WealthEngine

One thing is clear - choosing the right medium is important but the right content is critical.

In order to build the right mix, luxury marketers are leveraging predictive analytics to better understand their customers, allowing the knowledge about their  wealth, demographics, and lifestyle affinities to help shape the content and channels in which it is delivered.

Read on for some insightful information about content driven marketing and the best way to achieve success.

Forty-six percent of affluent men with a household income of more than $250,000 are optimistic or very optimistic about the U.S. economy, while 21 percent of women express the same sentiments, according to a new report from the Shullman Research Center.

The Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse uncovered significant differences in the mindset of high-earning male and female consumers. Luxury marketers that work to sharply target consumers by gender should tap each group’s emotional state to effectively showcase products and services.

Research from Gartner, a leader in technology research and insight, shows that CMOs require insights into a large number of complex marketing processes to make key decisions about execution and operations. They are under tremendous pressure to be more accountable, measure marketing performance and optimize the marketing mix. They need instant access to information and insight to make more informed decisions, strategically plan and measure return on marketing investments.

One in three American adults plans to take a pleasure trip or vacation in the next 12 months. Among affluent adults with $250K+ income, 1 in 2 plan to travel.   Specific destinations considered include Florida, California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii and New York.  This is according to Bob Shullman, Founder and CEO of the Shullman Research Center, a full service marketing research and consulting organization that focuses on luxury and affluent consumers. Among its initial offerings is The Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse, a comprehensive and authoritative source of insights about these key markets, and the source of research he reported in a recent WealthEngine webinar.

Trend 1: All Wealthy Are Not the Same

Who are your most likely customers?

Prospects and clients are watching their spending habits.  You want to maximize your sales.  How do you bring these two together?  All wealthy are not the same.  “Affluent” and “wealthy” are no longer one category where we can lump all high net worth individuals.  We need to delve deeper into their habits and lifestyle to make an informed decision as to who is most likely to make a purchase.  When targeting prospects and growing current customers, we need an overall wealth picture to expand our understanding of wealth. 

You have probably heard a lot lately about the role of analytics in building your marketing and development strategies.  This  applies to wealth intelligence, as well.  In order to reach the most eligible clients, you need analytics to show you an accurate portrait of your customer: wealth, demographics and lifestyle. 

Expensive cars? Luxury travel? Or perhaps opulent real estate?

All of the above, according to Mickey Alam Khan, editor-in-chief of the trade publication Luxury Daily. "It’s a tale of two worlds. There’s the world you and I live in and the world they live in," Alam says.  "You’re talking about 10 million people around the world who are truly high-net-worth individuals and who support a luxury lifestyle come rain or shine."

The secret to success is to find the inner circle of these HNW individuals and speak to them directly in a voice that resonates. Luxury marketers can leverage unique data resources, such as WealthEngine, to get to the heart and soul of these consumers and target their most prime prospects.

According to Evins Ltd. in a recent post:

Apparently, the U.S. public isn’t as afraid to spend on big-ticket items as everyone thought – major luxury automakers including Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are announcing phenomenal sales, some noting their best sales in the market to date.

Although the most affluent are probably never truly in danger of being affected by the economy, consumers still hold back due to empathy towards the less-fortunate or from being scared themselves. However, this does not seem to be the case with big purchases, since big-name luxury carmakers have released their results from last year.

These numbers could be indicative that affluent consumers are not scared to spend anymore, at least on big purchases that will last them a while.

Only 24% have resolved to “spend less money,” down significantly from 31% a year ago, one of several signs that Affluent frugality and value-orientation are slowly becoming less intense. Yes, saving is still important, but economic anxiety is receding. Stephen Kraus is SVP, Chief Insights Officer, Audience Measurement Group, Ipsos MediaCT

So, what does this mean to luxury marketers? The time is now.

Simply said, “social currency” is the stuff we talk about with our friends, colleagues, and family. In a marketing context, it concerns the extent to which we share a brand or information about a brand with others in our everyday social lives at work, home or in virtual social networks.

One of the biggest challenges facing luxury marketers today is how to take social media beyond just another communications channel, and use it to drive bottom line results. Social currency provides the answer.  By creating social currency -- that person-to-person buzz -- marketers can support their objectives of:

• Increasing brand awareness
• Maintaining brand relevance, and
• Improving customer experiences with their brand

As Luxury marketers look to grow their business among affluent consumers, data analytics play an important role. Wealth intelligence allows marketers to truly understand the consumer and their wealth, demographic and lifestyle attributes, so they can use this information to build targeted marketing strategies that reach the most qualified consumers with compelling offers and a seamless brand experience.