How to sell luxury in today’s market

Nov 16, 2008 • Paul Singh

While watching TV last weekend, one particular commercial made me realize just how much the market is changing. Actually, it wasn’t really the whole commercial but a particular line — their tagline was “Lowest Cost of Ownership” and referred to Lexus’ decent fuel economy, durability, and resale value.That’s interesting because they used to run pre-Christmas ads for their “December to Remember” events featuring a loving spouse giving his or her significant other a new Lexus wrapped in a big red bow.

Even Hyundai’s doing it — in their most recent ad, they noted that the new Genesis sedan ($33K) has the same sound system as a Rolls-Royce Phantom ($300K+). “If you’d rather have money than a hood ornament,” goes the ad, the Genesis may “look even better than a Rolls-Royce.” *Nice. *

At the end of the day, the ‘I-buy-it-because-I-can” mentality is dead. No one wants to look like the idiot who bought something because it’s expensive anymore. **If you’re selling to this market, you should be focusing on practicality, value and durability. **