Loyalty Blogs

It is often said that luxury brands cannot run promotional campaigns as it may impact the brand image adversely. But, is it true? Sales promotions can act as a double-edged sword for luxury brands, which can have both favorable impacts as well as bad consequences, if not executed perfectly. They can increase sales but such promotions can weaken brand perception exclusively for loyal customers if not implemented wisely.

In this blog, we will find out everything luxury brands need to know about promotions and how they can run them without the risk of losing exclusivity for the brands. Let’s see how it is possible with the help of the right campaign and Gift Card Loyalty Management system.

Reasons to Include Promotions & Discounts in Luxury Brands

If luxury brands feel that by using discounts and coupons, you are at risk to lose brand exclusivity then you must think twice. Removing promotions completely from your marketing plan and following a no-discount policy can bring a negative impact on your business.

Let’s find out some of the top ways that omitting discounts can bring to your business-

– Tough Competition

With more players entering the luxury environment, competition has increased tremendously over the past years and customer expectations have become more sophisticated than ever, as stated by the Luxury Society.

– Rise of Online Shopping

Many luxury brands only preferred in-store sales as they feel online selling fails to create a luxurious experience. Brands believed that online customers would never feel the uniqueness & exclusive experience that they would feel while visiting a physical store. However, with the pandemic & growth of eCommerce, luxury brands are now having a strong online presence to meet the evolving online needs of customers!

– Growth of Resellers

With the rise of resellers and platforms for reselling luxury goods, more and more customers are inclined towards having their first touch points with luxury purchasing through sales experience

just like any ordinary eCommerce platform. If your luxury brand doesn’t want to lose customers to resellers, win them back through primary sales by changing your approach.

Research by Statista says that the global luxury fashion market revenue is likely to thrive in the coming years due to the increased growth of online sales. However, brands are most likely to lose out if they don’t retain their competitive advantage through well-strategized & quality promotional solutions that suit the brand exclusivity & uniqueness of their luxury products.

Whether you want to offer discounts or cashback, you need to ensure that you do not hamper the brand image, which is why you need the right offer and cashback loyalty rewards program that knows your brand & unique needs.

Ways to Offer Quality Promotions without Affecting the Image of Luxury Brands

– Go for Super Selective Discounts

Offering too many discounts is a big NO as there is a high chance of making your loyal customers disappointed. The main motive is to avoid the ubiquity of your discounts as ubiquity may kill your brand and also means you are not a luxury anymore.

One of the best ways to run discounts is to run them only for your members. Members-only discounts will help you run discounts properly and keep your customers satisfied. An example is Dior’s My Exclusive Loyalty Program, accessible only to Dior members with different tiers where each tier members get exclusive benefits for their interactions with the brand.

– Exclusive Promotions for VIP Customers

Keeping a special focus on high-value customers is crucial for luxury brands with the best possible experience. VIP promotions can be beneficial in making your customer journey memorable and exclusive through discounts, premium services, early access to events, cash back, etc.

Using the method of bundling is another way to offer loyal customers a wide range of high-end products with an exclusive and personalized offer, without affecting the price perception of individual items. Many skincare luxury brands offer bundles that consist of complementary parts of different collections but items are never discounted which is done to keep the exclusivity intact. However, customers are convinced to buy the whole range with a slight price trigger.

– Key Focus on Personalization

Personalized experiences are more important than ever for luxury brands because feeling exclusive is what attracts customers to make a luxury purchase. Building a promotional campaign that aims to create a one-to-one relationship with the customer and the brand is a great option as generic interactions won’t help much in customer engagement.

One example is the “Ask Carla” scheme of the Australian brand, The Beauty Chef, which helps customers to engage in a personalized way through the use of promotions. Customers can ask any queries and get personalized answers.

– Partnerships with Discount eCommerce Platforms

Luxury brands are becoming more inclined towards digital marketing & sell their luxury goods online. With the rise of more partnerships between brands and discount platforms, it is crucial to get the right partner that values your brand privacy and pricing strategy.

For example, the partnership of the Swiss watchmaker, Bedat with Reebonz.com, a discount eCommerce platform that focused on fashion luxury brands was a huge success and helps in boosting sales.

– Unique Omni-channel Promotion Strategy

Another aspect is to focus on creating a seamless experience across multiple channels whether customers connect online or in-store. For the delivery of a frictionless and integrated experience irrespective of the channel customers are using, you need an Omni channel marketing approach that leverages customers’ online & in-store behavior.

Building a promotion strategy followed by a data-driven approach is needed to understand the differences between different channels and deliver the experience the customers expect across stores, outlets, or online platforms.

Final Takeaways

As we can see that luxury brands can make use of well-planned discounts, coupons, and other promotional campaigns to improve their revenue and profits without hurting their business exclusivity or brand image. However, it is essential to make use of the right Loyalty Program Platform that can help you plan quality promotions by keeping the focus on your business needs or goals.

To turn coupons and discounts into strategic solutions that boost luxury brand marketing, check out our all-in-one loyalty solution, Novus which has helped several startups as well as established brands to attain remarkable results through the right promotions.

For more details on how Novus can help, get a quick demo and let our expert team boost your business revenue & enhance your brand image with well-crafted marketing campaigns.