Anti-Law of Luxury Marketing #3: "Do not pander to your customers' wishes"

Is your business driven by customer preferences or a creator's vision?

The mass-market business model and marketing strategy starts with the customer, what the customer wants to buy. Plus, if it's a mass-market offer that requires a large volume of sales (which is very often the case when profit margins are slim), then it's what a large majority of today's customers are interested in buying.

The luxury strategy flips this model on its head.

As Kapferer and Bastien observe, "The luxury brand, on the other hand, comes from the mind of its creator, driven by a long-term vision"

With BMW as an example, they point out that, "the brand has remained true to itself thanks to its willingness to resist client demands when these did not correspond to the company's very precise vision as to what made for a true BMW. This does not mean that the luxury brand should not care about its clients nor listen to them. However, it should do nothin that threatens its identity."

For more, check out the 9-minute video.