I do not understand luxury products and services but I understand the market and consumer behavior. In the spectrum of consumption, these fall in the hedonistic end and are more of conspicuous consumptions. Do the rules of marketing – segmentation, market research, customer preference, willingness to pay. etc – apply to marketing luxuries? No says Jean-Noel Kapferer and Vincent Bastien, co-authors of “Luxury Strategy – Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands“ in their article in Financial Times.
Listening to the consumer is the best route to a lack of differentiation, and failure to inspire the dream – the two levers of desire that are the only paths out of the recession in the luxury world.
