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Luxury Consumers Want More Than Bells and Whistles
Luxury customers vary greatly in age, interests and style preferences, so remodelers have to understand their clients’ particular perceptions of luxury, according Jamie Gibbs of Jamie Gibbs and Associates, an architect based in New York City who held a marketing workshop at the Remodeling Show in Las Vegas last month.
What luxury customers have in common, Gibbs said, is that they are all looking for unique features in their home remodel and all appreciate professionalism and attention to detail.
Aspects of Luxury Items Common to All Customers
Although cutomers' definitions of luxury differ, Gibbs said that consumers hold many aspects of luxury in common that remodelers should be aware of when marketing to luxury consumers. These include:
- Quality goods that are easy-to-use and serviceable — The owner should be able to understand how to turn on the lights and television without calling technical support.
- Unique design — Luxury customers want a distinctive home that is beautiful while singularly their own.
- Quality construction — Luxury homes should always be well-built.
- The new, best or cutting-edge — Luxury clients seek out the best in new trends, from in-home theaters to deluxe sound systems and kitchens.
- Indulgences — Since luxury is indulgent, customers want homes that offer featuers that please and pamper, such as a spa or sauna in the bath.
- Frivolous trends — Such concepts may include an ice sink for cooling wine during a dinner party.
Market and Promote Luxury Aspects of Work
Gibbs recommended that remodelers hire professionals to photograph their work for their promotional and marketing needs and to use those photographs on brochures, collateral material and on a Web site for prospective customers to view.
He also recommended that remodelers work to get articles about their work or particular jobs in national or local taste-making magazines.
To broaden market outreach, Gibbs suggested that remodelers partner with the architects and designers they are working with on a project to ensure referrals after the job is done. Maintaining a solid referral network among luxury consumers is crucial to finding new business, he said.
Gibbs also recommended working with younger clients who might not be luxury consumers yet. Younger clients are a relationship worth nurturing, he said, because eventually they will want a future remodel.
Finally, Gibbs said educating customers is important when marketing the luxury remodel. Be prepared to spend quality time with the client, he said. Walk them through options, educate them on different issues and help facilitate their decision-making.
There are three details about each project that should be discussed — and touted — when educating customers about a planned luxury remodel:
- Practicality — Maintaining usability in the home so that features work effectively for the client
- Space — Intelligently planning space to prevent crowding or canyon areas
- Safety — Ensuring that the home is safe for all inhabitants, including children
“Appearance and professionalism are crucial to recruiting and maintaining clients,” Gibbs said.
 Get your Professional Designation at IBS
Earning the CAPS, CGR, CGB or GMB designation demonstrates a commitment to excellence and keeps builders and remodelers on top of industry innovation.
A number of International Builders’ Show pre-show courses qualify for these builder and remodeler professional designations, or for continuing education needed for other NAHB designations.
For more information, visit www.buildersshow.com/PreShowEducation.
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