Luring, leading and getting loyalty from luxury consumers

Like everyone else, I love affirmation, especially when it comes to the things that I feel most deeply about.  If you have read any of the 12 Months of Marketing publications, you know that they are full of practical, implementable ideas that any business can use to build business through inexpensive, engaging local community and network marketing strategies.  Over and over I repeat the mantra that to grow and thrive now and into the future, you need to build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients. 

This morning I read a great article at TheEconomist.com that affirmed a lot of what I am putting into the books, as well as speaks to key ways that you can attract and ‘hook’ consumers, especially when it comes to the “wants” of customers (not just the “needs”).   Here are a few key points that I took away, and I highly recommend that you read the entire article at the link above: 

• Beyond what people ‘need’ (what they have to have to survive), consumption is partly about pleasure (how things look, feel, taste, smell, perform)
• Beyond need and pleasure, consumption is also partly about showing off; and what is now deemed ‘bragworthy’ is dramatically different from what it was to our parents and grandparents.  While the old bragworthy meant keeping up with the Joneses – like acquiring washing machines, new cars, etc., the new bragworthy is more about hipness, exclusivity, or virtue
• people now trawl for exotics, one of a kinds, exclusives, limited-release, and customized options
• possessions are plentiful, but time is scarce, so bragworthy becomes places you have been and things that you have done – the article suggests that savvy companies offer experiences as a way of hooking customers, like:
• connecting them with concerts and gigs
• creating local (or distant) trips (like wine and shopping trips, ladies night out, or even exotic group vacations or hunting trips)
• connecting them with book clubs, authors, local night out, happy hours, etc.
• others want to convey to the world how very deeply concerned they are about the world’s problems, whether their particular area of conviction is the environment, poverty, violence, women’s or children’s issues, cancer or other illnesses, etc.  – these consumers connect themselves with companies that work to help alleviate these problems in one way or another
• the article also says that another effective marketing tool is to help your customers learn something new (such as cooking, decorating, do-it-yourself repair, or educational topics)
• and finally, the article points out that (thanks in part to the internet, which previous generations did not have), connectedness is a crucial social signifier
• the internet helps people demonstrate their virtue not only by connecting them with other ‘virtuous’ companies, but giving them the means to tout their involvement
• the internet helps consumers make friends with others like them
• the internet helps consumers ‘connect’ personally with celebrities and leaders (in fact, one stat suggests that more than 80% of Gen Y have joined brand-sponsored communities online)

This is a great read for you as you prepare to move into 2011 with the goal of building a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients.  It’s going to be a great year!