Having been obstructed by a seemingly incessant series of irregularities such as a sovereign debt crisis, a pandemic and inflation-led instability, the sector of luxury goods and services in the past few years tends to be disrupted by brand new challenges that further disrupt the already burdensome task of luxury brand marketing. In what seems to be quite the oxymoron, luxury brands on a global level appear not to be affected by the aforementioned ever-emerging difficulties, which may vary from the inability to attract the right audience and the growing market saturation, to the complexity of an effective pricing strategy and the execution of a consistent approach to consumer value.
While the acquisition of luxury products and services has been a privilege for a significantly narrow social circle for so many years, both technological evolution and the concept of social media as a daily routine, especially among remarkably developed economies, have contributed to a radical transformation of the global luxury brands industry. Statistics of the past few years strikingly reveal growing figures, when it comes to both supply and demand for luxury products and services. The question is, what is the marketing approach adopted by the majority of globally renowned luxury brands? Is there a standard procedure that shall help any luxury brand outgrow all struggles, thus leading its path towards success?
Creating demand for a luxury brand
Consumer wants differ from consumer needs, and telling the two apart is definitely critical for any luxury brand’s marketing strategy. The difference lies within the extent to which a certain good is essential for a consumer’s living; it is not hard to understand that a luxury brand can only be part of a consumer’s wants, and not their needs. Hence why, while curating content for a luxury brand, you should always ensure to evoke sentiments that will resonate with the brand’s target audience as much as possible. Should you manage to align its brand identity and image with the customer avatar, the acquisition of luxury products and services will be more likely to be perceived as a necessity. Besides, it is no hard work to market a typical brand online. To convince consumers that they absolutely need to purchase from a luxury brand, however, requires creativity and a dynamic series of imaginative marketing tactics, that are based on sentiment and persuasion.
Focus on the experience that makes the luxury brand
Have you ever wondered what the most enticing part of acquiring a luxury product or enjoying a premium service is? If we had to answer that, it would definitely be less about the product or service itself, and more about the experience behind the brand, the feelings it creates and the customers’ reactions in response to it. Buying from a luxury brand normally requires spending a significant amount of money, yet people seem to be willing to do that in order to experience something unique, that is limited to a narrow social circle. That is exactly why you should make sure to motivate your target audience enough to gather a positive emotional response from it. Literally every brand can proclaim itself as totally one of its kind, thus verbally setting itself apart from the competition. You are encouraged, however, to make sure that all differentiation factors are more evident than simply mentioned. If you represent a luxury brand, do not hesitate to tell its story – and, while you are at it, highlight the parts that actually do make your brand special and, subsequently, more appealing to the general public. Do not ignore the importance of aligning your brand experience with your target audience’s needs, which encompasses customer demographics such as age range, location and finances.
Do not dismiss brand engagement
Like every other brand regardless of its type and size, brands that are acknowledged for the luxury and distinctiveness of their products and services base their appeal on target audience engagement. Do not hesitate to walk the extra mile for the sake of your strategy, by encouraging your customer base to describe their brand experience on social media. In a reciprocal exchange of value of this nature, customers will benefit from a sense of unity, belonging, and social acceptance, which derives from an exclusive brand experience, solely available to the elite. A such experience will lead them to further promote your brand message among their very own audience, thus testifying for your luxury brand’s quality and becoming brand advocates. The importance of UGC (user-generated content) is enormous, especially for small brands, as it it able to work wonders for brand awareness, to gradually increase your organic reach and to maximise conversions, all through the most traditional form of marketing, which is none other than word of mouth.
Emphasise on brand aesthetics
Luxury brands are known for their authenticity, elegance and creativity, all of which need to be representative of the products’ and services’ quality. It is thought that, nowadays, brand aesthetics are the cornerstone of most consumers’ decision-making process. From the brand logo and the brand message, to the text fonts and the packaging itself, the aesthetics that are being encompassed to the brand positioning process, as much as all relevant promotional activities, are considered to be vital for a brand’s success, especially when it comes to Western market areas. The number of consumers that choose a brand based on its aesthetics, through a single look which creates cognitive associations and automatically ranks products as luxurious, is estimated to be growing.
Capitalise on every sales funnel
Effective communication with existing and prospective customers is the most critical part of a successful marketing strategy that can work for all kinds of brands. Especially when it comes to luxury brand marketing, it is important to make great use of all available sales channels, ones which will resonate with your target audience’s interests, preferences and overall financial status. You are, therefore, encouraged to ensure the following:
- First of all, make sure to maintain a website which accurately depicts the quality of your luxury brand. More or less, you should invest on an undeniably elegant and impressive user experience, which effectively reflects the brand message and subtly invites the users to participate in the luxury brand experience.
- Furthermore, do ensure that the customer profiling of all third-party sales channels are an accurate representation of your pre-determined customer avatar. By doing this, the chances of a successful marketing strategy will be maximised.
- Last but not least, make sure to benefit from influencer marketing activities. Following an extensive research on the luxury brand industry, you shall be able to find the right platforms for your brand, in order to expose it to similar audiences and thus introduce it to new sales opportunities.
