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5 Keys to Attracting High-End Clients

Think of the premium products and services you purchase and use in your life. What makes you choose those products and services over their budget alternatives? Use the same principles for targeting your premium customers.

Every business, in every industry, must have a target market. Notice how many beer and car ads are on during Sunday NFL games? Clearly these are often male-dominated purchasing decisions, and the advertisers have done their homework to find out what their target audience watches. Football is a pretty obvious answer.

We target the high-end, luxury customer and have found several key ways to land their business

1. Reflect Quality in Pricing
Wealthy clients in search of high-end solutions are turned off by “budget” solutions. That is not to say that they do not appreciate value, but they do not want a “hack” system that may not always work (think wireless HDMI). They would rather pay more for a solid, reliable, elegant solution. 

Your labor pricing should also reflect quality. You should not be the cheapest guy on the block. You do not have to be the most expensive either, but your labor pricing should put you squarely in the top 25 percent of your competition. High-end clients know all too well that when something looks too good to be true, it often is

2. Carry the Top Brands
The brands that you carry reflect on your company. If you are leading with budget speakers, that shows a budget mindset. You may want to have some budget speakers, but they should not be your go-to solution. They are there to fit a certain purpose. Having them in the showroom to A/B test can often lead to better sales of high-performance speakers because when clients hear them side by side, they will notice the difference will be more willing to spend more, even in secondary listening locations.

You should have a speaker brand that enjoys brand recognition among a good subset of your client base. Clients should feel comfortable with your product assortment. The same holds true for projectors, screens, control systems, audio components/AVRs, and other electronics that have recognizable brands. The customer should be able to Google the products you sell and have the results reflect positively on your business

3. Provide Exceptional Customer Service
First and foremost, a human MUST answer the phone. Use a third-party answering service like Securus or CallAmerica if you need to, but a client should never get voicemail when calling your office. 

Once their call is answered (or they receive their call back within one to two hours), luxury clients often want someone who can help them over the phone to get things back on track quickly. Either have a rotation within your team to provide 24/7 coverage, or use a third party such as OneVision Resources to provide always-available triage support. If a truck roll is required, these clients do not want to hear that you are backed up and cannot make it to their home for a few days to fix the remote not working in their kid’s room. You need to be able to remotely diagnose and troubleshoot and then get a truck out as soon as possible for your top clients. This is where service agreements and SLAs (Service Level Agreements) come into play. Those paying for the top-tier SLA get priority service. 

4. Offer Premium Perks
Your product and service offering is the steak that you provide to your clients. But you also should offer some sizzle. Think of things that you can do upfront and after the install that will make them excited. You want them to feel like they are being taken care of and nothing makes people feel better than some freebies. Upfront, to help land the sale, be sure you have great collateral to provide, such as a brochure, well-produced YouTube videos, great photography, etc. While not “freebies,” they establish your professionalism and quality. 

You can also provide some things to get them going before the install begins. Offer some sweeteners with your proposal: Do they have old equipment and have not been able to enjoy Netflix on their TV? Maybe put in an Apple TV as a loaner, so they won’t have to wait two months until the install wraps up. Or if they will be getting Sonos, put a Play1 in the kitchen or living room so they can start to enjoy music in the home with ease. After the sale, be sure to have a leave behind. Maybe set them up with one Echo Dot in the kitchen and five voice scenes they can activate for music, lighting, etc. 

5. Be the Expert 
High-end clients want to know they are dealing with someone who knows their stuff. Their attorneys are the experts in the field and they invest with the top brokerage firms. Become the go-to expert in your community. Write a blog for the city’s main paper. Display at local home-shows. Work with realtors to lightly stage their homes with AV and smart home technologies. Be creative and do things you will enjoy.

Think of the premium products and services you purchase and use in your life. What makes you choose those products and services over their budget alternatives? Use the same principles for targeting your premium customers.

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