Priceless time – The UHNWI's most precious possession: implications for international marketing theory and practice

Abstract

Purpose

Traditionally, international luxury marketing highlights possible disparities of cultural and value perception. The context-specific nature of traditional international luxury marketing, which ranges from educational and cultural to financial and offering-based variations, delivers little guidance to managers in the field regarding how to cater best to their highest target segment. The study aims to exemplify the relevance of global consumer culture (GCC) theory for the ultra-high-net-worth-individual (UHNWI) context. The authors' research on UHNWIs maps the DNA, so to speak, of the UHNWI customer experience (CX) by determining what drives UHNWI purchasing behavior independent of background – in other words, what matters most to this exclusive consumer segment.

Design/methodology/approach

Interviewing 15 UHNWIs using a means-end approach and incorporating the emerging consensus technique (ECT), the authors explored the CX of UHNWIs leading to their purchasing decisions.

Findings

The authors' analysis reveals the three main constituents of the UHNWI CX: the value of time, expectation mismanagement and the utilitarian nature of luxury. The findings highlight that UHNWIs see traditional luxury as a necessity rather than a luxury and value different factors, such as time, much more highly. The findings highlight the UHNWI homogenous nature, connecting GCC to purchasing behavior.

Practical implications

The authors' study delivers empirical evidence of what matters most to the UHNWI segment and drives their purchasing behavior. The authors are questioning existing luxury segmentation strategies and lay out a clear guidance on how to design and deliver effective and efficient marketing, sales and communications strategies for the elusive UHNWI segment. The research highlights that it is the experience and the three main dimensions, namely expectation mismanagement, luxury as a utility and the value of time. Following UHNWI CX DNA framework will allow luxury companies to build their marketing and client acquisition efforts on a solid understanding of what matters most to the UHNWI target segment.

Originality/value

The study highlights the commonalities of UHNWIs in terms of what matters most to them. Based on this, the authors develop a UHNWI CX DNA. The authors propose that traditional context-specific differences upheld by international marketing researchers might not apply to the UHNWI segment. The authors deliver evidence that UHNWI are an excellent example of the applicability of GCC theory. The only difference in perception the authors noticed was between CX evaluations of self-made UHNWIs and those who inherited their wealth in an otherwise homogenous segment.

Citation

Klaus, P.‘., Park, J. and Tarquini-Poli, A. (2022), "Priceless time – The UHNWI's most precious possession: implications for international marketing theory and practice", International Marketing Review, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 335-351. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-02-2021-0085