Markets Won’t Die
I was filling myself with brain juice today at trendwatching.com with the November trend briefing and noticed a link to this story: Luxury market to contract in 2009.
Scary, huh?
Or not really?
Well, it seems like a “captain obvious” headline to me … based on the current economic environment, this type of headline is not really surprising. Media sensationalism that attracts eyeballs and sells ads.
You could, of course, act like a wailing worker sheep drone and moan about more of the “bad news” that’s bringing down civilisation.
Or, you could read the story about more closely and find opportunity where it might not have otherwise obviously appeared.
Here’s what you’ll find in the story:
The (personal) luxury goods market — which has steadily expanded for more than a decade — is expected to slip between 3 percent and 7 percent in 2009, to between €163 billion (US$214.9 billion) and €170 billion (US$224.13 billion) in sales, according to a new study by consultants Bain & Co. presented at a conference of more than 50 top Italian luxury goods producers.
So the market is still ONLY somewhere between US$214.9 and $224.13 BILLION.
They even report that next year’s result “won’t impact the long-term business outlook”.
Of course, if you’re Chicken Little, then you’ll read the headline and believe the sky is falling in. But if you’re a smart cookie, you’ll see well beyond the gloomy headlines and realise there’s still a mass of opportunity that may fluctuate, but certainly won’t vanish. Clever marketers will capitalise on this outlook and make it work for them.
How? Firstly, by making sure you at least keep up your regular “touches” with your best customers. Don’t let them forget who you are.
I recently created a small mailout (of just 300 postcards for a specific travel destination) for one of our travel agent clients, and they’ve already got a 5.3% response (that’s holiday bookings, not just enquiries) — translating into tens of thousands in extra business.
It doesn’t take rocket science to do that. While others are worried about what’s going on, smart marketers are doing what they need to do to stand out against their opposition. Marketing stands out even more when your competitors slow down their activities! And like the example above, it doesn’t need to cost a fortune.
As I’ve heard from both Tony Robbins and Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I, your focus determines your reality!
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