When you run a business, you will doubtless have a target audience in mind for your products and services. The golden rule of running a profitable business is to capitalize on a specific niche. If you catered for everyone, many customers would go elsewhere because they feel you don’t specialize in any one area.
For example, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t build cars to cater for the budget end of the market. And Dacia doesn’t build cars that cater for the luxury car market. It’s important that all business owners define their target audience.
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Do you want your business to appeal to the wealthy? If so, you don’t need me to tell you how lucrative such a market can be for your business! But what I can do is give you a few pointers to help you target such a discerning clientele. Here is what you need to know:
Wealthy or affluent: what’s the difference?
The first point to consider is what category of wealthy people you want your business to target.
In essence, there are two main categories. The first is wealthy, and the second is affluent. So, what is the difference between the two, you might be asking?
Wealthy people are those that are multi-millionaires. They don’t advertize the fact that they are of such high net worth. These are the sorts of people that live in modest homes and drive modest cars. They spend most of their time working hard. And they seldom spend much time socializing or going on many expensive vacations each year.
Affluent people are on a different part of the scale! While it’s true, they might also be worth millions; they like to show off that fact! These are the folks that you see living in sprawling mansions and owning a collection of rare and exotic cars.
Wealthy people tend to make buying decisions based on value. Whereas affluent people base their decisions on what will make them look good.
It’s important you make a distinction between wealthy and affluent people. That’s because wealthy people don’t care if your products make them look great. And affluent people won’t care if you offer something that is great value for money!
What are the biggest bugbears that the well-off have?
Before you tailor your products and services to customers with high net worth, you first need to understand more about them. What you see on TV and read in newspapers about rich people is one thing. But what you don’t know about their daily lives behind the scenes is another.
Just like “the rest of us,” rich people have many various annoyances in their lives that they have to put up with. The first issue is time. This is something that they cannot buy! From the moment they wake up to the moment they sleep, their days are all packed full of meetings and tasks to do.
The wealthy and affluent among us want products and services that help them save time. What they are looking for is convenience. The next concern of the wealthy is maintaining their status. They don’t want to end up broke one day and to get shunned by their peers.
Wealthy people will doubtless have many businesses and investments to manage each day. Your products and services need to save them time or money somehow (or both)! If you can offer them something that is of real benefit to their lives, you will have a profitable business.
Besides what you can offer, there are also some other ways to attract such clientele to your business. And these tips might surprise you:
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Have an executive office
If you want to target the wealthy and affluent, you can’t do so if your office is a small box room on top of a thrift store! As they say, if you want to make money, you have to spend money!
You need to have a luxurious, executive office in an affluent part of your town or city. Believe it or not, it gives your prospective clients the impression that you are doing well from a financial point of view. Rich people only want to have business dealings with successful suppliers.
If you give them the impression that you are a “one man band” you can kiss goodbye any thoughts of making large sums of money! How you decorate your executive office will also have an impact on how your prospective clientele judge you. Here are a few handy tips:
- Less is more. Make your office as large, open and bright as possible. Invest in attractive glass desks, comfortable leather seats and high-end Apple Mac computers;
- Keep it green. Plants don’t just look pretty. They also improve the morale of people in your office and are great at reducing CO2 in the atmosphere;
- Hire an interior designer. They can tell you what decorative items you should use in your office. Such items should emphasize that you are a young, dynamic and successful company.
Drive an executive car
It’s likely that you will need to go out and visit your new and existing clients at their homes or offices. It’s also likely that they will notice what car you drive when you rock up to their premises!
If you turn up driving an old clunker that backfires, they’ll feel embarrassed to do business with you. Whoever said “first impressions count” was right! That’s why you need to get seen driving around in a premium, executive car.
The good news is you don’t have to spend a fortune to drive such a car. The smart thing to do is lease your car instead of buying it outright! Websites like www.leasingoptions.uk can help you find the right executive car for your needs.
My personal favorites are Audi cars. You just can’t beat German quality control and technology!
Now that you’re armed with some useful tips, you can go forth and start targeting your new niche audience. Don’t worry; you can thank me later!
