In a now very digital society, marketers have adapted to reach consumers where they are – on their phones, tablets, computers and any number of devices with internet access.
While a mastery of online marketing is absolutely essential to brand success, providing an engaging offline experience is becoming increasingly important, particularly for those who operate in the luxury space.
The ability to seamlessly blend both offline and online marketing strategies to create a high value customer experience builds a deeper relationship with ultra high net worth individuals who are looking more than ever for brands they can trust.
Preferences for the luxury audience
Luxury is not so easily defined in a world where consumer desires have become notoriously fickle and brand halos shine brightly or tarnish in a nanosecond.
In the most basic sense, when wealthy consumers think of luxury, they think of the brands that empower them to put their best self forward and that create a sense of true connection with the people and things that they most value on this world. For some, this may mean a passion for classic physical products such as luxury cars or jewelery, while for others, it may be a highly-tuned interest in brands that have a strong positive social impact, and for others, it may be purely experiential – how do they feel when they are in the moment, and how does that connect them to others in that moment – consider travel and shared dining experiences.
What may make one ultra wealthy consumer ecstatic may not even resonate with another.
As the world’s population of ultra rich individuals continues to grow and evolve across the globe, so do their purchase preferences. The growth of this segment has been especially pronounced in the U.S. and Asia, notching 5.1 percent and 3.5 percent growth rates, respectively, in the past year, according to the Wealth X Wealth Report. There is also a smaller but increasingly influential group of millennials with substantial buying power who are demonstrating differing interests and activities than their ultra high net worth peers.
Marketers need to be highly aware of these changing populations and the growing evolution in these new expressions of luxury lifestyle.
Such new luxury lifestyle expressions often also mean an increased interest in the most current high-tech products, including digitally delivered services. Ultra high net worth individuals have traditionally been early adopters of emerging products, and this attribute is only reinforced today with the rapid speed of technological change.
In recent years, there has also been a strong movement toward immersive luxury experiences where consumers can mingle with other like-minded individuals while enjoying a brand experience, as a kind of counter-balance to the technology solutions that surround us every day. While this is a current trend in wealth markets in Europe and North America, marketers should be watching for this to accelerate across the globe.
