23 Saturday May 2015
Posted in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Luxury Brand
This infographic by Shankman-Honig does a great job of demonstrating the cost of lost customers and what can happen when brands start focusing on customer retention:
20 Monday Apr 2015
Milton Pedraza, CEO of Luxury Institute recently confirmed, “Luxury brands lose half of their top customers every year. The biggest reason why a consumer won’t come back is not the product—it’s a rude or inattentive salesperson” (The new face of luxury: breaking down the myths and stereotypes of the luxury shopper). On the surface this statement seems to contradict the finding of a recent study titled, Should the Devil Sell Prada? Retail Rejection Increases Aspiring Consumers’ Desire for the Brand (October 2014 Journal of Consumer Research). The study (co-authored by Dr. Darren Dahl, a marketing professor at the Sauder School of Business and Prof. Morgan Ward of the Cox School of Business) found customers who receive poor treatment from sales associates in a luxury retail environment are more likely to make a purchase.
Luxury brands lose half of their top customers every year. The biggest reason why a consumer won’t come back is not the product—it’s a rude or inattentive salesperson
31 Tuesday Mar 2015
Posted in Brand, Customer Complaints, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Brand
Tags
Brand, Customer Complaints, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling
The British Museum in London holds one of the earliest recorded customer complaints inscribed nearly 4,000 years ago on a Babylonian clay tablet dated circa 1750 BC.
When customers have a higher expectation of service, as in the luxury sector, the potential for customer dissatisfaction increases. I may not expect a hand-written thank-you note after purchasing a fashion ring at Macy’s, but I’d be surprised not to receive one if I bought a yellow-diamond pendant at Tiffany & Co. Because the service expectations of the luxury customer are so high, complaints need to be handled with extra care.
The goal, of course, is to prevent customer complaints altogether by listening attentively to the customer and ensuring seamless service. But things can and do go wrong, even in a luxury environment. When they do, it’s important to remember to act with grace. The dictionary defines ‘grace’ as a polite or pleasant way of behaving. It’s important to note as well, that the word ‘grace’ comes from the Latin gratia—to give thanks. Many people say grace before a meal in order to express gratitude. In the same way, a complaint can be seen as a gift. It presents an opportunity to exceed customer expectations and create loyalty. When we handle the complaint with grace, we are thankful for this gift.
When a customer is dissatisfied with your product or service, here are six steps you can follow: Continue reading
29 Sunday Mar 2015
Posted in Brand, Luxury Brand
Tags
The pyramid divides luxury brands into categories ranging from Everyday Luxury and Affordable Luxury brands (such as Coach and Tiffany silver jewelry) to Ultra High End Luxury brands like Leviev and Graff (see Luxury Home Digest).
11 Wednesday Mar 2015
Tags
Brand, Chanel, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Dior, Fashion, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling
“Only 19 percent of consumers believe sales associates have relevant information,” says Adam Silverman, principal analyst at Forrester Research, San Francisco. “That’s very shocking and that’s clearly an indicator that the sales associate role needs to change.”
One way in which you can change that role is to perfect the art of telling luxury’s story. A good story engages and excites the listener. Stories create emotions and those emotions, in turn, drive desire. We buy luxury items not because we need them, but because we desire them.
08 Sunday Feb 2015
Posted in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Fashion, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training
Tags
Bergdorf Goodman, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Fashion, Leather, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury Retail, Luxury; Handbags
Platinum is more expensive than gold because it is rarer. Similarly, a platinum level of service is more precious than the “gold standard” of service offered by most sales professionals. The Golden Rule states: “Treat other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.” It is the rare sales professional, however, who knows and lives by the Platinum Rule: “Treat other people as they would wish to be treated.” The difference comes down to a small, but meaningful, change in perspective.
13 Tuesday Jan 2015
Posted in Brand, Customer Experience, Luxury Brand
Let me start by apologizing to anyone who is expecting a definitive list of principles that define luxury. This post may leave you with more questions than answers. I ended the year 2014 with a few posts devoted to the very question of what luxury is. It seems I’m still on the same track now that the new year has arrived.
I just finished reading a recent LinkedIn post by Alan Crean, a self-described Subject Matter Expert in Professional Services Automation. The post is titled “Luxury Brands as a Professional Services Market.” It begins with a succinct summation of the luxury question I’ve been pondering. According to Crean:
There is no official definition of what constitutes a ‘luxury good.’
09 Friday Jan 2015
Posted in Luxury Brand, Luxury Dining
Tags
Great move Celine, naming famed author Joan Didion as the face of your new campaign. For more, click here.
18 Thursday Dec 2014
Posted in Brand, Customer Service, Luxury Brand
Tags
Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury hotel, Luxury Retail, Luxury; Handbags, Price, Sales
The month of December is traditionally one for giving and receiving gifts. It seems fitting then, as I try to select the perfect present, that I’ve spent most of the month addressing the question “What is Luxury?” (see “Is the term “luxury brand” overhyped?” and “More on What is Luxury?“).
We may have to leave the year with the question unanswered, or at the very least, we may have to settle for a paradox, according to a recent article in The Economist: “The Modern Luxury Industry Rests on a Paradox.”
I thought it fitting to wrap up the year with this article. It covers all aspects of the luxury question from many perspectives: age, geography, politics, world events, and social climate. Continue reading
10 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Luxury Brand
This seems to be the week to address the question “What is luxury? (See “Is the term luxury brand overhyped?”). That’s why I’m happy to report London’s Victoria and Albert Museum will explore the luxury iquestion n an upcoming exhibit “What is Luxury?” from April through September 2015.
According to the V&A website:
What is Luxury? will interrogate ideas of luxury today. It will address how luxury is made and understood in a physical, conceptual and cultural capacity…The future of luxury will be explored, asking questions about the role that time, space, privacy, well-being, social inclusivity and access to resources and skill may play in determining our choices and aspirations.
