June 13, 2018
NEW YORK – At an Inner Circle CEO Roundtable luncheon hosted June 5 by The Monaco Government Tourist Office of New York, 14 Luxury Marketing Council members, CEOs and chief marketing officers explored the opportunities, challenges and case histories in creating partnerships with competing luxury brands.
Attendees included executives from Compass, Elite Traveler Media Group, IPZUSA, Keller Williams/The Edry Group, Layneau, MarieBelle Chocolates, Monaco Government Tourist Office, New Haven Consulting Group, Oomiji, Regal Threads LLC, Springut Law, The Center for Client Retention and The Luxury Marketing Council.
Enemies, frenemies, partners
Unique partnerships discussed at the event include:
Partnering with competing luxury brands is never easy and not for the faint of heart. Communications, understanding and creativity are paramount.
Challenges discussed at the event include:
Making sure both brands’ sales associates are trained to know their partner’s products and services as intimately as they know their own.
Truly focused on the best customer relationship and needs of the best customer, sales associates will be comfortable in recommending the best option. Knowing that best serving the best customer is in the interest of both brands. How compensation is handled in terms of who receives the commission on a sale needs to be worked out in advance between the partners.
When a sale is referred by a co-opetive partner, the brand receiving the referral must have trust among the staff when cross selling and upselling, department to department, in the same way they would with their own best customers.
Everyone wins by sharing commissions on new best customers. Clearly, lines of communication must be open and sales associates need to be empowered to provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for the customer.
The voice and message online and in-store of both partner brands must be consumer friendly, integrated and consistent.
The smartest luxury marketers understand that all luxury brands share 60 percent of the best customers, just not the same 60 percent.
By creating strategic partnerships with like-minded luxury brands to share lists, track sales and jointly host events, luxury marketers can win more customers like their best customers.
Partnerships like these help build brand awareness, create special experiences and develop new ways to surprise and delight their shared best customers.
LUXURY BRANDS can no longer go it alone.
Strategic partnerships continue to be one of the most successful marketing strategies in growing revenues.
It is no longer just about competition. It is about co-opetition, ultimately, providing the best customer the most luxurious experiences possible through unique, out-of-the-box partnerships.
Christopher Olshan is CEO of the Luxury Marketing Council, New York. He is also founder and head distiller of Conestoga, PA-based Surly Penguin. Reach him at colshan@luxurycouncil.com.
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