Luxury brands learned a lot from 2015 and now that 2016 is about to be in full swing “digital marketing” is high on the rise. It’s important for top ultra luxury brands to improve their digital marketing strategies if they want to market effectively to China. Luxury Society held their Digital Luxury Keynote event that took place in early December of 2015 in Shanghai featuring top experts from Farfetch, Baidu, Four Seasons, Net-a-Porter, Pernod Ricard, Alibaba and more. The subject was to discuss digital strategies for the China market, a luxury target audience of high net worth individuals.
China Digital Luxury Promotions
According to jingdaily.com, brands constantly gain new data on what works and what doesn’t as they hone their digital prowess in China, here are some of the key takeaways for the global luxury industry to consider in the new year:
1. Brands should get savvier with WeChat’s CRM capabilities.
Although most luxury brands now have a WeChat account, many have only just gotten started on the messaging app’s capabilities—which include sophisticated methods of customer relationship management (CRM).
2. Quality will be emphasized over quantity with KOL selection.
In recent years, key opinion leaders (KOLs) such as fashion bloggers have netted countless endorsement deals from big brands, often receiving a hefty fee to post on their social media accounts.
“A lot of times we use bloggers; we just use bloggers for the sake of using bloggers,” said Alex Tang, the former global deputy marketing director of MCM Worldwide. “It doesn’t really come to sales, actually. That has to be in the back of your mind.”
3. Content co-creation gives customers a voice in brand channels.
According to John Hamilton, the director of marketing communications for Asia-Pacific at Four Seasons Hotels, customers’ social media posts about luxury brands are often “more credible” and “authentic” than advertising the brand puts out itself.
4. E-commerce platforms are all about accessible luxury.
As a result, lower-priced accessible luxury brands, cosmetics, and spirits are the most viable categories for online sales.
5. Luxury labels need to step up their game to reach Chinese travelers on WeChat.
WeChat account somewhere in the physical package, so if a Chinese customer buys an item at a duty-free shop, they won’t miss out on easy access to sign up for the official account.
One thing for sure in 2016, digital marketing promotions will be a major part of luxury marketing success. Those luxury brands who focus on their digital influence position will come out on top.