Target Marketing to Your Luxury Home's Ideal Buyer
Selling luxury homes in any market can be challenging, but with the right marketing strategy & taking the time to perfect the art ( https://www.purvisre.com/post/art-of-marketing-your-luxury-home ) of marketing, it is possible to attract the right buyers and close the deal successfully. The key is to focus on target marketing, which means identifying and catering to the needs and preferences of the most likely buyers for a specific property.
Know Your Ideal Buyer
To sell a luxury home, you must first understand the ideal buyer for that property. The ideal buyer for a luxury home can vary based on factors such as location, size, features, and amenities. The buyer for a Lake Erie home with a boat dock that can house a 35 ft. Jeanneau power cruiser may not be the same as the buyer for a Bainbridge home with a seven car garage. To identify the ideal buyer, you need to research the demographics & lifestyle of the local market, and analyze the property's unique selling points. In essence, you need to create a detailed avatar of your ideal buyer. Once you have a clear picture of your target buyer, you can tailor your marketing efforts to appeal to their interests and preferences. Lastly, after tailoring the marketing, you need to find your ideal buyer where they spend the most time. There's no sense in marketing to where they're not. That's the reason you've never seen a Lamborghini commercial. Their target buyer is 1% of the population. Therefore, commercials are a very expensive waste of their advertising budget.
Photo by Broderick Armbrister
Who are your target buyers?
Luxury home buyers are a diverse group of people, but they do have some things in common. They are typically affluent, educated, and have high expectations. They are also often time-poor and want a hassle-free buying experience. Rarely do they quibble over minor inspection details as would the mass market buyers. They understand when a truly exceptional opportunity presents itself, and will not allow it to simply slip away.
What are their needs and wants?
Luxury home buyers are looking for homes that are unique, stylish, and well-appointed. They want homes that reflect their personal style and status. They also want homes that are located in desirable neighborhoods and have access to amenities such as golf courses, private schools, waterfronts, fabulous views and shopping. Last but not least, the most sought after feature of a luxury home: the view!
What are their pain points?
Luxury home buyers often have difficulty finding homes that meet their needs and wants. Regardless of the market, exclusive luxury homes are by their very definition limited in supply. To own a truly luxurious home is to be among the elite in a given area. Make no mistake, the affluent buyer possesses many of the same insecurities as the general population. However, they have the means to compensate as they desire.
They may also have difficulty finding agents who understand their needs and can help them navigate the complex world of luxury real estate. Most real estate agents lack the contacts and ability to appropriately service the affluent home buyer. These clients are accustomed to receiving the highest levels of service. Unfortunately, the vast majority of agents are lacking.
How to target luxury home buyers
There are a number of different ways to target luxury home buyers. One effective way is to use online advertising. There are a number of websites and social media platforms that are popular with luxury home buyers. However, in this niche, online isn't the only way to reach our ideal buyer.
Social Media & Digital Channels
As stated in part one of this series( https://www.purvisre.com/post/art-of-marketing-your-luxury-home ), Price Waterhouse Cooper released a study in February 2023 that noted 98% of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) and families earning $1M+ per year spend up to three hours per day on social media. Forbes released a study of high net worth individuals (HNWI) earning $100,000-$1M. 90% of that demographic are very active on social media with many spending more than 48 hours per week on their accounts.
By creating targeted ads on these platforms, you can reach your target audience and generate interest in your listings. Of course these platforms may come with a high cost further removing the average real estate agent from effectiveness.
Print Media
You may believe that with the advent of social media that print media had become obsolete. First, consider that the average age of a HNWI is 58 & the average UHNWI is 63. Second, while, as the studies above reflect, they utilize social and digital channels these are also the demographics most likely to respond to print media. 70% of U.S. households with annual income at least $100,000 read the newspaper and other print publications with far greater frequency. Unlike digital channels, I know of very few free print publications. So if this demographic is paying for information they're going to take it seriously. Lastly, to be found online the target population generally must already be searching for your information. With print, we have the opportunity to place vibrant, high quality images and content in their hands without our ideal buyer seeking it out.
Event Attendance
Another effective way to target luxury home buyers is to attend industry events. There are a number of different events that are geared towards luxury home buyers, such as charity galas, art shows, auto clubs, and wine tastings. Based on the ideal buyer avatar created in the beginning, we will have a much greater idea of which option may yield optimal results. By attending these events, we can meet potential buyers and their advisors. The goal is to learn more about their needs and wants, and how your home exceeds their list. Then, introducing your home in a very low pressure manner.
Price Your Home Competitively: Pricing is a crucial factor when it comes to selling a luxury home. While you may have invested a significant amount of money into your property, it's important to price it competitively based on market conditions and comparable sales in the area. Overpricing your home could turn off potential buyers and lead to a longer time on the market. Lastly, you can be perceived as unreasonable and many buyers choose not to do business with unreasonable sellers. Recall above, affluent buyers are seeking a hassle-free experience. To be fair, real estate transactions often do not occur as planned. However, do you want to be the reason your ideal buyer didn't even engage?
When selling real estate, the marketing objective is generally to get as many eyes on the property as possible. However, as price points increase into luxury, it's more about the right demographic seeing it. There's absolutely no sense in mass advertising when less than 10% of a market can actually afford the home. Target marketing of luxury homes is entirely about creating a detailed, ideal buyer persona, and then advertising where and how will be most effective. While this may seem obvious, the unfortunate truth is that most Realtors® do not take this path. They rely on the path of least resistance which is utilizing the MLS for general, mass outreach combined with look at me social media posts (I see them daily). Although requiring a greater investment of time, effort, research, and marketing budget, target marketing to an ideal buyer persona is the far superior form of marketing.
If you have questions about the current luxury home market or want to learn how our target marketing program can achieve you selling goals, Click the Button Below.
Wes Purvis
Director & Founder
Purvis Commercial Group
Purvis Property Advisors
Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realty
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Art of Marketing Your Luxury Home
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