Identifying your target audience is one of the first steps in developing a marketing strategy. After all, if you don’t understand who your target audience is, how can you be sure that your marketing efforts will reach the right people? However, simply identifying your audience once isn’t enough, and this is especially true of the premium and luxury appliance markets.
In the high-end appliance space, changes in buying habits and preferences can sink your marketing ship if you don’t adapt fast enough. In our 14 years of experience working with premium and luxury dealers, we’ve seen expectations of the Affluent Audience™ change. You might have a solid understanding of the demographics of your audience, but that’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
As marketing experts in the premium and luxury appliance markets, we are always researching new trends and keeping a close eye on how the high-end audience is changing. To help you rethink your target audience, we’ve put together a selection of key trends to be aware of in today’s high-end appliance landscape.
Homeowners Seek Connected Experiences
According to Mordor Intelligence, smart appliances are trending for a number of reasons. Appliances with internet connection capabilities offer a sense of safety and convenience that homeowners have come to appreciate. In fact, “the number of smart homes in North America has grown by 18.7 percent year on year.” Kitchen & Bath Design News also reports steady growth in the smart appliance space, citing ease of use and convenience as two major factors.
Health is a High Priority
Mordor Intelligence also suggests that healthy living is on the rise among homeowners, which “will lead to increased demand for luxury appliances such as steam ovens.” In an article for Forbes, kitchen designer and general contractor Molly McCabe “reports increased interest in steam ovens and sous vide capability, both able to help in preparing those nutritious meals.” Whether it’s high-end refrigeration that preserves fresh, healthy ingredients or innovative cooking appliances that enhance the nutritional value of home-cooked meals, clients want to know how your appliances can help them lead a healthier lifestyle.
Today’s Homeowners are Busy
Many of your clients are leading a fast-paced lifestyle that doesn’t lend itself to spending hours cooking elaborate meals and cleaning up. According to Kitchen & Bath Design News, younger luxury consumers seek easy-to-clean surfaces, as well as overall flexibility in the kitchen. The Interior Design Society reports that digital touch screen controls are trending as well. The ability to select from pre-programmed settings and follow recipes on a digital display is a significant bonus for homeowners who don’t have an abundance of free time.
New Generations are Stepping Into the Luxury Market
Millennials and Generation Z are making up an increasingly larger portion of the luxury market, and their behavior is unlike that of generations before them. With this new audience’s reliance on social media and online shopping, your digital marketing strategy has become more important than ever. If your brand is still designed to resonate only with an older audience, you could have a problem a few years down the road. Take a look at our recent blog post on the next generation of luxury consumers to learn more about this emerging audience.
Your target audience is changing, and your marketing strategy should follow suit. Keep the points above in mind as you reassess who it is you’re trying to capture, and don’t hesitate to reach out for guidance from high-end appliance marketing experts.