11 Genius Luxury Watch Marketing Strategies For Sustainable Sales

The luxury watch market is one that has taken a knock, just like many other industries, due to COVID-19. Whilst the pandemic is still on-going, the market for most is returning back to a somewhat form of normal. 

For the luxury watch industry, it’s one that has seen an increase in growth due to the way brands have been adapting to this new way of existing on the market since COVID. From celebrity endorsements to influencer marketing, there are many efforts being made to make sales.

In this guide, you’ll get an understanding of why watch brands need marketing, some of the trends currently being used as well as marketing strategies that can be used to generate sustainable sales. 

Why watch brands need marketing

What is luxury marketing? Just like any product or service, it’s in competition with many others and so even a luxury watch brand is going to need marketing. In order to reach it’s target audience and to convert leads to sales, the right marketing strategy needs to be in place.

For every £1 a business spends on email marketing, for example, advertisers can expect a return of £42. There’s a benefit to spending a budget on marketing and to understand what your audience are looking for in order to be convinced to buy, especially when they’re luxury goods.

Statistics on the luxury watch market

So what are some of the current luxury watch industry statistics? In the UK, the most popular luxury watch is the Rolex, amongst other brands as of December 2020. 

Data sourced from Statista, found that sustainable development has become an ideal opportunity for these brands to make use of. This may be due to 37% of consumers worldwide disagreeing that luxury brands are more respectful of the environment than other brands.

Despite this, the worldwide market of luxury watches continues to rise. Swiss Watch Exports released in 2019, that the value of global retail sales reached almost £40 billion.

Trends in the luxury watch market

There are many luxury watch market trends that have come about for the luxury watch market and that are worth mentioning in order to look out for.

Watch ambassadors

The endorsements from celebrities aren’t the only way of providing an influence to your audience. Many everyday individuals become watch ambassadors in order to promote their favourite watches and to hopefully earn some commission on any sales they refer.

Sustainability

It’s already been mentioned but sustainability is a growing trend and one we’ll likely see across all industries, including that of fashion. Taking more care and attention towards the environment is critical to securing most of today’s younger generations who are more socially conscious.

11 genius luxury watch marketing strategies

There are plenty of marketing strategies you can apply as a watch brand in order to provide more sustainable sales that will hopefully reduce the impact on our environment. With that being said, here are 11 genius luxury marketing strategies for sustainable sales.

1. Psychographic segmentation

A method used by Rolex, psychographic segmentation is a great process whereby it deciphers the needs of the customers. Therefore, you don’t need to waste resources both physical and digital, on trying to figure out what the customer needs in their watch collection.

2. Custom-made and tailored experiences

For luxury watch brands, there’s a real opportunity to provide a unique and tailored experience to every individual customer. With custom-made watches that have a tailored approach to how they’re crafted, it means less wastage. Listening to your customers’ feedback can be more efficient in sustainable sales than having lots of leftover stock that can’t be shifted.

3. Gender-specific content

Depending on who the luxury watches are aimed at, you may want to consider a marketing strategy that involves a gender-specific approach. It could be doing separate content for men, women, and those who identify otherwise.

It’s a great way of making it more personable and ensuring your marketing budget is being spent in the best way possible.

4. Purchase incentives that contribute to specific initiatives

Sometimes, customers love to see their purchase decisions going towards something more than just the product or service they’re buying. It’s why many businesses are looking at providing incentives that will contribute to specific initiatives. For example, giving back to the local community per watch sold.

5. Influencer and celebrity endorsements that are meaningful

When it comes to fashion and smartwatches, influencer and celebrity endorsements are very popular marketing strategies. However, they can be done incorrectly if they’re not meaningful or don’t make sense to the brand.

Try to select influencers and celebrities that identify with the brand in the right way and that hold the same morals and feelings towards helping the greater good.

6. Offering world-class premium services

As a luxury brand, world-class premium services should be a given but that’s not always the case. If you’re not willing to go above and beyond for your customers, both old and new, what does that say about the integrity of the brand?

7. Focusing on proving durability and environmental impact

As a watch brand, it’s good to showcase the watches and their capabilities. How durable are they? Show off just how much they are through visual content via social media.

Drive that message of the environmental impact these watches have on the world by being long-lasting and a material asset that is likely to get decades of use rather than it being anything about fast fashion.

8. Utilise visual social networks

Social media networks are a great way to showcase the visual side of the watches and this should be utilised to the fullest, especially as it’s not doing anything to the environment. You’re making use of a budget that’s digital advertising, rather than contributing to printing houses that end up being wasted paper that’s thrown away.

9. Use digital advertising for global dominance – Facebook Ads, Youtube, etc

Digital advertising is great for global dominance and as a brand, you don’t need to venture physically outside your office. 

Instead, you can drive sustainable sales through online platforms like Facebook and Youtube.

10. Give your brand a story

There’s nothing more inspiring than a brand that has a story. It’s not all about how long a business has been running but how the brand came about and what inspired its creation. Whether it’s a long story or a short one, make sure it’s front and center on all of your branding.

11. Find ways to educate your customers

Whilst many customers want to be environmentally conscious and sustainable, it can be difficult to know-how. Some may be already making active efforts but there’s always something more that can be done.

As a brand, it can be great to educate your customers on how to be more sustainable and how the brand focuses on sustainability in its products and for the business as a whole.

Examples of brands leveraging luxury watch marketing strategies

There are many luxury marketing examples for watches that are already proving successful in the luxury market. Here are just a couple of them:

Jaeger-LeCoultre

As mentioned above, Jaeger-LeCoultre utilised the gender marketing to their advantage in order to reach more of the market. As you can see, they created content not only for men but for women too. In this modern-day, watch brands can also benefit from uni-sex luxury watches.

OMEGA

OMEGA is known for its influential campaigns, driving forward the message of innovation and revolutionary products. So it makes sense that Buzz Aldrin in 1969 was seen wearing The Omega Speedmaster. Becoming the very first watch on the moon! There’s nothing like tying in a brand message with the perfect celebrity endorsement.

Hopefully one of the marketing strategy for watches mentioned in this article will be beneficial for any upcoming luxury brands.

If you are in the Luxury Watch Market and want to hire a digital agency for your Luxury Watch Brand, get in touch with Appnova; a luxury branding agency to talk about your project!