#66. High-Ticket Sales: 3 Ways to Sell an Expensive Product | Podcast

Vira: 0:16

Today we will be talking about the key elements to luxury sales online and like, how to make sure that you are doing justice to your products online and in email marketing.

Alissa: 0:51

Hello. Hello everyone and welcome to yet another episode of Email Einstein. This is episode 66, which is cool. We’re getting to that a hundred mark and we’re going to have like a whole party when we get to that point. But until then, Vira and Alissa, here we are, two email marketers at an email marketing agency called Flowium. We are super passionate about email marketing and because we love what we do, we want to share our insights with you. Flowium is one of the fastest growing email marketing agencies in the world. We specialize in providing a premium, full service, e commerce email marketing experience for all of our clients. Our service is tailored specifically for your business and is designed to help increase your online retail revenue. We deliver the right message to the right person at the right moment. That’s what we’re all about here at flowiam. And today’s episode is like kind of different, but I’m digging it. I’m excited. Vira, take us away.

Vira: 1:46

Oh, it is different. It is about the world that I know very little about. I’m like fascinated by it. So today we will be talking about how to market your like ultra expensive luxury items with email marketing. Like businesses and marketers who want to like conquer luxury consumers, they are usually different and they talk differently, they communicate differently and basically their email strategy is different than from when you’re selling $10 socks obviously. So today we will talking about the key elements to luxury sales online and we’ll be talking about how it’s not about the product but it’s more about the message, what it means to people and like how to make sure that you are doing justice to your products online and in email marketing. So that’s what we’ll be talking about.

Vira: 3:19

Alisa, I know you have a really good starting point. So let’s, let’s start from like discussing whether or not emails are appropriate at all for this segments. Because I know that there’s like a lot of discussion in the industry whether or not email has to be a part of that puzzle at all. What are your thoughts?

Alissa: 3:39

Yeah, that’s a great question. You were just talking. It reminded me of that song by Jessie J. It’s not about the money, money, money, money, money, money. But it is about the money.

Vira: 3:49

And this in this case.

Alissa: 3:50

Yeah, yeah, it is definitely about the money. So for, we would say definitely have emails, there is a different way to go about it. But you should have emails because email marketing, as most of you know, is one of the easiest ways that any of these luxury brands can actually reach their customers. Especially when we’re talking about millennials.

Vira: 4:11

And that’s, and that’s like a big one, that’s a big group, right? And I feel like very often like good old brands like Louis Vuitton or like Dolce and Gabbana and stuff like that, they are not necessarily know how to serve people like us, like younger people. Millennials and Gen Z. Yeah.

Alissa: 4:29

Yeah, no, I agree. The email marketing side of things, it’s a really easy way to get these millennials and Gen Z customers to actually make their initial purchase or even convert them into a two time buyer or a repeat customer. So it’s kind of a miss not to have them. But there are different ways to go about it, right? So according to a report by Fortune, a survey of more than 3,000 consumers across China, Europe and the US by UBS Group revealed that millennials actually contributed 85% of growth to the luxury market in 2017. And that group will represent 45% of total high end spending by 2025. Which that is nuts. It is because I think a lot of people assume millennials are broke and we’re not. We are not just an, we are not broke. We’re actually the next up and coming generation. So it’s really important for these luxury brands to understand that like there is a new generation that you’re going to have to cater to and there’s a way that millennials want to hear from you. So luxury brands like Gucci or Louis Vuitton, they’ve realized that there is power in Their email marketing in today’s customer era and the customers of today might be busy, but nothing awakens their curiosity as much as an email from a brand they know or which is very true. Like if I got an email from Louis Vuitton, even though I’ve never subscribed to them I did, I would be like, oh fancy, let me open this up. Because it’s Louis Vuitton, you know, like that brand’s legacy never goes away just because they start doing email marketing. So the goal at hand here with email marketing is making sure that you are creating top of mind awareness for these luxury brands. So you’re not really doing sales or promos, like 10% off Louis Vuitton, like that devalues the product and the brand and its legacy. But what you’re doing is you’re letting people in because these are like high end luxury, very fashion oriented brands. There’s a look and feel and there’s like a very specific kind of customer that they’re catering to that looks a certain way and talks a certain way. What you as a luxury brand would try to do in these emails is create like a lookbook kind of email where it’s like, hey, like you’re giving them a look into like what it’s like to live a Louis Vuitton life or a Louis Vuitton inspired life. Like what will your lifestyle look like? How luxurious will your life be? Like how amazing will your Instagram pictures. And it sounds really vain and very shallow, but to a degree, like it’s about the aesthetic.

Amara: 7:06

Right.

Alissa: 7:06

So the other thing is, so you’re not doing sales or promos, you’re changing the cadence of your emails.

Vira: 7:12

Oh, that’s a big one. Yeah.

Alissa: 7:13

And this was, this was actually a really interesting thing that Vira was actually talking to me about before we started recording this podcast is when you purchase something from Cartier, which is a luxury jewelry brand, which a lot of you must have heard of at one point or another, on average you would receive one email per month. And I think that’s if you’re lucky. Gap, on the other hand, not a luxury brand, sends 139 emails per user per year.

Vira: 7:40

Oh wow.

Alissa: 7:40

Which is crazy.

Vira: 7:42

And honestly I think this number is even higher if you’re in that like engaged segment group. Right.

Alissa: 7:47

And I think like if you put plug in a different brand like Macy’s, I think I’ve gotten 17 emails from Macy’s this week alone and it’s not even Saturday yet.

Vira: 7:56

Gosh.

Alissa: 7:59

Yeah, it’s anywhere between 15 to 30 emails from Macy.

Vira: 8:02

Insane.

Alissa: 8:03

Which is crazy, right? So a brand like Gap or Macy’s, they don’t need to maintain the air of superiority or scarcity or like exclusivity in terms of like wow, like you won’t get an email from us because we’re too good for that. Their goal is to sell as many sweatpants or jeans or shoes if you’re talking about Macy’s as possible. However, if Cartier did the same thing, they would no longer be viewed as an exclusive brand and some of their allure would be lost. So it’s adding to that like sense of like mysteriousness and like, oh, like the brand brand is too good for me. Like I have to like level up to the brand, you know, like it’s creating this sense of like it’s not for everyone and not everyone will be invited. Which is like some people could argue like, oh, that’s mean, I’m so against like these luxury brands and that’s fine, that’s for you. But the people who are in want to be in and they want to make sure that they’re only people. They’re the only people that are in because they’ve earned that status. And so the brands reciprocate by the way that they communicate with their customers. So if you’re managing email marketing for a luxury brand, it would make sense, a lot of sense to build out a long term automated email sequence. So if someone makes a purchase or you’re welcoming someone into the brand, whatever that’s going to look like, it’s going to be a very long term sequence or flow in the sense that a new email goes out to your customers at highly infrequent intervals, like once a month, once every two months, once every six months, whatever that’s going to look like. Some brands even just do once a quarter, which makes sense for them. And what you would need to do is just test to find the right intervals for your brand so you’re not bothering these people. This isn’t like Black Friday sale at Walmart every single day. This is like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, all these very high end brands that like you go to the mall and you see there’s a line to get into the store not because of COVID but because they only let two different parties come in at once to have like a very special customer experience and they do the same for their emails. So definitely have your emails. But for luxury brands, email marketing looks entirely different to what it looks like for most e commerce store owners.

Vira: 10:06

Yeah. I like how you said that email marketing should be as luxurious as they are stores. And that’s actually the next point that I wanted to discuss that the quality of your emails should be very like consistent with your products and customer experience. When like we were researching this episode, I subscribed to like a bunch of luxurious expensive brands. Just like to see how they do their email marketing. I mean don’t get us wrong, we do work with clients who sell very expensive items as well. We work with clients who sell like jewelry and I mean they sell mattresses and stuff. But brands like Gucci, they sell $33,000 quote on their website. Right. So I wanted to see like what they do differently. And usually you receive a top, top quality email with very beautiful header image. The hero image is probably like 90% or like 80% of the entire email is like a beautiful hero image that is selling you on some sort of like a lifestyle. There is also like some sort of story or something. So their just as exclusive and luxurious as they are stores or their customer experience. And people today, they don’t just buy products, they buy experiences. And this is even more true when it comes to like luxury items. Right. And your email should be basically an extension of your high end customer experience. So if you offer like a white glove service in your store, you should also offer it in your emails as well.

Amara: 11:38

I love that.

Vira: 11:39

Yeah. And here’s something that I didn’t realize and we also, we discussed it briefly with Alissa before we started recording this podcast. I didn’t realize this thing. Most luxury brands can’t be purchased online. Like in my head it was like okay, I wanna, I want, I don’t know, like Chanel back. I am just gonna go online, add it to my car to receive like an abandonment card message and Canada, Canada Post will deliver it to my door. No, it’s not how it works. So basically and I didn’t realize that I was like learned that to purchase for example a famous Birkin bag by Hermes or Herme. I don’t know how you pronounce it correctly but to purchase that Birkin bag you need to build up a reputation with a brand by paying for many other things over a long period of time before even like asking, before even like inquiring about the Birkin bag. So you basically put yourself on a list. Like physically you come to the store, you have like some sort of like a history with a brand. You purchase the wallet from them, you purchase perfume from them or whatever the home decor Items only after that you can put yourself on a list and you would buy something small even more before even like they contact you and say like, okay, you can come and take a look at our Birkin bag. And this is how most of those like luxurious brands are wired. Basically you can purchase something like small on their websites online. Right. But if you want to make like a substantial big purchase, this is like impossible with brands like this. Gucci on the other hand, this is one of the most like progressive of luxurious brands when it comes to E commerce because they has a completely different model. And that’s why like nowadays this brand is crazy, crazy successful. So basically Gucci’s E commerce store, it’s very similar to any other e commerce store. You can put the $33,000 code in your shopping cart right in your card and then you can just like pay with your credit card and proceed and it will be delivered to you directly to your door. And I like, this is the brand who understand who they serve the most because people like, I don’t know, like most millennials, people like you and me, Alissa, we are wired a bit differently. We live in this like online world.

Alissa: 13:57

Yeah.

Vira: 13:58

And we actually, we are used to the emails, Right. We are used to online communication. We are used to SMS and stuff like that. That’s why for us it’s even like more natural. So making a purchase on Gucci, you can purchase $29 nail polish or $33,000 mink code. It’s site offers free returns, product information, gift wrapping and I think you even need to pay like 25 bucks for shipping even if you purchase that like $33,000 min code.

Alissa: 14:28

Oh my gosh, are you joking?

Vira: 14:30

No, like seriously, I think that’s, that’s what they have on the website. But I mean from the E commerce standpoint, you want to create the frictionless experience for the user. So it should be as smooth and as, as luxurious as if it was in the physical store. So you have to redefine what service looks for the luxury consumers. So you want to make your customer understand the deep culture of your brand, like who you are, what you’re about. And at the same time you don’t want to be offering them any discounts because you don’t want to devalue the product. Right. And yeah, that’s sort of very interesting to me like to learn more about this brands because like even in their email marketing personalization is amazing. So that’s, I feel like that’s what differs their emails from just like Gap emails or Something there are like no ways around it. Your emails have to be highly, highly personalized. Of course any email have to be personalized. But the more expensive item you sell, the more personalization has to be at it. You can even like combine it with like a physical card and maybe like send them the physical card. Obviously you need to know your name, you need to know like their preferences, what else might be interesting to them instead of like searching for competitors and stuff. Also the exclusive offers, I know I mentioned that we don’t do like discounts, but how about like doing some products or selling some products that are only available for the past customers, right? So you can use the scarcity in their emails. And I think that’s what the watches brands are often using, right? Even though they don’t do discounts, but they have this like exclusive emails that they send to their customers, to people who have been on the list only that small limited group of people, only they have access to exclusive like offers. Only they can purchase basically the product. So there is like a ton of way to market to those people through emails. But personalization is a big one. Access to like exclusive products is a big one. And obviously making this experience as like luxurious and high end as possible. That’s a big one.

Alissa: 16:48

I’m on, I’m on the Louis Vuitton website now and I’m like, how do I even sign up for email? Because it’s not even an option at the bottom, like there’s no footer thing. But then at the very bottom it says email signup and you click it and it takes you to a separate landing page where it’s like receive Louis Vuitton digital communications. Enjoy added benefits and a richer experience by creating a personal account. It’s like the most formal form ever and I’m like, oh my gosh, what am I signing up for? Like I don’t wanna hear from the president, I just want a bag. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. So the very last point in terms of luxury brands and their email marketing is in your emails. You need to speak the language of luxury, which this is kind of like a no brainer, but we’ll kind of dive into like what that actually looks like. So we’re former generations. So anyone older than Melendez Mills wanted to be noticed for their spending by showing off oversized logos, shiny gems, unique patterns, like all these like just like glossy, glossy, shiny, almost kind of like looks like fake jewelry sort of thing. Younger buyers are actually much less conspicuous so they actually prefer to go a little more incognito. But they are still very, very interested in the finer things in life. Which honestly, like, I will attest to this on a personal level, if I was to ever get a Louis Vuitton bag, I would never get one that has that LV all over it with the print and stuff. Like, I think that’s disgusting. No offense to anyone who has a bag like that. I would get one that is just all one color, totally blank, that no one could even tell it’s from Louis Vuitton. Because in reality, I’m not buying the bag for anybody else, I’m buying it for me, like I own a Louis Vuitton, but no one else needs to know that. Actually, I’d prefer if no one knew that. So we as a generation, millennials, including Gen Z, we like to show off how environment friendly, health conscious and educated we are, which is actually kind of true. And also like just making wiser decisions about how, how we’re doing things. So like, yes, we like to spend money, yes, we like the finer things. But also we’re very conscious of the other things, the other responsibilities, the other ways that we need to prepare our, our lives, you know, live our lives. So the new language of luxury for our generations, include languages or include words like inclusive, earth friendly, organic, socially conscious. Yeah, those, they kind of exude or spread awareness of common issues and controversies. It shows that the brand actually respects various cultures while creating something new. And it also emphasizes brand transparency while still producing high quality goods. So if you’ve noticed a lot of these newer brands that are coming up, those are the words that they use constantly. And it’s almost to a degree where it’s like actually kind of annoying and a little obnoxious. Cause you’re like, yeah, we get it. Everything’s vegan and nothing’s tested on animals. And you saved 5,000 trees by making this bag and whatever it is. But it’s important to shoppers that are in our generation because you know, save the earth stuff, Save the earth, like that’s all I got for you. So a really good example of a brand that’s actually doing this very, very well is Gucci again.

Vira: 20:29

Yeah, we talked about that again.

Alissa: 20:30

Gucci, Gucci, Gucci. I think that’s why all the rappers rap about Gucci and they have the Gucci slides and the Gucci belts and the Gucci this.

Vira: 20:37

Just like we recorded just in time for their release of new movie with Lady Gaga.

Alissa: 20:42

House of Gucci. Oh yeah.

Vira: 20:44

House of Gucci.

Alissa: 20:45

Father, Son and House of Gucci.

Vira: 20:47

And the house of Gucci? Yeah.

Alissa: 20:48

There’s like, a meme that’s going around. So we’re not saying that because we believe it, but it’s like Gucci is like, this is the. This is the thing now. This is the trend. So the way that Gucci is starting to speak the language of luxury is they are still producing very high quality guys goods, very expensive goods, but they’re doing it to serve millennials and Gen Z. So they actually reimagined corporate values to be more grounded in social awareness campaigns, empowerment of minorities and inclusivity, and then backed that up with action. So what these brands are doing is they’re trying to show that their focus is actually more towards the things that matter to customers. Like, because, again, it goes back to what Vira was talking about. People aren’t buying these things because, like, to be honest. So, like, if you think about, like, Uggs, for example. Uggs by Uggs Australia, if you look at that shoe, it is actually the ugliest thing that you’ve ever seen.

Vira: 21:45

They are the comfiest, though.

Alissa: 21:47

Well, so. Exactly. And that’s the thing is they are actually really, really ugly. Uggs are ugly. They are not the epitome of high fashion. However, people buy into Uggs because of the branding, because of the fact that it’s, like, the popular thing to do. So it doesn’t really have anything. And also, I think Americans are just obsessed with Australia for whatever reason. So was up to all my Aussies out there, but people are obsessed with Australians here in America. So because it’s an Australian brand, everyone wants to buy it. So they’re like $180 boots that are absolutely hideous. They are extremely comfortable. I actually have two pairs, so I bought into.

Vira: 22:25

I own them too.

Alissa: 22:26

Yeah, they are horrifically comfort, almost embarrassing how comfortable they are, and they keep your feet really warm. However, I definitely didn’t buy those boots because they’re so beautiful. And it’s actually the same with, like, a lot of these things that these brands are. That these brands are selling. Right? So I’m not saying that no shade, right? No shade to Gucci or Louis Vuitton or whatever, but a lot of those bags in reality, like, you could buy something that looks pretty similar to what it is on Amazon for, like, 10 bucks.

Vira: 22:52

Well, no, Alissa, I would disagree. Like, I mean, when you hold that item. Item, you understand that it’s like an expensive thing, that it’s a good quality thing. This is collectible. I mean, I understand why people buy them.

Alissa: 23:06

That’s my point. Is it’s because it’s a collectible and it’s because it’s luxury. People don’t buy it because it’s beautiful or amazing or whatever it is. It is amazing, but it’s not because it’s like, if I were to think to buy a Louis Vuitton bag, I wouldn’t buy it because it’s the most beautiful bag I’ve ever seen in my whole life. I would buy it because it’s a Louis Vuitton bag. And so that’s the thing is people are buying into these brands because. Because of who they are and what they represent, not because of the actual product itself. Like, the bag itself is not the end all be all. Because I could buy that same exact bag anywhere else. I’m buying it with Louis Vuitton because of who they are. Which is why speaking the language of luxury is so important. And making sure that you are transfixed as a luxury brand on what your customers care about. Because when they buy from you, they’re buying into who you are, not just what your products are.

Vira: 23:53

Yeah, exactly.

Alissa: 23:54

So if you can make those bags and make them vegan too, then you’re on a good path because that’s what people care about these days. So it’s really important. So, like, a brand like Gucci, they did a really good job. And that’s why Gucci will always remain relevant, because Gucci pivots and changes based on who their audience is, which is great. Now for some of you die hards who are like, oh, like, Chanel will never do that. Chanel is amazing. Chanel is forever. And I would agree. But in an age of relevance, in the era of relevance that we live in, I wouldn’t be surprised that if a brand like Chanel didn’t pivot and switch more to the customer audience that it needs to start gearing towards. Chanel will eventually die.

Vira: 24:34

It will not die. But I mean, it won’t die. There’ll be brands who will outperform it. I agree with you. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And yeah, and the emails, they fit perfectly into their, like, ecosystem because the email is like your way of communicating directly to your customer. And yeah, we believe in email. So for sure.

Alissa: 24:57

And there’s a way to do it based on your brand. So, like, email marketing is absolutely not irrelevant if you’re a luxury brand. There’s just a very specific way that you should be doing it. And you have to do it right in order for you to maintain your brand’s, like, integrity of what it’s supposed to Represent, but while also maximizing your marketing channels. Right.

Vira: 25:14

I agree.

Alissa: 25:15

There’s a very delicate balance. That’s the word. Delicate. Delicate balance that goes into your marketing.

Vira: 25:20

So, yeah, honestly, while we were recording this podcast, I subscribed to so many luxurious brands, just like, to see how they do things. I received, like, a few, few emails before the podcast, but now I subscribed even more. So I’m, like, kind of curious to see, like, what they do differently. Right. All of their emails are so insanely beautiful. I’m obsessed. Like, visually, they are amazing.

Alissa: 25:42

Yeah, they’re beautiful. They really are beautiful. And they’re a reflection of. Of what they’re trying to represent, which is amazing. They’re doing it right. They’re doing it right. So if you’re a luxury brand or you’re thinking about starting up your own version of Chanel or Louis Vuitton, get to it. You know what to do with your email marketing. So make it happen. Happen.

Vira: 26:00

Absolutely. That was a fun episode to record, honestly. Yeah, it was a bit different. It was a bit different than what we usually do, but it was kind of fun. So glad we did it, Alissa, and thanks so much for our listener who actually asked us to record this podcast about email marketing for luxurious brands. So thank you so much.

Alissa: 26:19

Yeah. Robin, Robin, shout out to you.

Vira: 26:22

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Alissa: 26:24

Love it.

Vira: 26:25

Um, guys, thanks so much for listening. I hope you had as much fun as we did. Don’t forget to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends. And also, don’t forget to leave us a review, because if you leave us a review and if you send us this screenshot of your review, we will send you Flowium socks. And we’ve seen them. They are amazing. Alissa, have you received yours yet?

Alissa: 26:45

No, I need to check my mail today because I think mine are coming. Oh, I’m so excited.

Vira: 26:50

Check it, check it, check it. Yeah, I’m excited. I mean, mine will probably take another few months to arrive because I’m in Canada.

Alissa: 26:57

Canada. Yeah. Hashtag Canada.

Vira: 27:00

Yeah. But the socks are beautiful. They are also very good quality socks too. So leave us a review and we will send you socks in exchange. That’s a good deal, right? So, yeah. And if you have any questions that you like us to feature on our podcast episode, send them to flowium.com ask if you have any specific guests in mind or if you have any specific question, please send them our way. We love hearing back from you guys.

Alissa: 27:29

Yeah, I love it. And next week, guys, make sure that you come back because we will be talking about different promotional strategies that you can incorporate in your email marketing. And we’re talking about it just in time for Da da da Black Friday. So make sure that you come back next week because it’ll be really useful. If you’re starting to get ready for Black Friday and need some tips, advice, tricks, we got you. We’ll talk about it next week.

Vira: 27:54

Our Black Friday season preparation already is basically in full mode. Right?

Alissa: 27:57

So, oh, my gosh. We started in July this year.

Vira: 28:01

It was early for us, so it was very early.

Alissa: 28:03

But we’re trying to be. We’re trying to be proactive, right?

Vira: 28:05

Proactive. Yeah. Yeah. Well, anyways, come back next week. It’s going to be fun.

Alissa: 28:09

Thank you, guys.

Vira: 28:10

Thank you. Bye.