2005

Selling to the Ever-Elusive Rich Consumer

October 2005

Marketing to the rich isn’t as easy as it used to be. People with disposable income are more likely to have a TiVo device that allows them to fast-forward through commercials advertising diamonds. They listen to their extensive collection of CDs and to satellite radio in their car instead of hearing your radio advertisements. They have secretaries whose job is it to throw away your advertisements for the newest diamond you have to sell them.

So how do you reach this money-rich segment nowadays? Advertising and Marketing Consultant Roy H. Williams, in an article for Entrepreneur.com, has these suggestions:

· Loan out your diamond jewelry to movie stars so they can show it off at award shows such as the Academy Awards. Hopefully, some interviewer will ask where they got it from.

· Pay TV and movie producers to have your diamond jewelry worn by actors. This “product placement” technique is immune from TiVo, since it’s not an ad.

· If you have a web site, invest in good web master who knows just the right “key words” that will show up on Google’s top-ten list.

What if the rich still aren’t knocking down your door as much as you would like? Take heart in the fact that middle-income consumers are overextending themselves with maxed out credit cards. For those that don’t believe in spending what they don’t have, there’s still hope—that secretary making $35,000 a year may still treat herself one day to that expensive piece of diamond jewelry she’s always dreamed about.