but we also have the experience you made need to adjust your selling strategies provide luxurious appeal to your quality and experience conscious customers. Your products and services will never have to apologize to “a man with his own plane.”

Happy Clients

“Christie and Thrive Marketing did an outstanding job with the branding of my PR firm. Every time I give out a business card I receive a compliment on the originality, color and overall design. I am very happy with my Web site as well, and look forward to working with Thrive continuously over the years. It’s also nice to work with someone who is a detailed and reliable account manager. She always kept me informed on where Thrive was during our branding process, and stayed on top of me when I was falling behind on my deliverables! I highly recommend working with Thrive Marketing for all branding needs.”

-Aly Saxe, Phoenix PR Firm

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About ThriveMarketing

We measure our success by your success. Through creative marketing strategies, we help our clients generate more leads, build more profits, shorten sales cycles and strengthen brands. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. It just has to be effective. Not to mention right for you. We work with all types of marketing budgets and have become experts at working with what you have – with one goal in mind: to produce results. For more information, please visit www.ThriveMarketing.net or call 1.866.521.0827.

ThriveMarketing is a proud recipient of multiple American Marketing Association Spectrum Awards and is ranked in the Top Web Design Firms by The Phoenix Business Journal.

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