Endri Hasanaj | Mar 25

With the luxury ecommerce market set to reach $41.8 billion by 2019, navigating the online space is becoming increasingly crucial for high-end retailers. Whereas luxury brands have traditionally set themselves apart by creating an exclusive in-store experience, the significant shift to online over recent years has brought with it a new set of customer expectations. Luxury vendors now face the challenge of redefining their approach in order to stay relevant and ensure they continue to reach their target audience.

Traditionally, luxury retail has thrived on brand loyalty; customers in the market for a high-end product would typically have a brand in mind and go directly to that particular store to make their purchase. A sale would be dependent not on price factors or product specs, but rather on a first-class in-store customer experience. However, the internet has made it easier than ever to run comprehensive product, price and vendor comparisons, meaning that today’s shoppers are not only extremely well-informed, but accustomed to choice.

As highlighted by this Technavio report regarding the end of last year, this has led to a notable shift in luxury consumer patterns; high-end shoppers in the online sphere strongly favor a multi-brand environment over single-brand sites. Convenience is now a pivotal factor, and one that online marketplaces are evidently fulfilling more successfully than their uni-brand counterparts. Chrono24, for example, serves as a one-stop-shop for luxury watches, offering competitive pricing, convenient delivery and extensive brand diversity. A quick look at their range here – from Rolex to Cartier to Omega – shows that they are effectively eliminating the need to shop around for these brands individually.

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Chunyan LI, co-animera avec Pr Philippe Jourdan la Conférence "Luxe et Chine : enjeux et perspectives", donnée le 14/04, 8h30-10h30, Palais Brongniart, dans le Cadre du Cycle Parole d'Expert, Printemps des Etudes 2016. Elle nous livre ici son décryptage des réseaux sociaux en Chine.

Parmi les plus grands réseaux sociaux chinois (QQ, Qzone, WeChat, Baidu Tieba et Sina Weibo), Weibo (Twitter chinois) et WeChat (combinaison de WhatsApp, de Facebook et de Skype) restent aujourd'hui les plus valorisés par les entreprises pour faire la promotion de leurs marques, produits ou services en Chine. Ils possèdent respectivement 650 millions et 222 millions d'utilisateurs actifs en 2015, et y sont devenus un outil incontournable de promotion et un élément essentiel d'une stratégie marketing. Explications. Par Chunyan Li, fondatrice de FEIDA Consulting, auteure du livre « Réussir sur le marché chinois » (Eyrolles).

Le mariage de LIU Shishi et de WU Qilong, deux stars chinoises, a attiré énormément d'attention en Chine ces derniers jours. La jeune mariée a très récemment partagé ses photos de couple sur Weibo en faisant la promotion des marques de parrainage : Roger & Gallet et Godiva. Elle possède 24 millions d'adeptes qui suivent son compte (« followers »), et son mari, 41 millions. Plusieurs autres marques se trouvent aussi sur leurs photos de mariage qui circulent sur cette application : De Beers, Carven et Roseonly.

Cette anecdote souligne à quel point le numérique est en train de transformer les modes de promotion en Chine. L'internet foisonne de « Key Opinion Leaders » (KOL) de ce type : par exemple, YAO Chen, une des stars ayant le plus d'adeptes sur Weibo (79 millions, soit plus que la population française) a récemment partagé ses photos prises lors d'une soirée de gala durant laquelle elle portait une robe Burberry en noir et des chaussures Jimmy Choo en rouge. Ou encore, un de mes amis chinois, un expert en soins de beauté féminine suivi par plus d'un million de Chinois sur Weibo, a récemment été invité par une marque de cosmétiques française pour un séjour d'une semaine à Paris. Il est supposé publier, en retour, plusieurs messages et articles sur Weibo et WeChat au sujet de cette marque.

Une efficacité accrue à un moindre coût
Nombre d'autres marques ont également engagé des KOL pour promouvoir leurs marques en Chine : Chanel (ZHOU Xun), Piaget (GONG Li), Baume & Mercier (CHEN Kun) et bien d'autres. Dans le même but, la plupart des marques occidentales présentes en Chine ont créé des comptes publics sur les réseaux sociaux, sur lesquels les consommateurs abonnés peuvent suivre leurs actualités. Ces marques y lancent systématiquement leurs campagnes de promotion, notamment lors des différentes fêtes (Nouvel An chinois, Saint-Valentin, Fête de la Lune, ...). Cela leur permet le plus souvent une efficacité accrue à un moindre coût, même s'il devient aussi assez coûteux de lancer des campagnes en ligne.

Ainsi, les réseaux sociaux deviennent un outil incontournable de promotion et un élément essentiel d'une stratégie marketing en Chine ; ceci s'explique par plusieurs raisons :

Tout d'abord, la Chine est entrée dans une nouvelle ère numérique : fin 2015, elle dispose de 688 millions d'internautes, soit plus de 50 % de sa population ; ceux-ci passent en moyenne presque quatre heures par jour en ligne ; environ 90% d'entre eux se connectent à Internet via leur téléphone mobile, et 19 % uniquement via ce média. En particulier, les jeunes générations sont hyper-connectés au numérique, et parfois excessivement : il n'est pas inhabituel de voir deux personnes s'asseoir face-à-face, sans échanger un seul mot, chacun la tête penchée sur son portable, pour mettre à jour leurs publications sur WeChat, par exemple...

Ensuite, le nombre d'adeptes sur les réseaux sociaux chinois peut grimper de manière beaucoup plus rapide qu'en Occident, grâce à une base d'utilisateurs à la fois large et active, surtout quand il s'agit d'une célébrité, quand il survient un événement spécifique ou lorsqu'un sujet brûlant émerge. Une illustration : il a suffi à HAN Han, un célèbre écrivain chinois très connu au profil atypique, d'ouvrir son compte sur Weibo, en 2010, et de taper le seul mot « Hello » (en chinois) pour s'attirer en deux jours plus de 10.000 commentaires et 6.000 « retweets ». Quatre jours plus tard, il disposait déjà de 80 000 adeptes.

Sur Weibo, il est possible d'exprimer davantage de sens en chinois
En outre, le fonctionnement et l'utilisation des réseaux sociaux facilitent davantage la promotion des marques qu'en Occident. Par exemple, Twitter est le plus souvent utilisé par des journalistes, des rédacteurs, et d'autres spécialistes concernés par des sujets professionnels. Sur Weibo, il est possible d'exprimer davantage de sens en chinois en utilisant le même nombre d'idéogrammes ; le contenu reste de plus très mélangé - entre sujets professionnels et personnels - avec davantage d'insertion de photos et la possibilité de partager des morceaux de musique ou de vidéo.

Sur WeChat, les utilisateurs confondent aussi allègrement vies professionnelle et personnelle ; ils n'hésitent souvent pas au « show-off » en montrant à leurs contacts les photos de produits achetés ou d'une expérience agréable, comme un repas ou un voyage, et en agrémentant ces clichés de leurs commentaires ou d'une note de satisfaction. Ceci alimente ainsi le « bouche à oreille ». En effet, les Chinois attachent une grande importance à l'entretien de liens forts et réguliers avec leur cercle de proximité et font fortement confiance à leurs recommandations.

Par ailleurs, globalement, les consommateurs chinois sont assez facilement influencés dans leurs préférences d'achats par les « Key Opinion Leaders » qu'ils admirent. Ils restent au final relativement immatures et infidèles vis-à-vis des marques - malgré l'évolution assez rapide d'une partie plus avertie d'entre eux - comparés aux consommateurs occidentaux. D'ailleurs, la culture traditionnelle chinoise fait encore plus ou moins sentir ses effets aujourd'hui : beaucoup de Chinois aiment bien suivre « la tendance d'ensemble » car, inconsciemment, ressembler aux autres leur permet de rester dans une zone de confort et de sécurité, comme le décrit l'ancien proverbe selon lequel « le pistolet cible l'oiseau dont la tête sort en premier ». Cet effet psychologique a pu se constater lors du lancement de l'I-Phone 6, en septembre 2014, au vu des files d'attente que faisaient les Chinois partout dans le monde, de jour comme de nuit.

Enfin, la solution d'e-paiement via l'interface intégrée de WeChat stimule la promotion des produits ou des services.Aujourd'hui, il est possible d'y payer directement des services de taxi ou d'hôtel, des factures téléphoniques ou des produits en vente sur les sites de e-commerce comme JD.com ou Meilishuo.com, ou d'effectuer un paiement hors-ligne dans de nombreux points de vente physiques via les codes QR de son compte WeChat.

Pour les entreprises françaises - notamment celles actives dans le B2C - qu'elles soient déjà ou non présentes en Chine, la promotion de leurs marques et de leurs offres via les réseaux sociaux chinois constitue un « must-have » et une nouvelle clé pour réussir dans cet environnement numérique qui ne cesse d'évoluer en Chine !

[RETROUVER CET ARTICLE SUR LATRIBUNE.FR]

Katy Barnato | @KatyBarnato
CNBC

Rising numbers of female millionaires and billionaires around the world may help drive a rise in luxury health and wellness holidays and women-only hotel services.

The number of female ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) – those with net assets of $30 million or more, excluding their primary residences - is increasing faster than male UHNWI, encouraging travel agencies, hotels and tour operators to focus on their interests. These include holidays that focus on "wellness" and can be combined with business or voluntary work, according to data provider, WealthInsight.

Rising numbers of female millionaires and billionaires around the world may help drive a rise in luxury health and wellness holidays and women-only hotel services.

The number of female ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) – those with net assets of $30 million or more, excluding their primary residences - is increasing faster than male UHNWI, encouraging travel agencies, hotels and tour operators to focus on their interests. These include holidays that focus on "wellness" and can be combined with business or voluntary work, according to data provider, WealthInsight.

"Interview and secondary research show that spas, yoga, meditation, health and wellness are appealing to female UHNWI," Roselyn Lekdee, economist at WealthInsight, told CNBC on Wednesday.

In a report on Tuesday, Lekdee said the number of wealthy females rose by 5.3 percent between 2010 and 2014 in locations with large UHNWI populations (see above). The number of male UHNWIs rose by 4.4 percent, although there were still far more male than female multimillionaires.

"As wealthy females have greater control over their careers and finances, they are becoming more selective about holidays, demanding personal and more sophisticated services," Lekdee said.

"Wellness" tourism can incorporate a wide range of activities including spa, yoga, detox, fitness and stress relief. The industry is worth $494 billion globally, according to the Global Wellness Institute, an industry body.

This type of tourism is growing and proving popular with solo travelers – and women. Several Asian countries are benefiting from the trend, with Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India known for high-end health and wellness holidays.

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 April 7, 20, Jing Daily

“I won’t die in peace unless you are married,” says one parent in new SK-II ad about “leftover women” in China

A new ad campaign by luxury cosmetics brand SK-II addresses a social issue in China that doesn’t usually receive much attention in the country’s commercial scene: the plight of sheng nu, or “leftover women.”

If one wasn’t aware of how twenty-something single women are traditionally viewed by their parents’ generation in China, the start of the four-minute-long video ad strikingly makes it clear. It begins by juxtaposing a montage of photographs of young girls with audio phrases from their parents, such as, “I won’t die in peace unless you are married,” “Don’t be so free willed,” and “You’re too picky.”

Chinese women are put under an incredible amount of social pressure to get married, so much so that businesses pop up around Chinese New Year that give single women (and men) the opportunity to rent a boyfriend or girlfriend to fool and appease their family over the holidays. The term sheng nu is a derogatory one used for those who haven’t found a husband by their mid to late twenties.

For the women featured in the film, this term brings on feelings of guilt. “Not getting married is a sign of disrespect,” says one woman before tearfully apologizing to the camera for disappointing her family.

Then, in an emotional turn of events, the women head to the Marriage Market in Shanghai, where parents normally go to browse the “resumes” of potential suitors for their daughters. This time, however, the women would be the ones delivering a message to their parents.

The parents find beautiful photos of the women at the market, each paired with statements of confidence like, “I don’t want to get married just for the sake of marriage. I won’t live happily that way.”

This touching film, produced by Swedish ad agency Forsman & Bodenfors, is the latest installment of SK-II’s global #changedestiny campaign, which encourages women to “change their DNA” to take control of their future. SK-II’s website has additional short films that show women having courage to change their DNA, including one starring Chinese actress Tang Wei and another featuring Chief Strategy Officer for Ebay Greater China Vvivi Hu.

In the case of the sheng nu campaign, the confident subjects behind #changedestiny speaks volumes to affluent Chinese women. A 2014 report by Grant Thornton International showed that about 63 percent of Chinese businesses have female CFOs, and women are going to great lengths to have their own eggs frozen so that they can put things like having children—and marriage—second to their successful careers.

So far, the “Marriage Market Takeover” Youtube video has more than 250,000 hits after two days of being released, and its WeChat post is quickly catching up with more than 100,000 pageviews and a growing number of comments of encouragement from supportive fans.

Credits:

Brand Director: Kylene Campos
Art Direction: Sophia Lindholm and Karina Ullensvang
Director: Floyd Russ
Digital Producer: Peter Gaudiano
Film Editor: Cut + Run
Production: Tool of North America
Producer: Alexander Blidner

Promise Consulting, a market research and brand strategy consulting firm, becomes one of the 300 highly skilled members of the International Consulting Group (ICG).

This network, which gathers the best international experts in various areas (marketing, finance, governance, risk management, etc…), is designed to give top-level consulting services to companies.

[SEE THE INFOGRAPHICS]

"We are very proud, only three years after the merge of Panel On The Web and Promise Consulting in a single Company Promise, dedicated to market research and high-skilled consulting in marketing, to join a network of high-skilled professionals. It is the insurance to leverage our expertise both in France and abroad and to better help our clients to empower their brands" [Valérie Jourdan, CEO Promise] 

Internal Consulting Group : a unique approach to consulting

Since its creation in 2011, ICG has gathered strategy and management consultants with a high mark-up. Each has complementary capacities and covers a very wide spectrum of activity and field functions. First global platform for consulting services for companies (multinational or small companies), ICG offers a wholly pioneering approach to consulting: missions led by the best international experts in their fields, who have an innovative insight of their sector, and the constitution of dedicated, agile, flexible and reactive teams.

Promise, ICG’s active affiliate

Promise Consulting, dedicated to market research and high-skilled consulting in marketing, is part of ICG’s Marketing practice. Philippe Jourdan, the company’s CEO and co-founder, is now one of the ICG experts. Most of them come from diverse backgrounds: consulting firms, boutiques and freelance consultants. They share common open-mindedness and innovation values, with a strong spirit of entrepreneurship.

"We have joined ICG to carry on developing new business fields, in France and abroad, and also to increase the value we offer to our current customers. The return was almost immediate with a very prestigious new client in our portfolio", declares Philippe Jourdan, Promise Consulting CEO.

About ICG - Internal Consulting Group

ICG was created in 2011 in Sidney by David Moloney, a strategy consultant specialized in the financial area, in association with other consultants.

ICG offers to its clients, both international and small companies, top-level consulting services. Strategy and management consultants as well as the ICG network of consulting provide their abilities, their intellectual properties along with training courses. Members are able to accredit other members in order to enable them to deploy their methodologies in other countries: to join the ICG network, everyone has to show a strong consulting experience, acquired in big consulting firms, and bring value to the network through their expertise or professional network.

ICG currently has more than 300 members, 40 in France. For now, the network has opened hubs in 10 countries: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the USA (New York and San Francisco), Canada, France, Belgium, the United-Kingdom and Sweden. The current target is to open new offices in new countries, especially in Asia, Western Europe or South America.

About Promise Consulting

Promise Consulting delivers consulting and market research services. Promise Consulting has created an innovative methodology to measure the brand’s performance and ROI: Monitoring Brand Assets. This methodology has been deployed in over 35 countries to date, and focuses on 250 brand studies in various fields and represent around 800.000 online questionnaires.

Based in Paris and New York, the group has led consultancy studies and services worldwide. The group is particularly acknowledged for its expertise in measuring brand value through consumer insights. Promise Consulting managed to develop innovative methodologies and patterns, which have been rewarded seven times over the last 10 years by the profession nationwide and worldwide. The group works with most of the major brands in luxury, cosmetics and selective distribution - especially in the framework of their development in national and international markets. The group also works in many sectors, to help the brands with growing strategies to enable them a better understanding of their market, address their consumers as well as seduce and retain their clients: mass consumption, automotive, financial products, etc… The firm is also certified by the OPQCM (French Professional Agency for Qualification in Management Consulting) and Social Media.

Promise Consulting’s CEO, Philippe Jourdan, is the chief editor of the ADETEM’s review (French National Marketing Association) and also for the RFM (French Marketing Review) since 2011. He regularly publishes in global academic periodicals articles concerning brand evaluation in luxury and cosmetics. He is also a university professor and researcher at the IRG (CNRS).

Site : http://promiseconsultinginc.com

Site : http://internalconsulting.fr

Twitter : @ICGrp @pjourdan1967