In general, luxury brands stand firm on selling at SRP, and unless you hunt down the factory store or an outlet, discounting is not even part of their selling strategy. I’ve heard companies say that they want their products to be considered luxury but are discounting on a regular basis. In some cases, they have even trained their customers to expect sale pricing on every purchase. In doing so these companies have deteriorated the value of their brand and will not be able to successfully position themselves at this level. However, there is a lot we can learn from successful luxury brands.
Aside from staying firm with price points, here are five things luxury brands do well:
Scarcity
Luxury brands often unveil limited edition products at least once a year. These kinds of products highlight scarcity with a special name, unique story and package. They reinforce a particular brand message which could be a commemorative edition around a specific date you want to highlight, holiday or event that is meaningful to the brand. These pieces often have a special box and creative artwork used from emails to packaging. An example of this is what champagne houses do during the holidays with limited edition packs, additions of branded glassware and bottle wraps.
Personalization
Personalization has taken off within fashion and fragrance brands. They not only reward their most high value customers but in turn generate additional revenue opportunities through premium price points of custom or personalized products and in some cases add a lot more to their bottom line through greater margins. What we see in fashion can be adapted to other categories, whether monogramming to a custom product.
Product details & packaging
Luxury brands carefully think through how the brand is communicated throughout the entire customer journey; from website to guest experience, phone sales, product packaging, shippers, delivery and return policy.
Influencers
Reinforcing value and prestige can also come from influencers as well as specific events and locations. Identifying, approaching and leveraging a few key influencers can go a long way to to build and reiterate brand value.
Proactive selling / Exceptional customer service
Remember the days when department store staff knew your size and would call you when something that they thought you might like came in? The salesperson was your advocate; someone you trusted to make recommendations based on a relationship cultivated over time with thoughtful recommendations. Cultivating these kinds of relationships with customers and reaching out by phone would go a long way in strengthening the relationship and increasing your bottom line.