Ashford targets the group it has called e-Powered Buyers. The company estimates that this group has some very desirable characteristics: 100% shopped online in last 2 years, 70% spent over $250 online last year, 70% intend to buy luxury goods online next year and the group's estimated annual consumption of luxury goods totals $15 billion in U.S. alone. From its analysis of these e-Powered Buyers, Ashford has identified a number of factors that affect their business model: Brand selection critical. Product category breadth provides ability to capture larger share of spending. High interest in unique products indicates an opportunity to build new brands. Outstanding customer service is a requirement. The e-Powered Buyer needs to feel they are getting good value.
Having identified its target customer, Kelly works religiously on getting these consumers to their site. Using online marketing, they test, cut, test and then expand their marketing efforts, focusing relentlessly on customer acquisition costs. For offline marketing, the company tracks the media consumption for e-Powered Buyers as a guide to how well they are targeting their offline dollars. FREE NEWSLETTER, click here | 