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President
Affluent Insights
March 2008
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Accompanying his corporate pilot father on flights to the Masters tournament and Beverly Hills, Ramey says he discovered the wealthy and their way of life. After two years at the University of Miami and two more at Penn State, he worked as a coal miner, a Macy's executive trainee, president of two retail store chains and now a consultant to purveyors of luxury goods and services.
Might our readers be considered purveyors of luxury goods or services?
Yes. A college education is one of a family's most expensive lifetime purchases. |
Would you differentiate your answer based on the type of college?
Perhaps an academic person would. But from a consumer's perspective, such a differentiation becomes murky. As more and more state colleges and universities are elevated to high levels of prestige, even some community colleges are beginning to look like universities. Affluence and the desire for affluence is changing the way consumers view the college marketplace. |
What makes a purchase a luxury purchase?
It's been said that luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends. A luxury purchase has one or more of three attributes: rarity; a deserved high price; and an ability to enhance one’s quality of life or life experience. |
Who are luxury purchasers?
We define the affluent as people with investable assets in excess of one million dollars. Two interesting facts should be of considerable interest to your audience. First, today you don't have to be affluent to purchase in the luxury market. In an aspirational market, everyone wants a piece of luxury. Second, 82 percent of affluent people in the U.S.came from non-affluent middle-class backgrounds. |
Are luxury purchasers often repeat customers?
Yes. The affluent are starved for time. When they like a product or service, and they are comfortable with its purveyor, they can become extraordinarily loyal. Why waste time searching for a competitor? And like most other people, they like to share good purchase experiences with their friends. |
What sales and service procedures does a luxury purchaser expect during the sale?
First, they want efficiency with no waste of their time. Second, they want to understand who you are and what you stand for. Interestingly, price is well down the list, because it's secondary to other issues, including the child's opinion. They have money to make a purchase to enhance their child's future, and they expect it to be expensive. |
What after-sale outcomes do luxury purchasers commonly expect?
In many cases the child's college success is a platform for their child to succeed in the world of business—or even take over the operation of their family business. They also expect the child to gain the bandwidth to understand the changing world and how best to navigate it.
Chris Ramey is president of Affluent Insights, a marketing communications and speaking consultancy.
Reach him at cramey@floridaluxurycouncil.com
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TOPICS: Admissions, Executive Briefing, Marketing
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