How to create a luxury product your customers will desire

Today’s question comes from Starlet. She asks:

“I don’t see luxury brands depicting problems and offering solutions. They instead do a lot to create desire and happiness. But how do you create desire?”

Before I give you an answer, I want to pose this question to you: For the courses I’ve created, do you think they’re solving a need or a want?

If you don’t know, these are courses like Earn1K on the Side (for freelancers), Zero to Launch (for online business owners), and Find Your Dream Job (for people who want to improve their careers). These courses cost $1,000, $2,000, and even $12,000.

Do you think people are paying that much money for a nice-to-have item (a want), or is it a must-have (a need)?

This isn’t a trick question. I’d like you to take a minute to think about your answer because it reveals a lot about how this works.

What’s really in a brand?

Let’s take Zero to Launch as an example. Could you find a lot of information on starting an online business for free on Google?

Actually, yes! You could do that.

If that’s true, why would somebody join this program versus getting the information for free online or in the library?

To answer that, I want you to think about the last time you were at the grocery store.

Let’s pretend you were trying to decide which kind of popcorn to buy. You were choosing between the generic, store-brand popcorn, or Orville Redenbacher, which costs four times as much.

If you buy the name brand for 4x the cost, is that serving a need or a want? Remember: At the end of the day, you’re still buying popcorn — but each brand comes with different benefits.

See how this gets tricky?

It works the same way when you’re thinking of buying a handbag, a car, or an online course. There’s obviously a difference between something you find at Walmart and a Louis Vuitton bag, or a Hyundai and a Mercedes.

How luxury brands solve problems

So let’s go back to the original question and break it down.

The first thing to realize is that luxury brands ARE solving problems. They’re just not the problems you’re thinking of.

If you’re buying a Mercedes, you’re not really solving a transportation problem. You could get a cheaper car for that.

So what problem are you solving?

You’re solving a problem with status, safety, and how you feel about what you deserve.

In other words, when I roll up in a Tesla, people are like, “That guy is pretty cool.” And that helps me feel important and powerful.

Here’s another example: When I get a personal trainer, what am I doing?

Am I just buying results? Maybe. But couldn’t I do those exercises — for free — on my own?

You betcha. So what am I buying?

I’m buying the security of knowing that somebody’s going to tell me what to do.

I’m buying accountability to know that I’m going to show up and work out at the time we have scheduled.

This is all really important to keep in mind when you are creating a luxury product.

Of course you want to think about the brand, the way it looks, the way it feels, and the way you represent yourself to your customers.

But you’re also still solving a need. So you should always start by asking, “Who’s my luxury customer? And what is it that they really need and want?”

Guarantee that people will desire your product

The question of creating desire boils down to: “How can I make sure my business is going to be successful?”

To help you with that, I want to send you a free video on how to guarantee your business idea will earn you money.