LUXURY IS A NICHE UNTO ITSELF

IS brand positioning challenging for high-end niche brands & CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS?

My answers may surprise you.

First, let's explore what brand positioning really means:

In its essence, brand positioning is how a brand is perceived and positioned in the marketplace amongst its competitors and the market at large. Is it accessible to all, low-end or elevated and luxurious? What is the reality and what is the perception?

And therein lies the problem. “Luxury” is an oft overused word. Most services are, in fact, moderate to mid-tier striving to align themselves as luxurious, high-end and bespoke talent. Whether that be intentional or due to lack of awareness doesn’t matter. Many small firms and businesses use the term with abandon.

Does this muddy the water for creatives providing truly elevated experiences and services?

On the surface, yes. In reality? I do not.

While you may believe this makes it difficult for clients to discern truly high-end BRANDS from the chaff, I find that clients are increasingly savvy.

In short: THEY KNOW.

It is our job then (mine and that of my high-end creative clients) to simply DEMONSTRATE the clear value of a truly high-end service. It is our job (again, mostly mine) to articulate the STORY behind my client’s brand, to SHOWCASE her (or his) best work. To create an engaging, relevant and elevated brand presence so that he (or she) may be easily found in the marketplace.

It is my job to SET MY CLIENTS APART from the competition through potent brand storytelling, compelling brand visuals, consistent brand expression & visibility.

Your dream clients WANT to find you. They NEED your services. They LONG to hire an experienced design EXPERT they can trust with their most precious resources: TIME, INVESTMENT and EXPECTATIONS.

Let’s take interior designers, for example.

A truly talented and accomplished luxury interior designer is worth far more than the financial resources their clients invest. A seasoned luxury interior designer holds valuable relationships with uncommonly gifted artisan craftspeople, top-tier brands, rare specialists, fine construction experts, elusive showrooms and beyond. She understands how to make things HAPPEN and how to pull it all together with aplomb.

More importantly, it is their ability to oversee projects from concept to completion where their true value reigns supreme. A long-established high-end designer anticipates timeline bottlenecks and potential construction or installation issues long before they occur and are well-versed in the art of risk mitigation. And she does so without disrupting the high-end client experience. She does so with finesse, grace and panache - saving her well-heeled clients time, stress and needless concern.

Through her commitment to excellence, she earns her fees many times over.

When you find these talented creatives, you appreciate their irreplaceable value.

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So how can you ENSURE you are FOUND in a populated marketplace where terms such as LUXURY are tossed about?

A few hallmarks of successful positioning:

1 Storytelling

I can’t emphasize this one enough. Our brains ABSORB and RETAIN information best when we learn information by way of stories. We are hard-wired to pay attention when a story is being told. We LISTEN and FOCUS. Marketing blurbs, taglines and passages of text cannot compare to potent (and authentic) storytelling.

AS an entrepreneur, YOU SHOULD tell YOU story. Let us eavesdrop on your WHY, your driving force, your history - as well as THOSE OF your CLIENTS. WE LONG TO ACCOMPANY YOU ON THE JOURNEY.

Be authentic, memorable and strive to connect on an EMOTIONAL level to create the most potent brand story.

YOUR brand story connects your passion, purpose, PURSUITS and prowess into one beautiful, COMPELLING MESSAGE.

2 Differentiate

To separate yourself from your competition, you mustn’t be afraid to express your uniqueness. Decide to showcase a FRESH look, a DISTINCT sound, a VIBE.

Your portfolio will certainly achieve this, but also consider HOW you present your work. Your brand aesthetic creates the FRAME through which your art (your body of work) is seen. So be mindful of your presentation style. What is the overall aesthetic? The tone? The VOICE?

And since you are HIGH-END, we want to frame your work in a fashion that is ALIGNED with your vision. The art of brand positioning is about creating an experience (digital or otherwise) that gives the audience a sense of you, your services and the brand experience you provide.

The BEST way to convey your worth and your value is to create a brand presence that is distinctly authentic. RADIATE your uniqueness. Create an energy and an AURA that captivates your dream clients by UNDERSTANDING them, inside and out. (Spoiler: this is the value of partnering with an experienced brand strategist.)

And let’s not forget, it’s not just the STYLE of your work that plays into your differentiation. It is WHO you are skilled at working with: your clientele.

By differentiating yourself and FOCUSING on your NICHE, you create a MAGNETIC ALLURE around yourself and your brand, quite literally pulling your ideal clientele towards you.

The holy grail of branding.

3 Consistency

Realize your client will have many tabs open on a browser or phone. Your signature LOOK and VOICE should be distinct, memorable, remarkable.

Be CONSISTENT across all platforms and ALIGNED with your ideal clientele’s taste, desires and dreams.

If your client longs to live LAVISHLY and your work is DECADENT, the onus is on you (or a branding atelier such as this one) to PRESENT an OPULENT experience for your dream clients online so they FEEL attracted to your work. So they feel CONNECTED to your work. Your ideal client will RESONATE and feel understood.

Conversely, if you are sleek and “moderne”, you want to demonstrate restraint via a clean, streamlined and refined experience. You WANT to be polarizing and DISTINCT in all you do., being CONSISTENT across all mediums.

Which brings us to the last element of strategic brand positioning listed here…

4 Visibility

A non-negotiable. Even for those in high-end markets No excuses. Your dream clients can ONLY find you via exposure to you, your work, your brand, your distinct skills. Once you’ve ALIGNED with your “why”, committed to your brand value and invested in your brand persona, it is time to be VISIBLE on one or more social platforms.

Whether that means Instagram Stories, Reels or simply populating your feed, note that clients WILL be looking for you online.

For the highest (and fastest) ROI I suggest YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok. Even if your content is “faceless” and simply filled with visuals and trending audio (or your voice) it will be enough to tip the organic SEO scales in your favor and lay the foundation for inbound traffic.

And let’s not forget Pinterest and Pinterest video posts. Pinterest still tops the list for inbound traffic from females seeking VISUAL inspiration and IDEAS.

NOTE: Our in-house media creation services exist exactly for this reason. Our clients CRAVE this exposure but prefer to leverage our done-for-you services to ensure every element is distinctly on-brand.

If you are a talented interior designer or high-end creative with a brand presence that could use a little zhush… send me a note or grab a spot on my calendar. I look forward to connecting with you.

xoxo,

Franki