Marketing and digital strategy for luxury brands has little in common with traditional marketing. Learn some of the key points to remembers with 12 do and don't tips of luxury digital marketing from your friends at Big Digital Umbrella, a marketing and digital strategy consulting firm focused on high-tech and luxury brand clients.

1. 12 do’s and don’ts of luxury digital marketing
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2. do: tell the artisan story
luxury products are artisanal by definition. so a large part of your content
marketing strategy should include communication about product design, origin,
craftsmanship, and creation.
if the content emanates directly from the creator, so much the better.
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3. don’t: talk pricing
a luxury brand never communicates on price or affordability (or lack thereof).
any consumer with a smart phone can and will figure out a product’s price
in under 60 seconds. so why bother?
luxury brands should use digital to communicate about dreams and aspirations.
not prices. prices are for in-store discussion.
this is partly why e-commerce sites for luxury brands are a horrible idea (see #10).
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4. do: vet 3rdparty vendors
most consultants, agencies, and media producers, do not inherently
comprehend luxury marketing. as such, they often try to apply traditional
marketing strategies and tactics to luxury brands often causing undue damage.
this is because virtually every traditional marketing rule breaks when applied to
luxury brands. but most digital agencies and agents are very focused on
“social media” when in fact “social media” and luxury are completely
orthogonal by nature.
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5. don’t: compete
luxury doesn’t compete. don’t use digital marketing to compete or position
against other brands in the same category. luxury brands should never
communicate on competitiveness either online or offline.
in your digital communication, other brands don’t explicitly exist.
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6. do: use digital for customer service
customer service ismarketing. especially in luxury. it is an integral and expected
part of the luxury experience.
leverage all digital means at your disposal to provide outstanding, personalized,
and unique customer service at every customer touch point including retail
channels, stores, corporate, distribution, community, and online properties.
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7. do: gate your customers
use digital to “protect” existing customers from the public at large. an excellent
way to do this is via privately gated exclusive online communities.
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8. don’t: use discounting
stay away from any digital contests, games, and giveaways where discounted
product is involved no matter how enticing the perceived ROI might be.
a luxury brand can never discount. on the contrary, it must always strive to
increase prices. resistance to these increases is inverselyproportional to the
brand’s value.
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9. do: pick media outlets wisely
every blogger, every community, and every online publication is not necessarily
adequate for your brand. some might actually be harmful. while others may be
useful, but not timely. do extensive homework.
and resist the urge to “be everywhere”. instead, focus on cultivating influencers
and brand ambassadors both off and online. it’s better to be well positioned
and respected on selected sites than to be loud and obnoxious everywhere.
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10. do: target the right markets
do not confuse your awarenessmarket –people who know your brand –with
your purchasemarket –existing customers and people who can afford your
brand. a luxury digital strategy should clearly and distinctly separate both markets
and address them differently.
don’t spend inordinate amounts of time agonizing over right and wrong market
segments. your market is anyone who buys into the dream and can afford your
product. period.
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11. don’t: sell on the internet
never sell a luxury product on the internet. no matter what a consultant
or e-commerce platform vendor might recommend. some brands can get
away with selling a few peripheral or entry-level items, but very few.
in luxury, the “everyone else does it” argument is moot. luxury by definition
should never follow trends -that’s for fashion –a whole other industry.
luxury must be unique and different.
internet should only be used build mind-share, increase demand, improve
distribution, or provide personalized customer service.
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12. do: innovate distribution
in many luxury segments, distribution is the sweet spot where digital can help
innovate. it’s also where digital can help you build customer insight.
leverage digital to connect customers to retail points, retail points to the brand,
and customers to the product directly and in personalized fashion. don’t make
it super easy to buy. make it super convenient.
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13. do: be efficient, not subservient
in the luxury world, the customer is not always right. the brand is always right
when it comes to product, messaging, and image. it’s a supply-side model.
so use digital to make customer experience more efficient, memorable, and
valuable. never to make the brand subservient to wishes, trends, fads, or
suggestions of the moment.
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14. keep your marketing, digital strategy, and customer experience initiatives out of the water.
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