Feature
With holiday spending in full swing, companies that are best able to engage affluent customers, especially online, will no doubt be a lot jollier than their competitors. In fact, according to a report on affluent audiences, online purchases by those with larger incomes have risen significantly in just the last year.
So, what’s the secret to getting (and keeping) the attention of affluent customers long enough for them not to abandon their online shopping carts?
From paid ads to guest blog posts, we gathered some great tips on the subject from four digital experts willing to share their ideas.
Pointers from the Pros
Austin Paley, Marketing Communications Manager, Blue Fountain Media
“Perhaps one of the best ways to reach affluent customers is to have your business optimized for the devices they are on when they make a purchase. Like most demographics, affluent customers tend to be on desktop when they make their purchases.
"However, it is well worth noting that almost 31 percent of affluent customers are on smartphones or tablets when they purchase a product or a service, according to a recent eMarketer study. This means that if your business website is not optimized for a mobile device, then you're missing out on a little less than a third of potential sales, and are probably playing into the hands of competitors who do have optimized mobile presences.”
Paley also advises actively targeting affluent customers through social networks, rather than solely relying on organic reach.
“Studies have shown that 32 percent of all US social network users make more than $100,000 in household income a year. Using just organic reach and identifying what your industry’s affluent users are looking for on social and then filling those needs is a great start. But if you want to go one step further, using things like Facebook’s paid advertising option that actively targets the demographics you are looking for is a great way to make sure you are getting seen by your affluent target market."
Finally, he offers these thoughts for retailers that have both online and brick and mortar stores.
“Something else to keep in mind when actively trying to target affluent customers is the fact that they are likely showrooming or going to brick and mortar stores to see products before they buy online. If your business has stores, make it easy for customers to make the offline to online jump by having landing pages for specific store locations, and products that a customer is looking at when they go to a store.”
Arham Khan, Senior Digital Marketing Executive, HighQ
“Affluent consumers are known to engage their passions at work and in their spare time. This means their online behavior is different from that of the average consumer in that they're much more likely to be found on niche sites. Many digital marketers struggle to identify these sites and the interests of their target market, thus missing a huge opportunity and ultimately wasting marketing spend.
“A good place to start with the identification process is Google Analytics. The 'Audience' section can provide some useful insight to your target market and enable you to build a buyer persona, which can then be used to pinpoint the habits of your target market. It's worth noting that the audience information provided in Google Analytics is rather basic, and I'd recommend using it in conjunction with other tools to develop something substantial.
“Another thing to bear in mind about marketing to affluent consumers is that they're much more likely to respond to relationship marketing, as opposed to simple reach marketing. This means that your messaging must be highly personalized and should be multi-platform, since they consume much of their information on the go (The Affluent Connection 2014). Targeted mobile ads work well to maintain top-of-mind awareness with this audience, and should be included in the overall digital marketing strategy.”
Learning Opportunities
Webinar
May
30
ChatGPT and the Future of Conversational AI
This discussion explores various aspects of AI implementation, ethical considerations, and challenges for your organization.
Webinar
May
31
The Evolution of Employee Listening - 2023 Trends & Best Practices
Learn proven effective methods and solutions to supporting an inspirational future of Employee Voice
Webinar
Jun
1
How organizations can design, build and run Generative AI into the Customer Experience
Discover how to drive enhanced CX through Generative AI
Webinar
Jun
6
The Future of Social Media: Emerging Trends and How to Stay Ahead of the Curve
The impact of emerging technologies like AI on social media
Webinar
Jun
7
The Building Blocks of Personalization
This webinar will explore how personalization can create powerful ecommerce shopping experience.
Webinar
Jun
13
The Future of Contact Centers with AI at the Helm
Learn how to balance human intuition and interaction with the potential uses of AI to create delightful and lasting CX
Webinar
May
30
ChatGPT and the Future of Conversational AI
This discussion explores various aspects of AI implementation, ethical considerations, and challenges for your organization.
Webinar
May
31
The Evolution of Employee Listening - 2023 Trends & Best Practices
Learn proven effective methods and solutions to supporting an inspirational future of Employee Voice
Anthony Kirlew, Co-Founder, Imagine WOW!
“My advice for reaching affluent customers is to identify — and join — the online communities where they are spending their time. This is where you will see the questions they are asking and the problems that they are looking for solutions to.
“They might not even be asking directly, but you will start to identify patterns. If you can provide those answers and solutions, and let that be known within the communities, you will connect with a certain percentage of them.
“Additionally, you can begin to develop content related to those answers and solutions (such as articles, podcasts, and videos) that can be found via search (because they will search), as well as create niche communities to serve specific needs. For example, if your target audience are those who fly via private jet charter, you could create an online community that relates to their needs, wants, and desires relative to flying via charter.”
Devesh Khanal, Founder, Devesh Design
“Lots of companies spend lots of money trying to target affluent customers via Facebook ad demographic options or Google Adwords (i.e. golf, tennis, luxury resorts). But one extremely effective digital targeting strategy I've found is to combine the old sales principle of ‘Go where your customers are’ with the digital marketing technique of guest blogging.
“It costs a lot less than paid ads, it can often give you an evergreen traffic source, it helps SEO, and it can make you seem like a thought expert in your field. You simply find where your target affluent audience spends time online — with which brands, which publications — and you strategically pitch high-value guest articles and posts to them.
“Your guest posts link back to your site. The media outlets and blogs have already done the hard work of attracting a following of your affluent customers, so it's highly efficient.”
Title image by Michael Coghlan (Flickr) via a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.
