• by Brittany Barnic , Op-Ed Contributor, February 25, 2015

We live in a world that is run by technology. We can order our groceries online and have them delivered. We can video-chat with friends living on the other side of the world. We can pay our bills via a secured website. We can even get medical evaluations via this World Wide Web! So many of the daily, personal errands that we used to run can now be done with the click of a mouse and the entering of your credit card number. Going are the days where we became personal friends with the person behind the counter at the bank or at the dry cleaners. These days are truly becoming few and far between.

For the affluent, however, personalization is still very important for many of them. When paying a premium for a higher level of service (which many of them opt to do) they expect to be treated with a more distinct level of personalization. Take, for instance, a financial services company. A client puts their trust and money in the hands with their advisor, often times an extremely large sum of money. This advisor can take the easy route and manage/invest and keep in touch periodically/when necessary; OR they could develop a friendly relationship with their client by simply taking note of interests, birthdays, anniversaries etc.

By acknowledging a client’s milestone, especially by coupling it with a gift matching their interests, trust and appreciation is nearly guaranteed to rise. The power of word-of-mouth now kicks in and 10 of the client’s closest friends are informed at their next dinner party or golf outing how satisfied they are with their advisor. This advisor now potentially may get contacted by five more interested clients. Marketing occurs at many levels so it’s important to keep your affluent clients/customers in mind when considering taking your services to a more personal level.

Rahul Chaudhari, in an article for BrandChannel.com states that, “[The affluent] want to feel unique and special: Personalization of products and services helps to provide these benefits. Brands need to recognize this hidden desire and offer them products that help them achieve it. In the luxury market, high service levels are a given. They key to success is to get customer loyalty through providing a personalized/individualized experience.” In addition, “They are willing to pay a premium. They want the best quality, exclusivity, satisfaction and outstanding customer service. Brands that wish to target affluent customers will have to upgrade the quality/caliber of every person who represents them in the market or has any level of interaction with the customer.”

Consider direct mail, endorsed mail, referrals, and pull marketing tactics to reach this audience. These methods can be given an extra touch of personalization that other mediums cannot. A final thought for consideration is that the affluent are not one lump sum of people. Different segments within this income bracket require different levels of attention; and some may react more positively to certain tactics than others. Do not lose sight of your goal and get lost in the effort to effectively market to “the affluent.” Always look at your market and dissect it as far as you can to determine the most appropriate strategy for success. Personalization can take you to new heights, just be aware of exactly the kind of person you are personalizing your efforts towards.