Marketing to high-end consumers: 9 Effective strategies for luxury brands

3. Ensure that your brand messaging resonates with your audience

Although visual content is becoming increasingly in demand with consumers, copywriting is still very much a crucial ingredient in the recipe for marketing success, especially for high-end brands. The messaging you share across not just your website but also your social networks, email newsletters, and even your product packaging must be consistent and resonate with your target market.  

It can sometimes be tempting for companies to focus on how they compare to others. However, if you want to sell luxury items, it’s better to instead work on creating a unique identity for your brand. Be bold and confident in how you present your brand to the world. This can help to boost your brand image’s authenticity and originality in the eyes of potential customers.

Speak your audience’s language, using terms and a tone that your ideal buyer can relate to. Just be sure to stay consistent with your messaging across all the various touch points people may encounter with your brand. These days, consumers are increasingly visiting multiple channels before making a purchasing decision. Consistency in your communication will help internet users to better recognize and remember your brand. 

Finally, when crafting the messaging for your business regarding what you sell, consider why a shopper would buy your product instead of a cheaper version. For high-end consumers, quality is a key aspect for a purchase.  

4. Add negative keywords to your ad campaigns

When it comes to marketing to high-end consumers, including Google Ads in your strategy is an excellent way to reach your target audience more efficiently. While marketers often concentrate on using the right keywords to better target their ads, did you know that the Google Ads platform also allows you to add negative keywords to your campaigns?

Negative keywords are search terms that the platform will exclude from your campaigns, making it possible for you to focus on the terms that are likely to be most important to your ideal buyer. 

Remember that you’ll pay for every time that somebody clicks on your ad to visit your website. Although this payment can be well worth it when the visit results in a conversion, if you get quite a few internet users who aren't in your target market clicking on your ads, it could quickly eat up your budget. 

Adding negative keywords to your campaigns decreases the chances of your ads appearing to shoppers who aren’t interested in your products and therefore allows you to make more effective use of your funds. For example, as you’ll be promoting luxury goods, consider implementing negative keywords such as “discount,” “cheap,” “bargain,”  “free,” “affordable,” etc. 

5. Leverage content marketing to establish authority and trust

Today’s online shoppers have a much greater selection of brands from which to choose than they had in the past. They therefore tend to be a bit more particular about where they do their shopping, with a preference for buying from businesses they trust and whose values they share. This may be even more so the case for high-end consumers, as the products available are generally more expensive, presenting them with a greater risk when purchasing from newer brands. 

What can you do to get people to want to engage with your business when you’re just starting out in the luxury market? Take advantage of the power of content marketing. This involves creating and sharing high-quality content designed to address the issues that your target market faces.  

Determine your ideal buyer’s pain points, what trending topics are important to them, their potential worries or questions, etc. Answer their questions and offer helpful guidance via various forms of content, such as blog articles, social media posts, video tutorials, ebooks, infographics, and more.

Example of a blog from a luxury brand: Stella’s World on the Stella McCartney website

Of course, the best types of content and platforms to use will depend on your audience. Just another reason why spending time developing your buyer persona is such a crucial step for your marketing strategy!

As with any ecommerce business, you’ll want to be sure to meet your customers where they are. Say that you’re trying to decide which social networks to use to promote your luxury brand and your offerings. While TikTok may quickly be becoming one of top platforms for many companies’ marketing efforts, it won’t do you any good to devote your resources on the social network if your ideal consumer isn’t there.

6. Take advantage of income targeting for your ads

Going back to the buyer persona you created, you should have a pretty good idea of your ideal customer’s average income. This information can be used to increase the effectiveness of your ad campaigns and ensure that your advertising budget is being used as efficiently as possible. 

For instance, when creating ads on Google Ads to promote your products, depending on where you’re based, you may be able to set your audience demographics to include a certain household income level. The current options available for this demographic category include “Top 10%,” “11-20%,” “21-30%,” “31-40%,” “41-50%,” “Lower 50%,” and “Unknown.”

Just like when you use negative keywords in your ad campaigns, income targeting will boost your chances of getting your ads to appear in front of internet users who are more likely to be interested in purchasing your products and give you more bang for your buck in terms of ad spend.

7. Exercise the exclusivity principle

While some types of ecommerce businesses will benefit from making their products accessible to as many people as possible, luxury brands require a different approach. When marketing to high-end consumers, you’ll likely want to exercise the exclusivity principle in your strategy. 

For instance, shoppers tend to believe that a product or a service is more valuable if its availability is limited. By making your offerings only available in small quantities, their value will automatically increase in the eyes of consumers, inciting these buyers to act quickly so as not to feel left out—a phenomenon also known as FOMO (fear of missing out).

Because your online store will only offer a limited supply of goods that people can’t purchase elsewhere, shoppers will be more likely to be willing to pay higher prices to acquire in-demand items. 

Additional ways you can apply the exclusivity principle include creating a new program, say for rewards or perhaps testing new products, and only allowing a small number of customers to join or offering a special service, e.g., monogramming or customization, for a limited period of time.  

8. Reward your loyal customers

Everybody likes to feel appreciated, and this is no less true for high-end consumers!

Thank your customers for shopping from your store and recognize them for their support of your business by providing them with thoughtful rewards. You might opt to, for instance, create a rewards program that allows members to receive a free gift or special offer after spending a designated amount or ordering from your site a certain number of times. 

Other options include surprising shoppers with a free item in their orders from time to time or adding some extra magic to their email inbox by sending them a discount code for their next purchase. You can also reward your best buyers by giving them priority access to new releases—a tactic that can also help strengthen people’s association of exclusivity with your brand.

However you decide to reward your loyal customers, be sure to express your gratitude and thank them directly in a personalized note, whether that’s a physical card or an email. When these shoppers feel appreciated, they’re more likely to want to engage with your brand, write positive reviews, and continue purchasing from your store in the future.

Example of a rewards program, Les Loyales, by luxury beauty brand Chantecaille, which also uses the exclusivity principle by making different tiers available 

9. Make personalization a priority

Personalization can help take the ecommerce customer experience you provide to a whole new level. Adding a personal touch to your marketing communications can be especially beneficial when you’re hoping to connect with high-end consumers. 

It can make them feel as if they’re part of a special club and further cultivate a sense of exclusivity with your brand. Furthermore, personalization can assist you in building and maintaining strong customer relationships for the long term.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways that you can implement personalization in your marketing strategy: 

• Include personalized offers in your email newsletters
• Add a personalized thank-you note in each order (even better if it’s handwritten)
• Offer product suggestions in line with the customer’s previous purchases
• Provide special services tailored to the shopper (e.g., one-to-one consultations to help people choose the right product for their needs)
• Send post-sale emails or give the customer a call to ensure that they’re satisfied with their purchase 

As you can see, although marketing to high-end consumers sometimes involves tactics similar to those used for marketing to other types of shoppers, it does require a different perspective. Methods that work really well for companies in non-luxury markets are often designed to help them appeal to a larger audience. However, these techniques can actually devalue a brand if the aim is to reach high-end consumers.  

Creating an initial connection with your customers is crucial, but that’s only the first step!

You’ll then need to work on building customer loyalty to keep your buyers around for the long haul. Use the strategies in this article to boost your luxury brand’s marketing efforts and drive even more sales for your business!