Guide to Luxury Digital Agencies: What to Look for in a Digital Partner
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Choosing a marketing agency can be difficult for any brand, but for luxury brands who strive to meet today’s consumers’ high expectations, selecting a luxury digital agency to partner with calls for a markedly different approach than most.
Of course, a luxury marketing agency must offer the set of skills and services that brands today need to thrive in the digital age. But they must also have a fine understanding of the luxury world, its relationship with consumers, and what it means to exude high-end across every customer touchpoint.
Perhaps nothing could be more important to luxury brands looking for a luxury digital agency than the ability for their partners to know how to most effectively communicate with and engage with today’s high net worth consumers. As the luxury demographic becomes increasingly younger, brands today need a luxury digital agency that understands the latest trends and consumer habits.
One such indicator that demonstrates how important digital has become recently is a PwC report that found a whopping 98% of affluent consumers use the internet daily. Brands must know that the key to adopting a winning strategy is to consult with experienced luxury digital agencies.
No doubt, a luxury brand needs the guidance of a specialized luxury digital agency. Because luxury brands target a different demographic, the approach must also be differentiated. An experienced luxury digital agency knows this, and thus, will not need to be caught up to speed on the appropriate ways in which a high-end brand should position itself.
Of course, a luxury brand should have an agency partner that understands how affluent consumers think, what their passions and interests are in order to get the messaging and strategy right. The luxury consumer is not the average consumer, and any marketing strategy must reflect that. The typical strategies that work for typical consumers will not work the same, and so an agency will need to employ a different route to reach the luxury consumer.
That begins with an understanding of who today’s luxury consumers are, which consists of the entire spectrum of the customer profile, including what luxury consumers do, where they are, how they spend their free time, and so on.
A luxury brand should also want a partner who has done the research needed to connect with today’s luxury consumers. This means recognizing that consumers want an experience that transcends expectations and personifies the very idea of luxury in every engagement they have with a brand.
And fortunately, there are solid approaches that do precisely this, such as utilizing social media, optimizing for search engine optimization (SEO), and executing targeted PPC campaigns. We’ve noted a few strategies that support luxury brands in their marketing approaches that align with their specific needs in a guide called “Guide to Luxury Marketing Strategy: A Luxury Marketing Agency’s Take on What Brands Should Know.”
It’s worthwhile to ensure that any agency you decide to partner with knows how to utilize the strategies spoken of in that guide, as well as how to narrow down to a specific audience that is best suited to your brand and mission.
At G & Co., we begin this process by profiling who the target audience is for any luxury brand. While every luxury brand has a particular audience, we have been able to establish there are eight unique profiles that fit the modern-day luxury consumer. Those are the CEOs, the trailblazers/influencers, celebrities, financiers, entrepreneurs, attorneys, professional athletes, and the independently wealthy. Once we can gather the relevant information to know which one of these profiles is most applicable to a brand’s goals, we can use our experience and research data to design an appropriate luxury digital strategy.
Consider a luxury digital agency’s partnership connections.
As a luxury digital agency ourselves, we have had clients who are either starting out or need to reimagine their approaches to target consumers. Whatever the case may be, a luxury digital agency should have connections to ensure those goals can be achieved.
Of course, because a luxury brand will have specific needs to match their mission, a luxury digital agency’s connections to retailer partnerships, media houses, or collaborators can make the difference in pushing a luxury brand forward. Whether it’s the need to contact media publications, niche outlets, influencers, a luxury digital agency’s contacts will need to reach the right audience. After all, the more qualified a luxury brand’s audience, the better the approach is in returning success.
Look for brands like yours.
A portfolio of projects that span various fields of luxury brands in products and services can demonstrate a luxury digital agency’s versatility and shows that it has garnered the experience and knowledge needed to paint better customer profiles through its adaptability. This also contributes to an agency’s understanding of consumer buying habits and needs, which leads to an exceptional perception of the market you will want to tap. It takes having worked not just in several industries but in your industry that a luxury digital agency can help you target your specific luxury market.
Confirm their service offerings align with your needs.
Perhaps the most important aspect of working with any luxury digital agency is whether or not they can help you achieve your goals and mission through their service offerings. While an ideal scenario is a full-service luxury digital agency as a partner that acts on executing everything your brand could need, the best route would be to ensure your core needs are covered first.
Checking what projects a luxury digital agency has in its portfolio and seeing if they are proficient in essentials such as eCommerce capabilities and marketing strategy is critical in selecting which partner to go with.
Most important in this decision-making process is confirming that an agency can help design and execute an online strategy, as luxury brands will need to have a robust online presence if it is to be successful. With this, of course, also comes a design proficiency that understands the value in having a user-centric experience across every touchpoint. This emphasis on design for the consumer in mind will be—and quite frankly, already is—a defining factor in every brand strategy.
Elevating your luxury digital strategy.
As a premier luxury eCommerce and luxury marketing agency, G & Co. is a full-service luxury digital agency that helps high-end brands ideate for a strong future. With a specialized focus on luxury brands, G & Co.’s services range from mobile apps and brand identities to luxury marketing and advertising strategy. Through our work with Burberry, CB2, and Dreem, our reach and level of experience with luxury brands, we’re confident we can help make your digital strategy a success.
If you’d like to get started or learn more about the exciting things we can do together, shoot us an email.
