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Last post I made was extending an offer to guest bloggers. Today we have our first proactive person who took me up on the offer. I enjoyed reading this post and I think you will too.

As an entrepreneur, what can you learn from the luxury travel industry? Actually, quite a lot! By examining the trends that are taking place in the luxury travel market you can see ideas and business segments that are emerging amongst some of the world’s most affluent shoppers.

Why? These trends, which may start out in the luxury market have a habit
over time of making their way into other demographic markets as well. Like luxury travelers, other consumers realize that not only is time money, but money is time. And we’re willing to spend our money on time.

Let’s take a look at some of the trends and see how you, as an
entrepreneur, can use them to help grow your business.

1. Conventional demographics and psychographics are becoming obsolete.

People will no longer be so easy to categorize and segment. People suffering
from time poverty are all different individuals, and they want uniqueness -
solutions tailored to their problems - and true personal service that takes
their personalities into account. Anything that saves time is going to be widely welcomed by people who realize that their time is the most valuable asset they own.

This includes not only devices, but coaching and methods to help them use
their own time more wisely. Marketers will no longer be aiming simply at the “over thirty under forty” crowd. Especially as social networking and
interactivity become more prevalent, marketers will have to make their marketing more individually-focused.

2. People are becoming wiser and wealthier.

In the bestselling book, “The Millionaire Next Door” we learned that a
great deal of ordinary people, some of who may be our neighbors, are living very comfortable lives without spending a fortune. No longer do you have to have a Beverly Hills address to have wealth. Many of these people don’t splurge on many things, but they do enjoy traveling to see the world. It is important to recognize that these types of people live in your community.

Why? Because it is opening up opportunities in communities that at one time only contained a certain type of demographic or socio-economic class. Demographics show that these people may be a wide range of ages – from retired couples who have saved money all their life, to younger single people who have amassed wealth or decided to cash flow their lives thanks to their own entrepreneur skills or investments.

By realizing these types of people are living in your community, you can use
this type of information to better market towards them. Perhaps your product or business caters to the more affluent, and you have never thought of marketing it in a certain area. Or better yet, maybe you can use information such as this to realize that certain areas of the country – rural and smaller towns – may be emerging markets for higher end services and products. A good example of this is that in many smaller areas nowadays high-end electronics are becoming marketable and sustainable. These areas, years ago, would have been a dead market in terms of sales potential.

3. Work/Life balance is the expectation, not simply a dream.

These same people also tend to have strong relationships with family and
friends. It has often been said that many people are not socializing in their
communities the way they did in the 1950s and 1960s. Yet, they may be creating their own niche group, often outside their local community, that they do associate with and spend a great deal of time and money with.

How can you market your product or service to take advantage of these social groups and interactions? Are there opportunities to network within your own communities inside these important social groups and get your message circulating amongst them? Word of mouth within the group, or marketing directly to the group, may be one of the most popular tools you have in your arsenal.

4. Creative solutions are necessary for today\’s challenges, obstacles,
and problems.

Many people enjoy creativity when it comes to travel – be it traveling for
adventure or social awareness. Likewise, people are looking for more creative ways to get things done.

When you have to spend half an hour or more on hold just to report a problem with your phone service, creative solutions are needed. These range from actually finding better ways to carry out tasks, to outsourcing.

5. Conscientiousness as a lifestyle regains favor.

Altruism and personal responsibility are back. The green movement is only
part of this. People want to know that they are making a difference in the
world, and they want to know that they are consuming wisely. As people start spending more time and money on themselves, they want to know that this consumption is also helping the planet and those around them.

This reflects a direct trend in society as a whole which is becoming more
environmentally and community aware. People are concerned about their impact on the environment and are increasingly aware of socio-economic problems around the world; many want to use their leisure time to help combat both social and environmental problems. This opens us a huge market for you to introduce products and services that take advantage of these trends. Entire industries are being formed, such as Seventh Generation, which is already marketing directly towards these groups. A recent article on the Environmental Leader blog talks about the 40 million Baby Boomers who are “Green aware” and makes excellent reading to understand this emerging market.

6. Service with a smile – and then some.

A few years ago the term “personal concierge” was almost unheard of, and
a virtual assistant was someone who worked remotely for a large company. Now VAs work for individuals as well as entrepreneurs, and personal concierges handle all sorts of tasks for the busy individual.

Travelers are demanding more concierge services than ever before so they can enjoy their trip without worrying about the routine tasks, such as dry cleaning and babysitting services. Make no mistake about it – service is coming back and this is one area where you as an entrepreneur can catch the tidal wave and ride it to success.

The Wal-Mart generation is coming to an end, and consumers of all
socio-economic classes are turning back to demanding durable goods and great customer service. Use this opportunity to develop your business around customer concerns and service. If you are in a service industry you can learn from your competitors what they do wrong and then excel to do it right. People often only give you one chance, and you should make sure that your first chance wows them in terms of service and quality.

7. Lifestyle trends emphasize holistic health – physical, mental,
emotional, and financial.

We live in a time where taking good care of yourself is seen not as selfish,
but as a requirement, and this is an excellent time to be involved in any field
that involves self-improvement.

Many people now are traveling to foreign countries for health related
reasons. They want access to health care that can be more affordable than
coverage at home as well as access to more superficial services such as plastic surgery and body shaping services. Opportunities exist here to take advantage of the growing health and longevity trends at home and abroad. Realize that your customer base is living a longer, more fulfilling life. They want to stay young for as long as possible and no longer are customers in their 70’s and 80’s sitting around a retirement home. They are out shopping, traveling and consuming along with the rest of society! This is a great market, that is expanding rapidly as the Baby Boomers retire, and is screaming for products and services designed around people of their age group.

8. Across-the-board commerce and spending follow culture.

While people may not realize how deeply they are involved in the culture and how much cultural and community events affect them, these events are tied to our deepest values - family friends, and community - and people follow cultural events very closely.

The more cultural opportunities there are in a region the more likely
affluent individuals are to visit. Opportunities here exist to create products
that go hand in hand with cultural events or behaviors. These often tie
directly in with social and environmental problems in some areas. How can you expand your product or service to relate to the growing need for cultural opportunities in your area?

9. Customers demand unique opportunities and products.

The wealthy are growing tired of products and looking for unique solutions
and experiences. This is not only true of the very wealthy, but of anyone who has enough money to have what they want. Digital information and products, and the wealth of experiences available, mean that people want their experiences tailored to them, not a repeat of what everyone else has.

Group tours are declining; customized eco-adventures are increasing in
popularity. Likewise, personal and professional development is moving from books and workshops to individual coaches, mentors, and consultants.

10. People are demanding their space.

Nowadays, you are likely to find that people don’t want to live 5 feet
from each other – they enjoy their privacy and “green”. Have a look at
the rooftops from any high rise in Manhattan or Chicago and you\’ll see
gardens and turf that you never knew existed. People are more interested in having efficient, de-cluttered, open space. They’re simplifying and buying
things that help them be more efficient and effective in their lives. Space and money are two of the most important assets these days.

Opportunities here include offering services that take advantage to the
larger houses and often larger lifestyles that these space demands bring.
Whether this involves offering landscaping and lawn care services, or offering products that cater to open-air living and the outdoor spirit of many consumers, there is an expanding market in which people are turning back towards getting out and about and enjoying nature and their own backyards once again.

What is really important here is that the ranks of the “affluent” are
swelling. What we used to consider wealthy is now upper middle class, and those people are interested in the same things as the very wealthy—living their lives their way, with less clutter and hassle. They want personalized
experiences, they want their time and their lives to mean something, and they want to be comfortable. By helping them reach those goals, any business can thrive.

This guest post is written by: David B. Bohl, husband, father, friend, lifestyle coach, and creator of Slow Down FAST – writes about living your vision at his own blog: Slow Down FAST Today!

Posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 8:28 am in Business Advice | rss feed for comments| Leave a response, or trackback