Gregory J. Furman of The Luxury Marketing Council

Founded by Gregory Furman in 1994, the Luxury Marketing Council, www.luxurycouncil.com, is a nonprofit organization composed of leading marketers from major purveyors of luxury goods and services throughout the U. S. and abroad. The Council has recently embarked on efforts to form the Luxury Home Alliance, which will serve the luxury home market.

The Luxury Marketing Council counts approximately 2.7 million “best customers” in the U. S., by which we mean consumers with a liquid portfolio of $1 million or more. Not only are there more best customers than ever before in our country's history, they are richer than ever as well.

As individuals, they are extremely value-driven and very concerned about owning the best of the best, including objects that are one of a kind. They also exhibit a “hunger to know” — what I call the “Rise of Connoisseurship.” This “hunger to know” can be dovetailed with the upscale client's desire to be treated in an exclusive way to answer the challenge that keeps luxury marketers awake at night: trying to ascertain how to educate the best customer about the price/value equation — specifically, why luxury items cost more.

One answer is to use the increasingly popular technique of offering intimate, customized events that are sponsored by like-minded brands or entities to surprise, delight, and educate the best customer. For example, an opera lovers association might partner with a cruise line to offer a special Mediterranean cruise called “High Cs on the High Seas.” The package would unite lovers of opera with renowned musicians, singers, and historians through onboard seminars, networking activities, tours of great opera houses, and tickets to performances. The event would benefit both the opera lovers association and the cruise line, while also satisfying the best customer's desire for information and for a unique or exclusive experience.

Translating this concept to the remodeling field, a remodeler could partner with a local winery to hold a special wine-tasting event. The event might be held as part of an open house for a recently completed project. To satisfy the “hunger to know,” the wine-tasting could include a presentation from a financial planner to talk about estate management.

All of the companies involved in cosponsoring the event benefit from direct, quality interaction with a select, intimate group of potential best customers. Those customers are open to sophisticated, fun education on every topic from buying art at auction to how to plan for their family's financial future. (Keep in mind that approximately $13 trillion held by best customers, many of whom are baby boomers over 50, will change hands through inheritance during the next 10 years.)

The idea is to use content as a draw to assemble a small group of high-end consumers so that you can rub elbows with them and allow them to get to know you and your company.

Don't overlook a second potential customer for the upscale company: the aspiring luxury buyer. These are consumers who earn about $250,000 in annual income and who aspire to someday be wealthy.

Before the dot-com market bubble burst several years ago, these consumers were an important part of the middle market. Many luxury companies offered products geared toward them in an attempt to familiarize them with the luxury brand so that they would loyally “buy up” at a later date when means permitted. For example, Steinway & Sons piano makers introduced the Essex line, which allowed aspiring consumers to own the brand and remain loyal to it until they had the means to purchase the traditional Steinway luxury models.

Aspiring buyers are back and thriving, spending disproportionate amounts on luxury items with brand names that they trust. These consumers currently may not live in million-dollar homes, but they aspire to that lifestyle. They might redo the kitchen or the master bath with luxury features even if they can't afford to have the entire home renovated. So in planning the services and price points you offer, it may be worthwhile to go after this burgeoning market niche.