Marketing: These Brands Are Creating Exclusivity Online

Anyone with marketing experience knows that customers like to feel special and valued. This is why “exclusivity marketing” has been a mainstay of business strategy for decades now.

We’re all familiar with product waiting lists, high-profile events for selected customers, and bonus point programs such as those offered by airlines and hotels. But how can you pursue effective exclusivity marketing when your business is fully online? These brands can show you how it’s done.

Exclusive casino gaming experiences

If your company offers online games, it can be difficult to create a sense of exclusivity for your customers. However, the online casino brand Paddy Power has managed to do just that with its immersive live casino games. These are live-stream games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette, where players connect to a real-life croupier via a live video uplink.

Each “lounge” where a croupier is waiting has a limited number of seats for players, meaning that only the lucky few will gain access to a particular room and start playing. This creates the vibe of an exclusive Las Vegas poker lounge, albeit 100% digital.

Early access offers

Let’s stick to the gaming industry for a little longer. Some gaming platforms create a sense of exclusivity by releasing some games to loyal customers before the general public gets to try them out.

This is the case with major publishers such as Steam or Ubisoft, where VIP customers can receive invites to play a new game up to a month before its general release. For gaming fans, this is often a sufficient incentive to stay and spend.

Invite-only live streams

Many high-end brands understand that their most loyal customers are genuinely passionate about what they have to offer. For this reason, it is increasingly common within the luxury sector to create online events that are invitation-only.

This might sound a bit odd, given that most live-stream events are designed to be watched by as many people as possible. However, opting for exclusivity can be a great way to show your online customers that you are aware of their existence and that you want to reward them for their loyalty.

A pioneer in this space is the luxury fashion label Bottega Veneta, which has been running invite-only runway live streams for more than a decade. This way, the brand’s coterie of loyal online shoppers can feel like they are getting a sneak peek of tomorrow’s trends.

Product Development Opportunities

Customer co-creation has been a mainstay in marketing strategy for the past decade. With this, you invite your customers to provide their input on what your next products or services should look like. It is a highly effective way of making your customers feel invested in your brand while ensuring they are listened to and can give you the valuable feedback you need to grow.

While most customer co-creation campaigns are open-source, such as those offered by IKEA, some are more exclusive. This has been demonstrated by the makeup brand Sephora, which regularly invites its most loyal customers to participate in the development of new products via its online community.

Just because you do your business online doesn’t mean you can’t make your top customers feel exclusive. Take inspiration from these brands to help you create something truly special.