12 do’s and don’ts of luxury digital marketing

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marketing | digital strategy | customer experience

do: tell the artisan story

luxury products are artisanal by definition. so a large part of your content marketing strategy should include communication about product design, origin,

craftsmanship, and creation.

if the content emanates directly from the creator, so much the better.

1

don’t: talk pricing

a luxury brand never communicates on price or affordability (or lack thereof).

any consumer with a smart phone can and will figure out a product’s price

in under 60 seconds. so why bother?

luxury brands should use digital to communicate about dreams and aspirations.

not prices. prices are for in-store discussion.

this is partly why e-commerce sites for luxury brands are a horrible idea (see #10).

2

do: vet 3rd party vendors

most consultants, agencies, and media producers, do not inherently

comprehend luxury marketing. as such, they often try to apply traditional

marketing strategies and tactics to luxury brands often causing undue damage.

this is because virtually every traditional marketing rule breaks when applied to

luxury brands. but most digital agencies and agents are very focused on

“social media” when in fact “social media” and luxury are completely

orthogonal by nature.

3

don’t: compete

luxury doesn’t compete. don’t use digital marketing to compete or position

against other brands in the same category. luxury brands should never

communicate on competitiveness either online or offline.

in your digital communication, other brands don’t explicitly exist.

4

do: use digital for customer service

customer service is marketing. especially in luxury. it is an integral and expected

part of the luxury experience.

leverage all digital means at your disposal to provide outstanding, personalized,

and unique customer service at every customer touch point including retail

channels, stores, corporate, distribution, community, and online properties.

5

do: gate your customers

use digital to “protect” existing customers from the public at large. an excellent

way to do this is via privately gated exclusive online communities.

6

don’t: use discounting

stay away from any digital contests, games, and giveaways where discounted

product is involved no matter how enticing the perceived ROI might be.

a luxury brand can never discount. on the contrary, it must always strive to

increase prices. resistance to these increases is inversely proportional to the

brand’s value.

7

do: pick media outlets wisely

every blogger, every community, and every online publication is not necessarily

adequate for your brand. some might actually be harmful. while others may be

useful, but not timely. do extensive homework.

and resist the urge to “be everywhere”. instead, focus on cultivating influencers

and brand ambassadors both off and online. it’s better to be well positioned

and respected on selected sites than to be loud and obnoxious everywhere.

8

do: target the right markets

do not confuse your awarenessmarket – people who know your brand – with

your purchase market – existing customers and people who can afford your

brand. a luxury digital strategy should clearly and distinctly separate both markets

and address them differently.

don’t spend inordinate amounts of time agonizing over right and wrong market

segments. your market is anyone who buys into the dream and can afford your

product. period.

9

don’t: sell on the internet

never sell a luxury product on the internet. no matter what a consultant

or e-commerce platform vendor might recommend. some brands can get

away with selling a few peripheral or entry-level items, but very few.

in luxury, the “everyone else does it” argument is moot. luxury by definition

should never follow trends - that’s for fashion – a whole other industry.

luxury must be unique and different.

internet should only be used build mind-share, increase demand, improve

distribution, or provide personalized customer service.

10

do: innovate distribution

in many luxury segments, distribution is the sweet spot where digital can help

innovate. it’s also where digital can help you build customer insight.

leverage digital to connect customers to retail points, retail points to the brand, and customers to the product directly and in personalized fashion. don’t make

it super easy to buy. make it super convenient.

11

do: be efficient, not subservient

in the luxury world, the customer is not always right. the brand is always right

when it comes to product, messaging, and image. it’s a supply-side model.

so use digital to make customer experience more efficient, memorable, and valuable. never to make the brand subservient to wishes, trends, fads, or

suggestions of the moment.

12

keep your marketing, digital strategy, and customer experience initiatives out of the water.

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