The science of wooing millennial millionaires

Rolex never thought that their biggest competition will be a technology giant – Apple. Smartwatches by Cupertino, California-based company have become the biggest threat to the legendary Swiss watchmaker. How the times are changing! When the pace and preferences of tech-tuned, temperamental millennials are forcing the businesses to be on tenterhooks, can luxury behemoths ignore this dynamic generation? 

Consumers of luxury brands were initially classified into Experientialists, Connoisseurs, Flaunters and Aesthetes. Now, we have millennial millionaires. 

These are the new category of buyers who have a very different perception of luxury. These are the second or third generation Richie Rich with a spending capacity similar to affluent Baby boomers or Generation X. 

There is, however, a challenge. Their worldview is not the same as their fathers' or grandfathers'. No wonder, Rolex is losing millions of potential buyers to Apple. So how can luxury brands woo this new set of trailblazing consumers? 

Understand the millennial millionaires: All luxury brands need to do a deep dive into the lives of these millennials to understand their choices and preferences. The objective of this customer immersion in to understand a very fundamental question – what dazzles them? No amount of 'old wine in a new bottle' strategy will work for them. What worked, will work no more. Some characteristics of these millennial millionaires are: 

In today's connected world, they know the latest trends in luxury, fashion and technology across the globe. 

They are impatient, so they need to be convinced very quickly. 

They are very demanding customers and will always want their preferred product yesterday. So they need to be handled with care. 

They are impulsive buyers so all brands need to have a deep understanding of using this impulse for their benefit, especially in their marketing strategy. 

They will not bat an eyelid before changing their preferred brand. So never take brand loyalty for granted. 

Luxury brands have to bring in a “cool” quotient to woo them. Traditional excellence will not work well. 

Digital as preferred media: This is a generation which lives with the latest gadgets, mostly in a virtual world. This is a boon and a bane for the luxury industry. Earlier, there was a huge issue of suitable and prime real estate for these luxury brands to set shop. These needed to be in the crème-de-la-crème locations to woo the so-called Maharajas and give them a royal experience. But getting such real estate was becoming a huge problem, both in terms of availability and cost, for all these brands across the globe. Today, with the advent of e-marketplaces, this problem is resolved. So millennials prefer their luxury shopping online, and not offline. Ironically, solutions often come with problems. E-commerce has given an enormous boost to the counterfeit industry wherein hundreds of new websites have popped up showcasing pics of original luxury goods being sold at heavy discounts of up to 80%. Most millennials are not even aware that they are buying fakes. 

New-age luxury advertisement: Marketing luxury has always been a challenge as the objective always is to create a sense of aspiration and exclusivity. Inspiring personalities who have created a legacy were the first choices as brand ambassadors or representatives of the brands, such as JFK for Rolex. Niche magazines were identified wherein advertisements were given. These two very potent ways of advertising fall flat as far as these millionaire millennials are concerned. Therefore, new models need to be identified, personalities who are “cool” and “inspiring”. The choice of advertising media also needs to be changed to include a heavy dose of digital and social media. The millennials prefer videos to print ads and their attention span is reduced to seconds. Therefore, all luxury marketers have to invest in new-age campaigns through the right media with loads of “cool” quotient to woo these millennial millionaires. Thus, Instagram and Snapchat are more relevant than a Forbes or a Fortune.

Technology: This is the biggest threat: As stated earlier, the way Apple is eating into Rolex's market, all luxury brands need to be careful from not only their immediate competitors but also these tech companies. These millennial millionaires swear by technology, and thus, the latest in technology carries the most “cool” quotient. So all luxury brands have to keep an eye on the latest technology trends and products that lure these millennials and shape their strategy accordingly. 

Let your quest for luxe continue. 

The author is a luxury commentator and author of Dark Luxe and Decoding Luxe