In the world of marketing, luxury items hold a special place. All the tenets of marketing strategies and tactics still apply, but the level of refinement and particularity of said strategies reaches a new high in the marketing of luxury items. Defining a strong value proposition for any product is possibly the most essential task faced by a marketer of any product, but marketers of luxury brands have must have a special talent and take special care in crafting a value proposition for the discerning customer. In the world of luxury handbags, luggage, and wallets, a brand’s value proposition must display the same level of craftsmanship as the products themselves.
The luxury customer is looking for all the same things as a customer who buys a handbag or a piece of luggage for purely utilitarian purposes: durability, longevity, comfort in hand, convenient form, convenient compartmentalization, so all these factors must somehow make it into your value proposition for the luxury version. The luxury bag customer, however, will also be looking for an additional set of values: beauty/aesthetic considerations, style, uniqueness, quality (as independent of durability of longevity; can be related to quality of the material itself), and craftsmanship, and sometimes brand name. To craft a value proposition that is truly in line with the desires and expectations of a luxury bag or luggage customer, one has to consider every one of the considerations listed.
How do you define what truly differentiates one handbag from another in the mind of a quality-driven, Italian-leather-loving customer, and then package that definition into an efficient value proposition for your marketing materials? Before we define more specifically what a value proposition for a luxury line of bags should look like, let’s remind ourselves about the basic characteristics of a strong value proposition:
- Clear differentiation between the product and similar products from competitors. How is the product you are marketing different from all the competition?
- For those features or values that are not differentiated from the competition, they must be equal in quality and perceived value to those of the competitors.
- One particular feature, aspect, or value-added factor of your product must stand out as being far above anything offered by any competitor.
With those characteristics in mind, the marketer must put thought into how to meld those stated characteristics of a good value proposition with the value-added factors of your luxury bag line as perceived by your customers. In the eye of the discerning customer, what is different from one luxury handbag to another? Is it superior, old-world craftsmanship? Is it the finest silks or Italian leathers? Is it uniqueness of design, and a promise that they will never get caught with the same handbag as someone else? Or is it a lifetime guarantee? Whatever the differentiators are, uncover and specify them as they apply to your product.
To refine your value proposition, define what qualities of your product are as good as—think industry best practice—those of your best competitors. And last, define the one true stand-out quality that makes your handbags or luggage and the customer service that comes with them the best of the best. Combine those three factors together, and you will have a perfectly on-target value proposition.
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