Fun blogs for luxury products

Just wanted to pass along the details on a couple of my favorite new blogs:

www.luxist.com is a great resource for all things luxury- very much WSJ House of the Week meets Robb Report.

I am also a big fan of www.designcrack.com which reviews great new products not seen elsewhere.

Finally my blog pick for the day is www.luxuryhomedigest.com - a great resource for those of us that need to keep abreast of the latest and greatest in this category.

Next up, some great juvenile product blogs- stay tuned....

Luxury for the post boomer set

I came across a new term the other day- "young affluents"- used to describe the post boomer luxury consumer- those people of the Gen X and early Millennial crowd with incomes high enough to be considered prime luxury consumers. I personally think this is a great term for this group and hope it comes into the mainstream- or at least into the ways in which marketers and biz dev people think about a core audience.

Many of my clients are squarely focused on the boomer market still and while there is tremendous potential in this market in many CPG categories- travel, experiential products, health and well being related products there is somewhat of a waning interest in the larger items at the upper echelons - furniture, homes, etc as those needs are for the most part already taken care of for this group.

The new kids on the block- those under 40 who have the income and the need for these items are at times being forgotten by marketers and companies that have yet to realize the potential of this market.

We (yep, I am Gen X all the way) are a wired generation and the traditional ties to brands and to the standard way of purchasing things will not work for us in the same ways it did for the boomer generation. Honestly, we are also a coddled generation of consumers- we have not had the uncertainty (or war) that marked both the generation in front of us and now the generation coming up behind us in our formative years. So, we have a sense of entitlement, and a need for validation of our worth, that should be taken into account when courting us. Many people think that psychographics such as this are moot when talking about the luxury consumer as they are not typically buying items for survival or everyday consumption but I think that each buying decision, regardless of the price point, takes into account larger societal mores and issues.

Companies will have to come up with new and exciting programs to lure this discerning, busy and well traveled (and a tad cynical) generation. The question is - what will work? Loyalty programs, advertising, blog traffic, guerilla marketing, immersion marketing, direct ask approach? Each product is different and each company takes a different path to success but those I have seen be most successful have used a multi-pronged approach in which they bring the product to the consumer several times and hopefully tie it into a value proposition for the buyer that makes it a "must have" instead of a "would be nice to have, but don’t really need it" item.

Focus, Focus, Focus

I had lunch with a friend the other day and as always when two people who both own their own businesses get together talk came around to work... In the course of the conversation we discussed how two of my core areas of expertise are in the luxury and juvenile markets. Now these two areas are not as far away as many people might think- at the end of the day the both cater to the same need- the consumer's desire to purchase something (be it a product or a service) that calms them, gives them great satisfaction and helps their family in some way. This could be a custom piece of furniture that is the perfect addition to their library or a new snuggly sweater for the baby - the actual item is often not the point.

What is interesting is how similar these two seemingly disparate areas are in terms of marketing, PR and business development. While the actual customer may not be the same in terms of demographic details the emotional drivers for the product are often the same. While I have known this for some time it is always invigorating to discuss with someone outside of the industry- gaining new perspective on what might make customers tick is always a blast. The conversation reminded me that it is very important to get out of your bubble and make time for lunch with colleagues from outside your world -- they can sometimes shine the spotlight on an idea (and make you focus on it) that you have been kicking around in your head but could not see clearly due to all the other business of life and work. Thanks G!

Care & Feeding of a Blog

I just read a very interesting article in this months Washington CEO magazine all about marketing and the ways in which blogging, YouTube and other viral methods can build buzz and help grow your business. While I am in complete agreement with this idea I see often that companies (mine included) do tend to neglect their blog when they are extremely busy. As you can see I have not posted in well over a month - all due to a crazy travel schedule and some very tight deadlines. The question is - do you strive to make time to blog or do you go the super corporate route and hire someone to write your blog for you? If you do that you are assured of daily posts- some funny, some enlightening and some downright odd but are you also assured that your blog is really speaking with the voice of your firm and your mission? Personally I believe that no matter how busy we are it should be the principals and employees of a firm that write blogs for the firm- how can an outside source have the intrinsic knowledge needed to write what makes sense for the firm? I am committed to the idea of the blog, now if I could just find the time to write what pops into my head when I think- aha- that is a great idea and one that I should share - my blog would grow by leaps and bounds. Let's see what comes of my new commitment to writing - I will keep you posted.

President's Day and Blogging

So, today is a national holiday- President's Day, and many people are off snowboarding or sleeping or working on projects around the house. I am, however, in my office by the zoo, trying desperately to get some work done for a client here in Seattle before I leave Weds. for a business trip for another client. Now, this is nothing exciting but as I sit in my office and try to make the calls, send the emails and work out the logistics of Client A's upcoming major event I am a bit stymied in my efforts due to the holiday. In my life before opening my own company I rarely thought about the major holidays that pop up mid-month on a Friday or Monday-- they were always simply an opportunity to hop in the car and head up to the mountain for some skiing or jump a ferry out to the islands for some R&R at the cabin. I never realized the impact that everything (or almost everything) shutting down on a 'regular' work day must have had on the small companies I worked with during my time in corporate America. Now, I am not saying vacation is a bad thing- I love it as much as the next person and take my fair share. But, I have realized this morning that these one day national holidays take a toll, especially on small companies like mine that work with time sensitive material and have many irons in the fire all at once.

I control my schedule, my client list and my time. There are many days when I spend all day on the phone for one client to find myself then spending much of the night researching for another- this is what I have chosen to do and I love it. I schedule my time around the standard work week as much of my work involves talking on the phone and getting immediate responses to questions on a client's behalf and down time like that I am experiences today always throws me for a bit of a loop. Maybe I should have taken the day off, reflected on our past Presidents and spent time with my family. But instead I sit here blogging about my day and trying to think about the best ways to reach people who probably are currently sliding down a mountain on a blanket of new snow. Terrible, I know.

Thoughts on Sales, Marketing & PR

This is my inagural blog entry. I hope to use this blog to share my thoughts, views and ideas - working to define and enrich my understanding of the work I undertake through my consulting practice and to invite others to comment and share their experiences in business and life, all with the goal of better understanding ways in which we can better serve our clients in their quest for better marketing, public relations and business development.