5 effective marketing strategies to build luxury brands
5 effective marketing strategies to build luxury brands
But does this mean that using traditional, mainstream digital channels are still relevant for luxury brands? Absolutely.
According to a McKinsey report, nearly 80% of luxury sales today are ‘digitally influenced’. This means a customer is influenced at some point in their decision making process via a digital channel, whether it’s social media or a Google search.
Digital marketing for luxury brands
Even if you are a luxury brand and don’t sell online in an e-commerce store, digital is still incredibly relevant today.
The nature of the specification process necessitates creativity, innovation and clarity. And importantly to be available at the click of a specifier’s mouse.
Whether an architect is sourcing new lighting for a boutique hotel project or an interior designer is looking for furniture inspiration for their client’s new house, it is essential that luxury brands integrate online experiences to build the bridge between real life and digital realms.
Referring to the McKinsey report again, it predicts by 2025 nearly a fifth of luxury sales will be online. It shows that customer and specify behaviours are changing almost as fast as technology.
However, it is important to realise maximising digital impact for luxury brands isn’t as simple as building a good-looking website or posting more on social media, it is about engaging with your audience, building a connection and offering value that will enhance your customer’s project.
Which leads us on to our first way to build an effective marketing strategy for a luxury brand…
Target customers’ emotions rather than their logic side
Purchasing is done with emotions and justified with logic.
For example, if you produce bespoke lighting products and an architect has the choice between your product and your competitors, if both yours and your competitors’ products are essentially the same aesthetically and technically, conforming to the required UK Building Regulations, how will the architect choose between the two products?
They will generally choose the brand they have a relationship with. But if they don’t have a direct relationship they will opt for the brand they have more trust with.
This could be they have read the brand’s thought leadership articles; they have seen and engaged with their social media posts; they have read email shots from them; and they have found the brand high up in a Google search.
All of these elements combine to build trust. And trust will help you to build relationships and ultimately increase your sales.
Another factor to consider for luxury brands is that one of the primary motivations for buying luxury goods is to display status. So if an interior designer’s client wants a particular brand of furniture, this is because the brand has built up a strong, trustworthy brand that the customer relates to.
An effective method to influence your status via digital marketing is strong, inspirational content.
Be creative with visual social networks
A picture is worth a thousand words. It’s a bit of a cliché statement but its intention is powerful.
Imagery and photography of your products and services is one of the best ways to evoke an emotional response to connect with your audience, especially in the luxury brands sector.
Powerful images provoke a deep connection with your audience and association with an aspirational lifestyle. It is important to remember you aren’t necessarily selling a product, you are selling a lifestyle.
With the above in mind, visual social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest are a huge opportunity for luxury brands to build awareness.
Chanel are one of the most ‘pinned’ brands on the social network, with over 1,244 pins of Chanel products pinned on the social network per day on average. This is made even more impressive when you consider that Chanel do not even have an account on Pinterest (it’s all driven by their advocates).
Instagram and Pinterest are excellent platforms to communicate your luxury brands. Ensure your imagery represents your brand and your message is clear, and you will soon find that your audience and digital relationships grow fast.
Ensure your website combines style and functionality
Luxury brand websites need to look the part. It is your ‘digital shopfront’ that has to represent your brand on the internet, and if your digital shopfront is unappealing or not aspirational enough, it won’t be performing to its best.
Similar to the points above, imagery is key and has to represent your brand in the best possible way. Striking, authentic images are best used in large format so users can see and immerse themselves in.
Whitespace is also another important aesthetic consideration for websites. It helps to give content room to breathe and helps users to digest text and images better. Websites with content that is too compact find it hard to make any form of impact and poorly represent brands.
It isn’t just how a website looks that is important, but how it is organised and how it works. Functionality and user experience are key considerations, and it’s important to create a site that is easy to use and for users to navigate around.
You may have amazing imagery and powerful content on your site, but if it’s difficult for users to find what they’re looking for their impact will be minimal and users will more than likely leave.
Tell your story
The final strategy to consider for your luxury brand is to tell your brand’s story.
With this in mind, it is important to tell your audience not only what you do, but why you do it. Telling your audience what you do is factual and straightforward communications. But telling your audience why you’re in business connects with them on a deeper level.
Your purpose may resonate with their values which in turns creates a brand connection.
Communicating the story behind your products, and explaining the values that define your luxury brand, is fundamental to an effective marketing strategy for luxury brands.
Finally…
We hope you have enjoyed and taken value from our article and appreciate the intricacies and motives for creating a strong luxury brand.
Time54 works with and has helped many luxury brands raise their awareness in the marketplace and increase their specification on many exclusive interior projects.
We are a specialist interiors marketing agency and help brands create a strong digital presence to enhance their reputation with end users and designers alike.
If you are interested in how we can help your business grow with consistent marketing, get in touch to organise a Power Hour zoom meeting.
This is a one hour zoom meeting where we listen to your plans and ambitions to understand your products, services and route to market. It is aimed at directors, marketing managers and business owners within the interiors sector who are looking to raise awareness of their business, generate leads and improve sales.
The Power Hour is free to all interiors based businesses looking increase awareness, leads and sales through effective, long term marketing strategies with experienced building and interior marketing specialists Time54.
Time54 is a specialist marketing agency that works exclusively with building product manufacturers within the construction industry.
We can build your brand awareness and authority through strategic and tactical marketing that leads to specification inclusion.
Time54 works with and has helped many building and interiors companies raise their awareness in the marketplace and increase their specification inclusion on numerous projects.
We are a specialist building and interiors marketing agency and help brands to:
- Increase specification.
- Influence architects.
- Build authority.
If you are interested in how we can help your business target architects and grow through specification led marketing, get in touch to organise a Power Hour zoom meeting.
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