LORRE WHITE HOLDS A COMMANDING INFLUENCE OVER THE SPENDING HABITS OF THE WORLD ’S WEALTHIEST

MENA Luxury Travel Magazine Serenity

HOLDING A COMMANDING INFLUENCE OVER THE SPENDING HABITS OF THE WORLD ’S WEALTHIEST ELITE, LORRE WHITE KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO SWAY THE LUXURY VOTE. HERE, SHE SHARES HER EXPERTISE, REVEALING HOW TO MARKET A PRODUCT TO THOSE WHO VALUE TIME OVER MONEY, THE MOST PRECIOUS COMMODITY OF ALL.

If the term ‘boutique’ indicates the provision of highly specialized, and often elite and bespoke services, then Lorre White is the ‘boutique gem’ of the luxury marketing scene. Her hands-on personal relationships with her network of Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW) clients, is unique and familiar, much like the surroundings provided by boutique hotels.

Her portfolio is based on a concept of quality rather than quantity in the same way that a boutique hotel collection prioritizes integrity, charisma and eclectic excellence within a small number of properties, oversized, room numbers, or brand continuity. And it is not just The Luxury Guru herself who offers boutique services. Her clients are also considered amongst the most exclusive ‘boutique’ brands in the world. From private jets and elite hotels to thoroughbred horses and luxury yachts, Lorre White’s consulting clients far surpass the needs and requirements of the mass market, instead of meeting the discerning demands of the tastemakers and trendsetters who control over half the world's wealth.

What makes you a Luxury Lifestyle expert?

I have two separate – and for the most part completely unrelated – jobs in the luxury sector. I am a luxury marketing consultant working with companies that need to reach the world’s wealthiest demographic due to the price point of their product. These companies provide services such as $60 million jets, or $120 million yachts. My clients also include private banks moving hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of family assets.

Completely separate from this is my luxury media work. I am the only internationally recognized luxury media personality and a frequent guest contributor to fashion and luxury magazines globally. I have a very wealthy following. From my work in private aviation, I developed a large following of private jet owners. I never cover aspirational news like most of the luxury magazines, because time is the most valuable asset of my clients, and if I waste their time with information that is not relevant to them, then they would not trust me to consult them.

As a luxury media personality, I get asked to give information about luxury products and services, and as a consultant, I help brands to create and maintain a brand image as they evolve so that they are successful in reaching the world's wealthiest demographic.

What’s your favorite type of luxury?

Around 75 percent of all elite luxury brands are European. America’s biggest contribution to the luxury sector is to the media, as well as in raising service standards, and the fact that the destination is home to more billionaires than any other country. I think it is this service standard that I most appreciate. For example in New York, people can have whatever they desire delivered right to their door – be it their yoga teacher, their masseuse, wine, sushi, laundry or dry cleaning. Doormen mail packages; send shoes out to be fixed and walk dogs. Conversely, when visitors from other locations see the service in the US they are amazed. The point is everything is easier because of the service standard. It is not surprising that most elite brands actually use the American service standard in training their sales staff. Among the cash-rich, it is time that they value most. Much of the supporting services of a luxury brand are designed to create ease through the reduction of time requirements on the customer.

How do you ensure you keep up-to-date and relevant to your market?

It is a very small world at the top of the pyramid. If a brand is elite they know who I am, and they make sure to keep me informed, as they know that in turn, I keep their potential new clients educated. A sales clerk who works on commission for a high price point item once told me, “I will mention your name, if the customer knows who you are, they can probably afford to buy, if they don’t they are probably just curious.” I read massive amounts of luxury data daily as a luxury marketing consultant. By the time it becomes a book that is suited for the general population, it is pretty much old news by the industry standard.

How does luxury marketing differ from traditional mass marketing?

Very few people know what ‘Class Marketing’ or ‘Luxury Marketing’ is. The mass market is most concerned with the resource of money. Offering discounts and specials, like credit card points, clipping coupons, or travel miles appeals to those that are willing to spend the time and effort to figure out how to save money. Money to the UHNW is a commodity that is not scarce, and they would rather spend their excessive dollars than waste the limited resource of time. These are two very different motivating factors. The UHNW values time as their greatest luxury and saving time vastly outweighs saving dollars. This is part of the reason service is so important in a luxury brand. Good service often involves saving the customer’s time.

Luxury is one of the most misused words in advertising. Within the luxury category, there are tiers. Both a $300 million dollar yacht and a $900 pair of Chanel sunglasses are both technically in the luxury sector, and both require luxury marketing, their strategy cannot be compared.

The lower price point luxuries like fashion, food, perfumes, cosmetics, skincare or accessories, rely on the aspirational consumer for 80 percent of their sales, whereas the yacht company has zero aspirational consumers. In luxury, brand image is everything. In true elite luxury branding, it is more important to have a Chief Luxury Marketing Officer than a Chief Financial Officer. The number one cause of failure in the luxury sector is applying mass marketing. In the luxury world, you will never be higher on the luxury scale than when you launch. The class market is not forgiving. You cannot launch mid-level and put more money into it later when the business gets rolling and climb into a luxury status. Where you debut is the highest you will reach and you can only fall from there. It takes more upfront capital to enter the luxury market. True luxury brands, managed by skilled class marketers, know that you never put your products on sale. The hundred thousand you save would be offset by the hundreds of millions lost in brand image. It can cause irreparable damage. A sale tells clients that it was overpriced, to begin with. Brands must be vigilant in the protection of their name. Showing customer loyalty appreciation is a much better way to encourage wealthy clients.

"The UHNW would rather spend their excessive dollars than waste the limited resource of time." ~ Lorre White, International Luxury Business advisor

MENA Luxury Travel Magazine Serenity, issue 10, 2014