Marketing and selling to the affluent?

by Michael Cage on October 29, 2009

One of the groups I’m most often asked about marketing to is the affluent.

Regardless of what you might have been told or seen on the nightly news, this segment of the population still has money to spend, is the last group to be impacted by economic turmoil, and they are still spending money today.

But there is a catch.

The way the affluent are spending money today is different then how things were just a few years ago.

To be perfectly clear — they are still spending, but they are spending differently.

If you are currently marketing to the affluent and want to continue, or want to expand your business to the affluent, paying attention to how things are changing is critical.

Which brings me to perspective.

You see, one of the things I do whenever I develop a new marketing campaign is to search for and understand Perspectives.

Let me explain what I mean…

I grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood outside of Baltimore.

Baltimore is a blue-collar town. And even when my own economic situation moved beyond lower middle class, my perspective on the world is still heavily imprinted by growing up “Rosanne-style.”

It always will be.

That doesn’t mean I can’t understand, market to, or appeal to people who have never known what it is like to stretch a dollar to get something to eat. I can, do, and if I may be so modest … will say I am exceptionally good at it.

It does mean that, as a professional marketer, I have to be aware of my own biases and seek out people and experiences that help me to understand and appeal to people who have had different experiences than my own.

In case you missed that “writer-downer” …

**If you plan to market to more than just yourself, it is critical that you do what it takes to understand your customer in a very deep and profound way.**

In fact, many marketing failures can be traced right back to skipping over that step.

Last November, I met someone whose youth couldn’t have been more different than my own.

She grew up with private planes and vacation homes.

Disposable income was a given.

Financial security always present.

And that has carried right through her adult life.

She “gets” what it is to live like that, and what it takes to appeal to people like her.

And, it turns out, she has dedicated her razor-sharp mind to helping other business owners learn *exactly* what it takes to develop, market and sell products and services to the affluent consumer.

Her name is Kelly O’Neil.

A few weeks ago she interviewed me about using remote presentations — teleseminars, webinars and videos — to market to the affluent. Among other things, we talked about how one of my students generated more than $3 million dollars with a single teleseminar to affluent consumers.

That interview is now part of something she calls, “Marketing to Millionaire’s University.”

For the next few days, Kelly is giving me the chance to pass on a VIP Preview Invitation to look into the program *and* get an amazingly generous 25% discount coupon should you decide to invest in any of the courses.

The catch? It is only good until Midnight, Pacific time, Saturday, October 31st.

So, let me make this simple.

If you are or are considering marketing to the affluent, you need to look into what Kelly has to offer.

Here’s the code for your 25% off discount (good only until the 31st): M2MEJV09

Now, click here to go to Marketing to Millionaire’s University.

If you have been following me for any period of time you know that I rarely if ever recommend someone. That above is an affiliate link, but if you’d rather visit without me getting credit, feel free — here’s the normal url.

Thank me later.

Be well,
Michael Cage

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  • nice post... and thanks for the discount code...
  • cashforsurveys
    Damn man! "$3 million dollars with a single teleseminar to affluent consumers."

    Marketing to any group is fundamentally the same, you just need to do proper market research and find out the best channels to get to your target audience.

    Thanks for a very insightful article.
  • markus777
    It's too late for me... I could use your discount code
  • Sorry I missed this post.
    I haven't been following you, but I surely will now.
  • The affluent seem to require a different formula for stating the "value" of the proposition. As opposed to consumable goods marketing, affluent customers seem to be heavily feature and quality oriented and less likely to make a quick decision.

    Interesting post!
    Thanks!
    MAS
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