Marketing to the Wealthy

One thing about the very wealthy, even when the economy takes a plunge, they still have a lot of money to spend.

So you might think that if you just get your advertising in front of the people with money, you’ve reached the solution to maintaining sales when the marketplace is in a slump. But do you know how and why marketing to the very wealthy is different than marketing to other consumer groups?

Yogi Berra, when commenting about a restaurant in Manhattan, said, “It’s become so popular that nobody goes there anymore.” That pretty much sums up the difference in marketing to the wealthy vs. everyone else. When the product tips into “mass market appeal,” it no longer fits the exclusive niche.

In his book Acquired Tastes, author and former advertising executive Peter Mayle shows just how differently the wealthy live and purchase than the average man, including the average man with means.

If you want to get a piece of the wealth market, here are a few things you should know:

1. You need to have either a “Connoisseur” level product, or a “Concierge” level service.
2. People who have acquired wealth have also acquired immense demands on their time. You need to show that you value their time even more than they do. This is the essence of concierge level service.
3. Never use language or implications that refer to their wealth.
4. Your advertising should inform and educate them. It should not promote to them or pitch them. This is essential to the connoisseur level product.
5. The wealthy are far more influenced by peer recommendations than any other source of information.
6. Their secondary sources of information are ads in publications they read and information obtained online.
7. The wealthy are very active online with their known brand providers. But they are not responsive to outbound e-mail solicitations and online ads. Blogs and information exchange networks however do catch their attention.
8. The look of your advertising should reflect the affluence of the wealth market. It should never “scream.” It should be clean, classic and subtle.
9. Keep your advertising consistent in style and language with established successful brands accepted by the wealthy.
10. Copy should always be written in an understated, interesting style, without the gushy superlatives and pitch language found in most advertising.

The wealthy like, and expect, to be acknowledged for their influence, control, perceptiveness and power, but not for their wealth. With the wealthy it is the subtleties that speak volumes.

For example: Clothing purchased at a department store is put in plastic bags and handed to the customer along with the receipt. Clothing purchased at an elite store however, is kept on the hangers, gently wrapped in tissue to protect it, the tissue is secured with a gold seal, then the garment is carefully placed in a quality garment bag and the receipt is folded and placed in a small envelope with a personal thank you written on the envelope. That is the difference between service and concierge service.

Free shipping or free delivery is not an offer, it is an expectation. Special incentives or gifts with purchase are not to be hawked as come-ons for the purchase, but quietly given with a sincere thank you when the purchase is made.

When extraordinary service and exceptional quality in your product, service, packaging, presentation and delivery become part of the daily way you do business, you will then be ready to market to the wealthy.

But, what about those consumers who aren’t so wealthy, but are still spending? Treating them as if they are the wealthy will get them to remain loyal to you and spread the word among their peer groups. Extraordinary service and exceptional quality should be for everyone.

So what’s the best thing to do when the economy takes a plunge? Instead of dropping down to discounting and desperation tactics in the mass market, treat everyone as if they are wealthy and have money to spend. When the economy bounces back, as it will, you’ll bounce right to the top of your market.

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