Marketing to the Ultra High Net Worth Globally
The world is made up of two kinds of people, sheep and eagles. The two can co-exist, as neither is a predator to the other. 95% of the population falls into the sheep category. They are the back bone of the population. 5% of people fall into the eagle category (that is why eagles are on the endangered list). It is not a question of good and bad, just a fact of personality with which they were born. Sheep live in large groups, see things from the ground, they make up the majority of the work force and so do not differ much from each other outside of physical appearance. Sheep have a universal quality to them. There are good sheep and bad sheep just like eagles.
Eagles live high up on the cliffs, they do not follow the masses, they soar free and see things from an aerial view and they are very independent. There cannot be many eagles as they do not live crowed together. They do not hunt sheep but they are not really interested in them either, but the sheep like to watch the eagles soar. Eagles are people like Bill Gates that change the world with their inventions, or Warren Buffet who gives $54 Billion to charity, improving hundreds of thousands of lives. They can even be the Hitler’s as the species is not what makes them good or bad; that is their choice. Eagles are the ones you read about in history books. They are the artists, fashion designers, inventors, architects, entertainers, Presidents, scientists, etc. that make a mark on the world so big that lingers long after they have passed this earthy sphere.
Sheep cannot understand the mind and soul of an eagle and an eagle cannot live in the confines of mediocrity. It is not that sheep do not have the talent or intelligence; it is that they do not have the personality to reach the extremes of their potential. Sheep are dreamers but are not willing to make the ultimate sacrifices necessary to truly succeed on a global level and an eagle can only take those risks, wise or not, as the life of a sheep is worse than death to them.
Both are as the Universe designed them to be, and both are equally important to the future of the world. In business, as in daily life, it is important to realize with which you are dealing. Expect a sheep to act like a sheep and an eagle to act like and eagle, and you will not be disappointed, but never expect them to act the same.
The UHNW group has a large concentration of eagles. This is important to remember when implementing marketing strategy. This is why mass marketing, which is what most universities teach, is unsuccessful in reaching this demographic. Those factors that sway the masses (sheep) are inconsequential to the UHNW group. In the luxury sector, marketing is much more crucial. Luxury start ups need substantially larger marketing budgets than mass market brands. A luxury brand will never be higher than where they launch. The luxury market is far less forgiving than the mass market that allows products to be “new and improved” and slowly work their way toward the top. When I see business plans for start up luxury companies, they almost always have insufficient marketing budgets, because the person that wrote their business plan, was familiar with mass market companies. To reach the UHNW audience, your brand needs to be an eagle, not a sheep. If you are not willing to pay for quality in branding, don’t expect others to be willing to pay the premium for your products/services. You are either luxury….or you are not. Your either an eagle or you’re a sheep.
Lorre White is an internationally recognized luxury marketing expert and advisor at White Light Consulting. www.WhiteLightConsulting.net
CEO White Light Consulting
"Those who say it can't be done...need to get out of the way of those who are doing it!"
www.LuxGuru.Typepad.com Luxury Blog
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