Las Vegas, Louis Vuitton and Affiliate Marketing

Hey there WAers!

Today, I just wanted to stop by and quickly highlight a little thing that I noticed on a recent trip to Las Vegas. My wife , Nic, and I were there for a business scaling workshop for our Pilates studios (more on that in another post) and were wandering through the row of high end stores (Gucci, Fendi, YSL etc.) in the Bellagio.

As we wandered through, she commented on the shear number of people that were in each shop (Vegas itself was not especially busy during our time there) and in Louis Vuitton, they were actually lined up 4 deep at the register. Gucci and Fendi were equally busy.

What lessons did we take from that?

Let's take Louis Vuitton as our example here. They sell predominately handbags - Nic has a couple of them herself - and they are not cheap. But people were lined up to buy them.

Lesson #1 - We realized that even in times like these with cost of living pricing sky rocketing - people are still spending money - which was a great reminder for our business. And for us here at WA, it also means people will still click on our affiliate links.

After that, I then went to the next level...

"Are they better quality than a $200 handbag from the local mall?" I asked. Nic then told me that they are of good quality for sure. "$3000+ better quality I asked".

"That's not the point" was her answer!

So, why are people spending that much on a handbag?

Now I know this has been discussed by many over the years - especially by those in the marketing game, but we then went on to talk about (over a margarita of course) why then people spend a real lot of money on these items when they could get a similar product of arguably similar quality for waaaayyyy less.

About an hour later, this is what we came up with:

1. Brand Prestige: Louis Vuitton and the like are a symbol of luxury and exclusivity.
2. Fashion Statement: Owning a bag from a recent collection can be a fashion statement.
3. Resale Value: Louis Vuitton bags tend to hold their value and, in some cases, even appreciate over time. Nic told me of people she knows who go to Paris once a year just to buy these products as an investment for resale in a few years time.
4. Emotional Value: For many, purchasing such an item can be a rewarding experience marking special occasions or achievements, adding emotional value to the item. This, by the way, is why Nic has purchased hers.
5. Brand marketing: The brand invests heavily in marketing and maintaining an image of exclusivity, which attracts those who want to be part of that elite group.

Lesson #2 - If you look at each reason above, aren't they often reasons that we purchase anything?

So, what does this mean for us as affiliate marketers?

In simple terms, if we can latch onto the purchase triggers above in our content, people will spend money on them - even when times are tough.

For me, it is a catalyst for me to revisit all of my products that I promote to really try and see which of the above purchase triggers relate to them. That way, hopefully I can increase my sales and purchase by beautiful wife something from one of these shops too.

let me know your thoughts here below

Paul