Digital Strategies for Luxury Brands
Luxury brands by their nature must approach digital marketing in a far different manner than brands that appeal to the masses. This includes everything from targeting to customer service. Luxury brands must be able to take the services their customers expect in-store and provide them in the digital space.
To the average digital marketer, it would be easy to say that luxury brands are "behind the times." However, those who understand what's important to these brands and their customers know that cautious entry into the digital space is out of necessity. When done correctly, these brands can become active digitally without turning off their valued customer base.
The four secrets of a compelling digital strategy for luxury brands include the following:
1. Provide exclusivity, even in the digital space. Companies looking to reach high net worth individuals need to take special care to provide consumers with exclusive content. Individuals spending large amounts of money don't want the couch they just bought to show up as the first result during a Google search for "furniture."
A general e-commerce strategy of bidding on blanket keywords and competing with all dealers in its industry would be not only unsuccessful, but it could be harmful to the brand. Providing the right targets, the sense of exclusivity can be maintained within the digital space.
Smart Furniture doesn't compete with the likes of Target or Ikea for keywords such as "Furniture" or "Chair." The retailer has found that bidding on terms only in ZIP codes where its target audience resides provides a better return on investment than bidding on the same keywords across the board.
2. Allow your customers to maintain their privacy. High net worth individuals don't want to feel hunted down, so "following" them around the internet won't be beneficial. Luxury brands should focus on leveraging loyalty and referral programs to communicate with their customer base in a way that feels more comfortable for them.
3. Give opportunities for personalization and customization. Luxury means the masses don't have it. In today's world, this requires more than high price tags that keep your items in the hands of the wealthy. Providing customization options gives customers more exclusivity along with a deeper connection to the brand and product.
Smart Furniture focuses on mass customization, giving consumers options on all facets of their furniture's design. It's found that when consumers play a part in the design process, a compliment on the new piece of furniture is a shared win for the consumer as well. Smart Furniture gives its customers the chance to build a truly customized space, and customers undoubtedly appreciate it.
4. Pair high-end products with exceptional customer service. High-touch service will always be expected among luxury buyers. Allowing customers to customize their product/service while having easy contact with customer service operators will help to strengthen the relationship between the customer and the brand. Online visitors looking to spend large amounts of money expect better service, and tools like live chat add a human element within business practices that goes a long way.
In the end, the goal for luxury brands is to provide within the digital space what their high-end audience has come to expect in brick-and-mortar stores. It's of course more difficult to build those relationships online, but the brands that do it well will reap great benefits.
Ryan Woolley is the senior vice president of digital marketing at Response Mine Interactive, a digital marketing agency. T.J. Gentle is the president and CEO of Smart Furniture, a retailer of modern furniture.
