How Hermes Sells 40k Purses
Selling leather for the price of a car
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Is it a branding strategy? The colour? Some secret marketing strategy that they have that no one else does? Kind of. It's a strategy that is actually out in the open. A psychological trick that works on all humans. It even works on you as a marketer. You know the marketing strategy, yet it still works, now that is a world-class strategy.
So what is it?
I'll walk you through the process of buying one of these 40k purses and see if you can figure it out.
Want to buy? They say no!
When you ask to buy a purse, they will say no. Yeah, that's the strategy, saying no. Saying no messes with our brains, you want what you cannot have. So naturally, you ask, well, why not? The sales rep will give you some bull crap answer like it's reserve or VIP only.
So denial is the strategy? It's part of it. There is more! So instead, what you got to do is build up store credit. You need to buy a few other pieces first before you can even look at any of the purses in the back. Sometimes it's belts, wallets, scarves and other pieces to build up credit before finally, they might consider selling you a purse.
Want a purse? Come back another day!
Thought you could buy a purse after some credit? Naw, not so easy. Hermes has made it that you can't even buy your way into owning a purse. This goes for you, me, celebrities or presidents, for that matter. After about six months or so of continuously buying their stuff, do they finally open up and say ok, we might have a purse available for you.
Especially as a first-time buyer, you can't even choose what purse you want, you can't choose a colour. That means you spend 40k and no customization. And you don't get another chance until six months later.
You can't get ahead even with money
This tactic brings up the desirability of any Hermes branded purse immensely. Everyone starts to understand that to get a purse, this game must be played. It makes it so that everyone knows that having a Hermes is the same as being at the top of recognition, acknowledgement, and respect.
Hermes plays and sells into these raw human emotions, emotions that cannot be suppressed easily. They have pushed the buttons that reside in the deepest parts of the human soul.
So on the outside, it looks like a 40k purse. Whereas buyers see it as 40k for honour, recognition, and respect. It's about being better than your peers.
And people will pay anything for that.
That's it from me
Ben Swee
