Of course, even in Considered-Purchase Brands, there are those rare and high-flying birds that seem to require their own category.
These are the brands that rest at the very top of the scale – more rare, more luxurious, more custom, more everything – including significantly more expensive, although in this category the concept of expensive is subject to the person’s actual or emotional decimal point.
Because the wealth of the buyer is extreme, the buying cycle is different in that it is uniquely modified to that particular buyer.
A few examples:
| Considered Purchase | Ultra Considered Purchase | |
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A few characteristics of the Ultra-Considered Purchase Brands are:
Precious
Are precious and often exclusive – limited by their rarity or by the high degree of artistry, knowledge, materials or technology required to created, produce and/or render these goods or services.
Emotional
These are the poignant purchases that move the emotions of the buyer or have some deep and important connection to the buyer that overcomes the high prices. These are falling-in-love purchases such as a 1959 mahogany Chris-Craft boat or a Verdure necklace
Unique
There are purchases that require their own protective measures and separate insurance policies.
Experiential
People enjoy the experience of the actual item or service (travel, wine) , or they enjoy the experience of the buying process (fine art, jewelry, automobile, plans, yachts). There is a strong degree of connoisseurship at play in these purchases.
Important
Valuable – imperatives. Generally focused on services – such as selecting your child’s university, trust or wealth advisors, senior-care facilities or other critical health-care services.
Legacy
These are the irreplaceable items; art, antiques, coins, ancient art and artifacts – typically part of an inheritance
General Insights
- Accustomed to personalized service and attention
- Often requires more engagement on multiple levels
- Often requires an every person strategy – not a mass market
- Require greater story telling’
- Typically very accustomed to accommodations – expects a level deference
- Desires a level of experience and surrounding commensurate with the purchase being considered.
- Provenance matters – know the background, the craftsmanship, the materials, how the materials are gathered, etc. Know your provenance. They want a story to tell.
- Expects more research – presented
- Understanding their perspective on the world and the product _ the rich are different
- They have influence and power – and they know it
- They can flaunt it or hide it
- They may require greater consensus or be a dictator – in this case, you will love the dictator, because they make the buying decision and move on.
- They are a challenging and completely fascinating audience, whether they fly in on private jet or drive their much-vaunted 11-year-old Ford.
From the beginning it was Love at first Lux
From age 6, when my trembling, out-reached hands and tear-brimmed eyes first convinced a shopkeeper to sell me the beautiful-but-not-for-sale-stuffed-toy lion from her display window, I have been fascinated by the passions and processes behind what we typically call business to consumer Considered Purchases.
And I have been especially fascinated by what I’ve come to call the Ultra-Considered Purchase Brands – those big-ticket consumer items that by their price or purpose or possible penalties – require an exquisite degree of consideration and an elevated level of marketing genius.
I have been endlessly enthralled by and curious about the intense emotions we humans attribute, assign and generally convey to these objects – stuffed and otherwise –that we labor to purchase.
Happily, my career took me through the arts, design, business, marketing and ultimately to establishing my own advertising and interactive agency.
We began our agency by helping clients market the biggest, most expensive and most consequential of all purchases most consumer’s ever buy – their home.
Considered by many to be the ultimate considered purchase, buying a new home involves every primal emotion ever to course through a human heart and mind as the prospect works their way back and forth and through the convoluted stages of the buying cycle.
Soon our expertise took on another dimension as we began to market a great many of the ultra-luxurious properties and resorts, including Atlanta’s first major high-rise and home to Elton John, LIFE Magazine’s Robert AM Stern-designed Dream House, the original marketing for Deans Garden, recently bought by Tyler Perry and the last Ritz-Carlton’s Bahamian island resort – financed by Lehman Brothers.
This was marketing luxury homes on a scale that would become legendary after the 2008 economic collapse, and there we were – happily in the mix of it, creating it and figuring it out as we went along – like all great innovative, collaborative and marketing focused mindsOur focus was on the ultra-affluent lifestyle – on wine cellars, staff accommodations, spas, yacht sizes – everything lovely and exquisite, sharing marketing ideas as we walked the shores of tropical islands or attended black-tie Topping Out events in the raw space at the top of an unfinished 50-story high-rise.
All this was a great training ground for people fascinated by human behavior – and how consumers think and act when confronting a major buying decision.
Over the years, of course our agency moved into different categories, including our work in consumer technology, healthcare and energy sectors – but I still remain passionate about the marketing of goods and services at the very top of the scale. Perhaps it’s the complexity of the sale – which requires the very best marketing.
Perhaps it’s the genius and craftsmanship of the companies who create them.
And perhaps it is because of the fascinating people who buy these Ultra-Considered Purchases.
But whatever it is that attracts me to the marketing (not just purchasing) of these important and often exquisite goods and services, I hope to explore as part of the overall B2C category of Considered-Purchase brands with you in this blog.