Launching a brand purely organic means staying in the red for at least 2 years. Yes, you hear news stories about brands selling $100,000 in their first month of launch. And that’s exactly why it’s news: it’s uncommon, exciting, and gives people false hope.
Let me share a secret with you: marketing is training human behavior. Marketing is teaching people how to engage with your brand, pay you, and most of all, like you. Consulting luxury-positioned brands with no marketing budget requires considerable encouragement.
Realities of launching your luxury brand with no brand equity
Firstly, luxury buyers can tell when your brand lacks brand equity. Brand equity “is the sum of consumers’ thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about your brand that influence their willingness to pay for your product” (Harvard Business School). If that is the case, you can keep them engaged by having social advocates aligned with the luxury brands they aspire to and admire.
Second, you cannot afford to be inconsistent in luxury storytelling. Consistency in a luxury market does not mean frequency. Organically, natural diamonds take billions of years to form. Consistency is the compound interest. More important than consistency is the need for high-quality and perceived accessibility. It would be better for you to have a presence in HIGH-QUALITY, rare or exclusive content than to post frequently and consistently. If you are creating a remarkable, in-demand product, a desirable experience, and developing the right connections into trusted relationships, then you can be confident that your time will come. And when it does, it will bring you the attention you need.
Third, prepare to be misunderstood for some time as you work to attract your luxury customers. Unless you have already acquired a loyal base of luxury buyers, most of your existing customers indulging in your non-luxury-positioned services will not engage with your brand because they can not afford it. They can not relate to it. And if they are luxury buyers, they may not see you as a luxury brand for some time because they are familiar with your accessibility.
So, new brands must understand that launching a luxury brand and expecting to make a profit within the first year or two is as likely as becoming famous overnight, getting struck by lightning, or winning the lottery. Yes, it does happen. It’s okay if it doesn’t happen for you; that doesn’t mean you will be unsuccessful.
Luxury brand marketing for beginners
Having a low budget does not mean that you can not build a luxury brand. It simply means you have to use patience, persistence, and an artistic process to create luxury experiences.
Here are a few tips:
- Understand the weight of exclusivity – most people will not be able to afford you, and that is the point. You can not say you are luxury and charge accessible prices. It does not mean you are being discriminatory or mean; you are simply expensive.
- Invest in luxury advocates – Use your resources to pay for the highly concentrated marketing of who is in the room. Some people have social capital that is more beneficial to attending your brand experience than a ticket. People will pay for access and connections. Invite a few people with high social capital in your target industry or market who could afford a ticket or product, but do not make them pay. Get them in the room with your brand.
- Do something unique – here are some things everyone does, what can you do differently? Use physical invitations. Be mysterious. Be selective. Be artistic.
- Experience luxury – you must experience luxury regularly to understand luxury energy. People can tell when you do not have taste. Taste is developed and sustained by experiencing tasteful things.
Luxury marketing budgets and pricing strategy
When it comes to budgeting for your business, I need you to understand that 7-10% of your desired revenue is the marketing budget you need (even though you may not have it). For example, if you do not have $7,000 in marketing capital, you should not expect to see a return of $100,000 in annual sales. If you have $1,000 to invest in marketing capital, you should expect to see a return of $10,000 in annual sales.
Luxury brands should have premium prices if they claim to be specially sourced, handcrafted, rare, or valuable. It does not make sense to own a luxury brand and charge $40.00 for clothes. You should be charging $400-$4,000 and moving towards $40,000.
Gain Artistic Confidence with your luxury brand positioning
It’s okay to take the small batch approach, especially if you have the right connections. Grow into your marketability. Make wonderful, rare, beautiful experiences and creations, and develop the right relationships with people who fall in love with what you have to offer and have the additional resources to invest in it.
In many ways, luxury brand creators must take the artist’s path of slow, deliberate, and intentional. Nothing should feel rushed, and everything must feel worth the wait.
Are you prepared for that path? Book a strategy call with us to talk about your luxury brand launch.
