Page 45 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - September 2017

build a luxury braNd

LAWS OF LUXURY

1. 6.
Identify and promote your DNA;
Use terms of passion in marketing.
a unique POV.
7. Most of the a uent have not lost their middle
2. Marketing rst.
class values.

3. Luxury is global: do one-quarter of your 8. The a uent are not all alike.
projects out of your primary market.
9. What ma ers to you may not be a driver for
4. We have to work together to defy the your a uent prospect.

devaluation of design.
10. Luxury brands do not negotiate price.
5. Luxury is an industry term. Never use luxury to
11. Be authentic; never a poseur.
describe yourself, a product, or object.
12. Time is currency.

house Hermès as an example. “Your aesthetic isn’t today. “We’ve shi ed from a society of many long-

for everyone,” he added.
term loyalties to one of transactional relationships

Ramey urged the audience to dig deep to nd and [short-term] contacts,” he said. “We market
what is at the heart of their company. “What is your desire. Luxury marketing unleashes and channels

DNA?” he asked. “It’s not color, or service, or loca- your prospects’ desires. You don’t sell to the a u-
tion. It’s what you bring to every job, and the reason ent; they choose to buy from you.”

why you will turn down jobs that are outside of your One of Ramey’s clients is renowned interior de-

DNA.”
signer Perla Lichi, ASID, who specializes in luxury
estate home design. To keep her name at the fore-

marketInG ruLes
front of clients’ (and their house guests’) minds,
“Where would Coco Chanel be today if she never Lichi sends them a copy of her book Palaces of the

advertised,” Ramey mused. “We’re all hoping for World a er each project’s completion. “When I said

good word-of-mouth, but that’s a lousy strategy. We to her, ‘Perla, that has to be so expensive to do,’ she
can’t continue to hope that people nd us. Market- responded, ‘People never throw away books,’” he

ing manifests importance. There’s no question in my recalled.
mind that celebrity interior designers and resources Ramey stressed the importance of ge ing your

are among the best marketers.”
luxury brand out in front of an unexpected audience

Ramey cautioned the audience about touting in order to expand your reach. For example, Lichi
their customer service. “Please never mention ser- advertises in Vogue instead of Architectural Digest,

vice because everyone says it. Don’t you think that where a lot of design rms advertise. Both publica-
the companies that provide awful service also say tions serve a wealthy readership that appreciates

they give great service? Yes, they do.”
fashion, but being in Vogue helps her rm stand out

Noting that the relationship between the buyer amid the ads for luxury handbags, cars, and beauty
and seller has changed over the years, especially regimens.

since the digital revolution has taken place, Ramey Speaking of Architectural Digest, Ramey cited
emphasized understanding what we are marketing
a similar successful marketing campaign in the

september 2017 | enLIGHTenment magazine 43