As a writer, you’re always on the lookout on how to add value to any of your products or services. Your sales are what keep you going and it would be great to earn more with less budget. Perhaps you have a product that you think can move up to being more premium and get sold at a higher price.
It doesn’t take much time and effort, you just need to know the strategies how.
The Veblen Good
First off, you need to know what you’re trying to create so you we recommend looking at other brands that are doing it and learn more about it. As we know, the normal law of demand states that demand has an inverse relationship with the price. This means the higher the price goes, the less its demand gets. Meanwhile, a Veblen Good is defined in economics as the product whose demand is actually proportional to its price getting higher. These goods are all in the luxury range like sports cars, jewelry and designer bags and clothing.
These high prices actually want to make the people desire it more as it becomes seen more than a product and stands as a status symbol. This is due to a purchase like this equating to having the money to buy expensive items just as a way of leisure.
How to utilize content to market your product as a Veblen Good
1. Rare (Low Supply)
While majority of products aim to have as much stock to earn more and please customers, this works as the opposite. Keep your supply low enough so it’s more coveted and considered to be more rare.
As a Veblen good, its appeal is highest upon release as it shows itself off as exclusive. You have to emphasize how rare it is and available in limited amounts. You can write about how unique it is and emphasize its rarity every step of the way. From your Instagram captions to featuring it on lists of limited edition products.
Once the product runs out, the demand for it may also overflow to your other products. You are able to indirectly promote these products as well. Aside from its marketing purposes, there are also practical reasons such as acting as a buffer that if ever demand drops, the sales will not.
2. Show off
As you can see, the Veblen Good is a constant contradiction to the majority of goods in the market. This means that while it’s very common to create things that are focused on convenience and how functional it is to use, Veblen goods are bought for the simple joy of having it and being able to show it off.
Write about who is currently using it so people know that it is something worth showing off. This is also a very visual step so there must be photos in whatever content you plan on making. It’s all about persuasion of how it is the next ‘IT’ thing rather than how much use you can get out of it.
The piece has to be memorable and instantly seen. It’s not something that’s hidden and low key. As of the moment, maximalist is also having a big moment wherein it’s all about creating a bold statement, just a brief ride from seeming kitschy. Gucci started this bandwagon and every other brand is following suite.
3. Branding
Of course, for it to be something to show, there has to be something iconic about it. This usually comes in the form of the logo and your overall branding. The logo trend has also come sweeping back as everyone is proud to be wearing their brand of choice. Fendi has been everywhere from jewelry to clothing. Everything is suddenly monogrammed so buyers are only as good as the last logo they are seen carrying.
This is very good for brands as this gives them immediate recognition. Build your brand’s logo into something memorable. Market it in various platforms so it gets stamped onto people’s minds. Accompany it with how limited your product is so they see it as something only they can have. These together bring you your Veblen good served on a plate.
4. Influencers
Digital Marketing is now the way to go. While celebrities are still famous and people still look up to them, the influencers have more of the purchasing power. They aren’t necessarily celebrities so people feel like they can still attain that sort of lifestyle. Therefore, luxury brands usually tap on them and end up with more sales than getting a celebrity to do it.
They are now the ones who dictate what the ‘IT’ brands are and what bag is going to be big next season. You can help them create content that will push the people from wanting the product to actually buying it.
There’s Dior who went crazy with their saddle bags in 2018 where hundreds of influencers released a post of the same bag at the same time and for the next 3 days, it was all you can see in your feed. While not everyone has the budget to do that, you can choose a blogger whose brand resonates with what your product is saying along with being someone known to promote luxurious products. This will instantly give you a level up in your reputation and make it easier for people to justify the purchase. There are so much online moves you can make to save money while looking expensive.
5. High Price
The last and most important thing, for you and your customers, is the hefty price tag. This is what combines it all together. This is what makes the brand and logo known immediately. As a buyer, you don’t really remember the medium priced brands; what sticks to you are the cheapest and most expensive ones.
This is also a validation for the limited quantities. People immediately assume this is due to how long every piece takes and how good its quality is. While this is something you can also consider, hiking up the price is an immediate way for them to go into purchasing it. Make sure it’s worth their splurge though so they come back for more.
Bonus!
If you want to tie it all up in one pretty bow, you can go with a narrative. It can be how these things are made so you can show off your luxury stores and work spaces. It can also be how this brand emerged, everybody loves a success story. Having a story to back up your product can instantly make people spend more because they feel that they have a connection with the product and well, it’ll be a good story for them to tell when they’re showing it off.
All these are quite easy to do and you can do it on your own if you have a bit of time on your hands. Go on and achieve that Veblen Good status today!
Guest article written by: Roy Selbach is the co-founder of EOI Digital. A real digital native who’s unanimously in love with the internet and it’s rapidly changing landscape.