Last night I attended a gathering of the Luxury Marketing Council, a membership organization representing nearly 900 high-end product and service companies. The presentation featured a panel with representatives from Bentley Motors, Moet Hennessey, Elite Travel Magazine and Blue Star Jets.

As you can imagine, none of the panelists were reveling in the current economic conditions, or the phenomenon they called “luxury shame” (the polar opposite of the conspicuous consumption from which luxury brands so often benefit). But neither were they sitting still, wringing their hands. As each panelist discussed their current strategies, it was clear not only that their companies were staying focused, in many cases they were increasing their focus.

Each company was facing the difficulty of losing (at least temporarily) its aspirational customer segment. As a result, each has chosen to concentrate on its core customer, being proactive in reaching them with fresh, creative approaches.

It’s tempting when growth stalls to start trying to be all things to all people in a desperate attempt to grow short-term revenue. But these luxury marketers understand that what they do with their brands today will have implications in the future. That’s true for all of us.