Always an interesting topic, how to reach people who can really afford to buy what your selling, often, rich people.  I had posted about this recently; now the CEO and founder of The Luxury Institute speaks out about how to reach American Millionaires Online this in detail.

the Luxury Institute went directly to wealthy consumers and asked them about their internet habits and what turns them on — and turns them off — when they browse the web. Households surveyed had a minimum net worth of $1 million (includes home equity), with a median net worth of $1.7 million and median annual income of $306,000. Sixty-five percent of respondents were men, and 35 percent were women, and their average age was 56. The average wealthy American uses the internet seven days a week for an average of 3.2 hours per day; those under 50 and worth more than $5 million are heavier users. Twenty-seven percent of the wealthy are online for more than four hours a day. Almost all (98 percent) of the wealthy use the web at home, and more than two-thirds use the web at work, including more than 80 percent of wealthy people between the ages of 21 and 49 and more than four out of five wealthy individuals with incomes between $200,000 and $500,000.

Ok, we have the basic Demographics (and I’ll take you though how use can use MSN AdCenter to hone in that data later on (perhaps in another post- we’ll see).

How to reach them
The most effective way to reach wealthy consumers online is through search engine results– including paid placements. In fact, search results are the only online marketing method viewed as more effective than ineffective by wealthy consumers themselves. Overall, clickthrough banner ads are the least effective way to create a positive impression and to get browsers to buy a product, and yet the youngest and wealthiest consumers were unusually receptive to clickthrough ads. Nearly one third of consumers worth $5 million or more visited a website after being prompted to do so in another medium such as print or television. One sure way to turn off the wealthy is to bombard them with unsolicited emails.

Who should target these people?
Online music selling has lots of room to grow. Only six percent of the wealthy say they frequently buy and download music on the web, although this percentage more than doubles for those under 50 and for households with incomes above $500,000 per year.

The online market for luxury goods and services continues to develop at a rapid pace. We knew from comScore Networks that apparel and accessories sales on the web popped 41 percent in 2005, while sales of jewelry and watches surged 31 percent. Tiffany reports a 47 percent increase in shoppers at its site.

The web is also developing secondary markets in luxury goods, some that provide real value to buyers and sellers alike. Portero, a trader of luxury goods through eBay, certifies and guarantees every item it sells against fraud and forgery. Instead of depressing sales of luxury goods, Portero provides liquidity in a pinch for somebody unloading last year’s fashions to make room for more buying. By eliminating transaction risk, Portero adds trustworthiness, objectivity, and competence to the buying and selling process.

We believe that luxury goods firms should, and will, eventually control secondary markets for their products. Think of what "pre-owned" cars did for luxury automakers versus traditional used car dealers in terms of brand control, customer loyalty and profitability.

OK, that’s a lot to digest - but is it really much different than what most average people do?

I’ll spend my next post giving an example of how to target the rich (that’s a challanage as I’m going to make it us as I go).  Thats’ what I need, a challange on a Friday evening!