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Subject: luxury Не уверена, что правильно понимаю, что в данном тексте означает сочетание luxury firms.What happens to luxury now?By: Alexander Moir (amoir@gsb.uchicago.edu)With the recent decline in the global economy many firms have been driven to bankruptcy. Duringmost of the 1990s and into the new millennium, we have witnessed the end for firms that were nolonger able to provide benefits to consumers that they valued enough to fund the firm’s existence.What about the luxury market? During this same time period the world watched the stock marketprovide people with spectacular purchasing power. This amazing amount of new wealth inspiredconsumers to want more. From homes to fashion, people wanted the best and they were able to buyit. But now that the stock market has gone in the other direction what will happen to all the firms inthis luxury market? Many predict that the best will always be around, but will they? Some luxurybrands are rumored to be on shaky financial ground after years of costly expansion. This articleexamines how firms in the luxury market can increase prosperity despite the downturn in theeconomy by truly understanding its core customer.Thanks to the boom in the stock market many firms benefited by selling high-end products andservices to people who had more access to money. But the boom has busted and many of thesecustomers have deserted the luxury market. If a luxury firm still has some customers it is lucky notjust because it has customers, but also because those customers who remain are core customers. Forexample, the consumer in the marketplace who is purchasing a new jet today is most likely able topurchase this item at any time. These are the customers that the firm must get to know. Althoughthere are a few professions that may be recession-resistant, the firm will have a greater portion of itscore customer base making up its sales during an economic downturn than in economic expansion.So where did these other customers go and who remains? Consumers begin to evaluate and adjusteach aspect (quality, quantity, price, etc.) of their purchase decision more carefully during times ofhardship. During these downturns the customer base begins to shift. Many people begin to movedown market as they trade quality and brand recognition for price. While other consumers retain thequality, they simply reduce the quantity. As an item becomes viewed as a durable good customersmay begin to postpone purchases. Others have noticed that some customers move down market in adifferent way. One representative from Cartier explained how some customers are deciding to forgothe trip or vacation home in order to use their purchasing power elsewhere. While many firmsexperience a change in their customer base during economic downturns, luxury firms have anunusual benefit. The customers who remain provide the luxury firm with a closer look into its corecustomer base then ever before.The customer base can be segmented into two categories: fringe and core customers. As economicdownturns occur, most luxury firms begin to see their core customer base account for a greaterpercentage of sales during recessions. The customer shift looks like the example below.19982001FringeCoreFringeCore
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How are firms supposed to discover what is important to their core customers? Ask and listen!During economic downturns luxury firms have less noise in the data, as the core customer is morevisible. This provides a better indicator of the priorities of the core customer. Employees whointeract with the customer base have an incredible amount of information about the desires of thecustomer. Many firms are surprised to discover that the answer to “what is important to our corecustomer” has been within the firm the entire time. Linda Berry, owner of Bella Linea in NashvilleTennessee, used to sell down-filled mattresses and some high-end bed linens. During the recessionin the early 90s Linda and her staff noticed many customers were more interested in their bed linensthan the mattresses. So she began to incorporate more sheets into her product mix. This movealtered her entire business and has allowed her to become the supplier of luxury linens to most ofNashville’s music royalty. The customer-oriented staff must be given the tools to differentiatebetween the customer types. If a luxury firm utilizes its front line sales force in data gathering, thefirm can recognize shifts in its customer base faster and adjust its operations accordingly. Thesetools are not for discriminating against the fringe but to aid the entire firm in learning more abouteach type of customer.Should luxury firms be concerned about the fringe customers? Definitely! The fringe customers arethe potential future of the firm. However, converting fringe customers to core customers can beextremely tricky for the luxury firm. If the luxury firm goes after the fringe customer too strongly itcould alienate the core customer. Luxury firms have a clear advantage: most fringe customers willwant similar benefits from products and services as the core customers. Many fringe customers maybe friends or family of the core customer, which could reduce acquisition costs of these customers.Once a firm is able to teach its employees the skills needed to address each type of customer theentire firm will benefit by the increase in knowledge about its customers. Knowing how the fringecustomer operates will help luxury firms identify opportunities to convert the fringe into corecustomers as well as recognize shifts in customer’s preferences. This increase in knowledge willenable a firm to provide all customers with the desired benefits while avoiding unnecessary options.This will lead to prosperity faster when economic prosperity returns.In the long run, firms who choose to focus on purely cutting costs will suffer while firms whoinvested in knowledge capital will prosper. Although it may sound simple, many firms do notfollow this action because they become so focused on meeting short-term financial targets that theyquickly lose sight of the long-term goal. Even worse are incentive systems that prevent the action-taker from suggesting an adjustment to the firm’s process. However, it is possible. By improvingthe knowledge capital in economic downturns, the luxury firm can respond to future opportunitiesfaster, improve future product and service offerings, provide better customer service and prosper.
Заранее спасибо.
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