Marketing a luxury social enterprise.

Abstract

Marketing a social enterprise that sells luxury products is complex due to the duality of missions of a social enterprise and the heterogeneity of stakeholders. This case project attempts at segmenting the beneficiaries of social enterprises and examining whether or not highlighting the social mission when communicating the brand identity is beneficial or relevant. First, the terms ‘luxury’ and ‘social entrepreneurship’ are defined, and some marketing aspects related to selling luxury and to social enterprises are examined. Then a framework is presented to simplify the complexity of marketing a luxury social enterprise. An in-depth case study about Senteurs d’Orient, a social enterprise in Lebanon, is conducted and findings are examined to portray a real-life example of the complexity of the case. Finally, after applying the framework to the specific case of Senteurs d’Orient, recommendations are given to the management and to practitioners in the field.