Luxury research is necessary to most companies that manufacture and market luxury goods. Most luxury goods are sold to the wealthy, and therefore, unlike standard goods or commodities, they are targeted to a specific group of people, albeit a small one relative to the general population.
Before we discuss how luxury research is carried out, and why it is so essential to many businesses, let's first discuss the luxury market and what it is. Before you can research a specific market, you must first define it so that you fully understand what it is that you are researching.
The Luxury Market
This is where you hit your first roadblock, because even the term 'luxury' is indefinable let alone its market. To the man in the street a Cadillac is a luxury car, but to a Rolls driver is just a runabout. Having a Jacuzzi in your home might seem like luxury to you, but to others nothing less than a fully-equipped pool and spa would meet the definition. So, what many businesses that market such so-called luxury goods will do is that, rather than define the merchandise, they define the market: or those most likely to purchase high-end consumer goods.
What it boils down is that in order to carry out luxury research you have to define who will purchase them and then research that group. How do you do that - you cannot simply email the wealthy and ask them to complete a questionnaire for you because they would refuse? We refuse ourselves, unless we are offered an incentive to do so: a free draw entry or some other form of compensation for completing the survey.
Luxury Research - The Practicalities
In fact, luxury research is not carried out in the same way as a normal consumer survey would be. To understand why, consider for a moment any consumer surveys you have completed in the past. You are generally asked what goods you usually purchase, what initially attracted you to them and that sort of thing. Why do you buy Product A rather than Product B? Do you make use of discounts, and do you buy on price or brand name - questions like that.
Now consider the wealthy and luxury research. You cannot ask the same questions. Why did you buy that Rolls Royce? Did you buy your $20 million yacht on price or brand name? It just does not work. You have to go about a luxury survey a different way, and not so much carry out a consumer survey, as carry out research into the buying habits of the wealthy.
That's why it's referred to as a luxury survey, affluent survey or affluence research. In fact, historical information would be of little use to you. Does it matter if a particular subject purchased a particular luxury item last year? It's not something you buy regularly, so trend analysis would be of little use to you unless some details of the future intentions of the rich. Then you might spot trends and seek out ways of making that type of analysis work for your firm.
Luxury Surveys and Analyzing Results
Luxury research tends to be carried out by companies experienced in that type of work. They have a database of wealthy people prepared to cooperate in the research by expressing their current wishes and desires and offering an indication of any future consumer spending on luxury products they have in mind. They might even provide useful information on how they intend to split their disposable income between investment and luxury goods.
By getting that type of information from large numbers of wealthy people you may be able to spot a trend that your business can make use of, so that you are ready for them when they are ready to spend their money. The best way to sell a luxury item to the wealthy is not to attempt to sell them a stock item, but to develop a product that meets their needs prior to them requesting it. Find that trend, or more wealthy people seeking the same type of item, and your research could be lucrative.
Custom Affluence Research
This type of luxury research will take the form of custom affluence research, where a dedicated market research firm will discuss what you want to achieve from your research project and then devise the right questions to ask their wealthy contacts so that you get the best information you can. They do not only generally carry out the survey of wealthy people on their database, but also analyze the results for you so that you get the best possible return for your investment in the project.
Luxury research is an ideal way to determine the future purchasing intentions of the wealthy, and a means of you having the right products at the right time to meet their needs. Impress them once with your entrepreneurialism and the wealthy will be more likely to come to you first if they have another requirement.
It is important that you carry out luxury research the correct way. For more details on how to do this and how custom affluent research is carried out, then visit the American Affluence Research Center website at AffluenceResearch.org.
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