Meet Your Next Customer

Meet Your Next Customer

Having a sister who married a Canadian, I can tell you that the standard of living there is good. Canadians, benefiting from their robust economy, can afford to buy premium products and services - the "new luxury". To meet the needs of these consumers, new luxury marketing strategies must innovatively incorporate three levels of a ladder of benefits: 1) superior quality, 2) functional performance, and 3) an emotional benefit which affects and engages the consumer. This consumer-driven, global economy - the "trading up" phenomenon - was created and is driven by social and economic demand factors below.

Consumer Income - what consumers CAN buy:

 Increased discretionary income has influenced what consumers can buy.

 Increased number of women working outside the home increases total household income

 A rise in numbers of affluent households.

 An increasing number of married couples without children, single working females, and empty nester Boomers who are willing and able to spend

Consumer Taste - what consumers WANT to buy:

 Consumer tastes are shaped by their knowledge, culture, and personality.

 Consumers are more educated, knowledgeable and discerning about items they purchase

 Consumers are sophisticated; they enjoy unconventional and conversation-seeking experiences and have the expectation that things they want are available to them.

 Household structures have changed so that convenience items, though at a premium price, are wanted/needed to allow for highly-valued family time

 Women have become more influential as primary purchase decision-makers.

 Consumer needs for status, class, exclusivity demand premium products and services

 Consumers wish to spend time and money on things that are meaningful to them such as personal relationships, self-improvement, adventure vacations, and their individual styles.

 Globalization of business and trade has expanded volume and variety of premium products giving consumers more choices and has fine-tuned their taste for foreign imports.

Competition's product and price:

 Companies must know their economic climate - be aware of what the competition is doing and retain a competitive advantage by thinking outside the box. Consumers of New Luxury goods embrace entrepreneurship and specialty items.

 Companies must have high performance - stay ahead of the growth of substitutes by supporting resources for research and development for new, improved products and updates.

 Companies must gain and retain consumer loyalty - understanding their customer's motivation and behavior to provide real value to the 4 Ps of marketing.

Price:

 Continued demand for low cost alternatives; "trading down" allows for more consumer income to be used for "trading up"

 Because premium products and services are affordable to the middle-market consumer, they also can sell in much higher volumes than high ticket super-premium products, and thus have greater potential for continued growth.

 Consumer perception that high price equals high quality, low price equals low quality motivates purchase of higher priced products and services.

Peter Stranger,