Your Keys To The Affluent Vault

"Show Me The Money" 12 / 24 Marketing Plan Part 4

In my last three newsletters, I have defined what's coming, outlined the significant opportunity to grow your business and defined who are the affluent in our the U.S. marketplace. Then in the next couple of newsletters / blog posts I will discuss the outstanding opportunity.

If you missed the earlier posts, you can get to them on the right under the December posts.

You should plan to re-orient your business to appeal to the group in the U.S. that will still have an ability to spend on your product or service during a potentially lengthy recession. To do that we need to research and understand what this new or additional target market is for us.

I am going to review some key strategies that I have learned from Dan Kennedy, in his book, "No BS Marketing to the Affluent," his "Marketing to the Affluent" monthly newsletter, and in conversations with him.

Most of us wish we owned a bank where we could just walk into the vault and give ourselves a loan. That bank vault does exist for us, but we have to go out and get it. Our vault over the next few years will be providing products and services to the Affluent.

It's the one fewer businesses will know how to open, thus providing the biggest opportunity. Let's start with what Dan Kennedy calls the "Keys to the Vault."

Kennedy Key to Vault #1:
"Make all your marketing to the affluent mirror the way they see and think about themselves."

In the 1960's husbands picked out the family car. In the 1980's couples picked it out. Today in mass-affluent household the woman has her own car and picked it out for herself. Most likely even made the final decision without much if any input from a man in her life.

Linda Picked Out Our Last Car, B-u-t . . .

A couple of years ago, Linda, my wife, decided that we needed a larger SUV because when our kids and their families came to town, we had to take two cars everywhere. One big 8-9 seat SUV would make that much easier.

Linda got on the internet and researched all the cars the size she wanted. She narrowed her choice down to two make/models. Then she started calling around to see where she could get the best deal.

After about a month of research and decision process she chose the one she wanted, and negotiated through email and telephone with the dealer where she would get the right selection and the best price.

She asked me to go with her to the dealer in Santa Fe so that they wouldn't try to intimidate her. She wouldn't have let them intimidate her but she just didn't want to go through the hassle. We got there and she did most of the talking to the salesman and we signed all the papers, arranged for the financing and picked out the accessories.

A few weeks later we picked up the car. Now, ever since that time, who do you think the dealer has been marketing to? Me, the man of the house. I wasn't that involved in making the decision. I didn't do the telephone and fax negotiation. I sat behind the scene as she asked all the key questions.

But they still send all their follow-up marketing materials addressed to me. They should have picked up on the fact that she was the decision maker for this transaction, not me. But they didn't. You may be doing the same. Or, you may not be targeting women individually for your product or service.

Start Target Marketing for Greater Success

There again you are making the big mistake I see often. "I want to try to get everyone." When you do that you will get fewer everyone than you would if you targeted your message. This is extremely important with the Affluent.

Marketing to affluent households will have to include, if not target, women. 2007 marked the first time there were as many single women as married women in U.S. Why do you think that would be important to note?

2005, Single women were the 2nd largest group of home buyers (1.5 million homes). When have you seen any Real Estate advertising aimed at single women?

Why do you think we have this trend of mass affluent women?

There is also a large group of willfully unmarried affluent women - especially in Boomer age. And, they are controlling a significant buying power. They're buying homes, doing their own investing, planning and funding retirements, planning their own vacations and so on for life.
But hardly anyone is marketing specifically to this group.

They are permanent heads of households. Do you know anyone like this?

You can't design a business to be exclusively for men anymore. That would be sexist. But you can design one exclusively for women. (That's not sexist) Discrimination is one of the most powerful of all marketing strategies.
What do you think I mean by that?

Men tend to buy for status as a matter of competition or comparison. For women status may be a matter of association rather than competition. But both often buy for status.

The affluent guy will often purchase a 60 foot yacht because everyone else at the club has a 48 foot yacht. Many yacht owners freely admit their size choice was based on the sizes of their peers. An expensive 'My blank is bigger than your blank.' A throw back from the high school locker room, maybe.

Next week I'll discuss Kennedy's the next two Key's to the Vault of the Affluent pocketbook.

Wayne Story
http://www.marketingstrategiesrx.com/