Question

Topic: Strategy

Marketing Diverse Line To Affluent & Budget

Posted by Anonymous on 8/14/2012 at 11:17 AM ET 200 Points
Hello,

I am looking for ideas of marketing initiatives for a kitchen & bath company (kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, plumbing, flooring, backsplash). The company is mostly known for being high-end. How can we market to the high-end clientele and also to the budget-conscious? For every high ticket item, we have a lower priced version. Is it wise to try and reach both targets within the same campaigns or to have separate campaigns targeting each?

We do e-newsletters regularly, product catalogs of course, direct mail once in a while. We are in one niche pub and one local pub. We have major sales maybe twice a year at which time we will put an ad in the local paper and / or direct mail postcard "invitations".

I am just looking for many different ideas for possible marketing initiatives. We are looking to try different things and what works best, we keep doing, what doesn't, we stop.

Thanks in advance for your help!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/14/2012 at 11:37 AM Accepted
    If I am a high end buyer and I have money to invest, I want to be pampered. I want exclusive. I want the best. And I want messages that speak to me about my desires, wants, and aspirations.

    What I do NOT want is to receive the same messaging that people who are not as well off as I am are receiving.

    If that sounds harsh, too bad: you either want my high end custom or you don't. Make me feel high end and I'll spend my high end dollars. The reverse is also true and this applies in ALL niches.

    Premium prices for premium services command attention because they speak to how I'll look in front of the Jones's: rich. As hard as that sounds, that's basically what drives many of the premium niches: from plumbing to pizza. The flight to cheap deadens demand and makes the item on sale available to everyone. The downside here is that you then kill any desire to won based on exclusivity: when everyone can afford a Rolex, no one wearing a Rolex stands out. So ubiquity kills desire drive demand.

    Is it wise to target both audiences with the same messages? No. It's not. By all means ECHO the high end look for the bargain basement price in the material that's aimed at less affluent buyers but it's a mistake to make it a direct copy: it cheapens the premium offer by reducing the aspirational message of the higher priced item.

    You CAN charge more for high end goods and services AND make sales ... even in a "down economy", you simply have to target your messaging appropriately.
  • Posted on 8/14/2012 at 11:45 AM Author
    Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Good to know we are on the right track. Everything you said makes sense. The most helpful was how you said we should echo but not directly copy our offers between the affluent buyers and the bargain buyers. At the same time, we want our budget-concious clients to be aware that they are able to get a version of the high-end look but within their budget.

    I am also looking for specific ideas of marketing initiatives/ campaigns. Unique ideas as well. What works?

    Thank you!
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 8/14/2012 at 12:55 PM Member
    I'll second what Gary says. Keep them separate. Even beyond having different marketing programs, maybe even ton have different brand names. The car industry has done this for years - different people buy Chevrolet from Cadillac, even though they are basically the same car. Same for Honda and Acura, Toyota and Lexus, and VW/Audi/Porsche.

    From your question, it sounds like you are the manufacturer? Do you sell through showrooms and retailers, or direct? if through showrooms and retailers, you may also want to use separate channels for the 2 lines.
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