myluxury.info

I asked some experts at LinkedIn about the luxury consumer’s mind? It seems like luxury market is working differently than any other market. Does a luxury costumer even exist? Here are some answers …

J. Simpson:

the luxury market is very different and if you haven’t sold into it, well let’s just say it will be a unique experience -So, the difference is knowing quality and understanding that if you buy quality and you negotiate smartly

K. Fraizer:

The affluent customer mind works” like I want, I need right now”, mentality. There is no question that the affluent customer has the funds and expects extra attention to their needs. Having dealt with celebrety cliental,movie studios, affluent designers and other people in Los Angeles with lots a money from all walks of life.There is a big difference in what is realistic and what runs through the mind of an affluent customer. The term does luxury is approrpriate and certainly does exist. I have the many stories, and patient guest service skills to show for it!!!!

J. Cooper:

I believe there is no difference in mind-set between the luxury consumers and any other. The only difference is wealth effect, which as a student of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, means that they no longer need to just concentrate their spending power on mere survival, but have more discretionary spend (income elasticity of demand) on items of ’status’. They then transcend the barrier between needs, and wants. This is not about marketing, it is about two fairly complex economic theories: Debreu’s 1959 “Theory of Value”, and Aggregate Demand. I have done market research on the demand side for a number of my clients with various products and services in the luxury space, and they have been quite successful.

L. Degroff:

My belief is that there is a major spectrum, that moves from “quickly rich, likely to be soon poor, trend, fashion following” affluent consumers to
some extremely intelligent value oriented buyers. Luxury markets also deserve sub-division, one imprecise set of lines are between house/home oriented, clothes and accessories oriented and event/publicity oriented. There are also the antithesis of publicity orientation, the ones that crave and spend to maintain privacy and security. Probably also a very important division, is the “to do business” consumer of luxury goods who may have a very calculating patten of purchases I am sure there are detectable luxury consumers, there is also a mass market of luxury goods appealing and priced for the mass market.

G. Tourneire:

The luxury market is not as simple as an outsider would think. Quite often, there is an incredibly long sale cycle and a good deal of up front $’s that must be invested to “make the proper rarified, exclusive presentation” for this level of clientel, in order to entice them to make the investment in the procurement. There have always been luxury consumers. Their numbers eb and flow with the movement of national, international economies.

S. Guruprasad:

affluent consumers may be classified in “status concious ” and “non status conscious ” category. There are many affluent consumers of the later category who will not value goods in terms of status enhancement.But even those who value goods in terms of status enhancement will make sure they pay the least price for maximum enhancement of status.

R. Madonna:

I do believe that how they make buying decisions — identifying the value factors that go into a purchase — may not be all that much different from consumers with less rescources for buying. They are likely to put quality ahead of price but keep in mind that virtually every product category has alternative choices so the affluent consumer will still have some degree considering quality for the price along with all the other buying/value factors they are going to consider.

S. Cervantes:

I have worked and continue to work with affluent/luxury customers and it is not easy. Often, I find myself cringing at my own pricing strategies when I compare it to my own income. I often second guess myself thinking “why in the world would anyone pay for this product or service when the same can be purchased for half the price I will put on it?” But then, you realize that, to these people, price is not an issue at all. Quality is and, more often than not, so is their social status. It is always a joy to market to the nouveau riche. :) These people will pay anything to cement their newly-acquired socio-eco status. To most of them, it is not just the price or the quality. It is having someone pander to their whims and caprices. The knowledge that people will fall all over themselves to provide a service or create a product for them is a determining factor as to whether they will patronize that service or purchase that product.