• About Me
  • Luxury Lexicon
  • Resume

luxsell

~ Sales and customer service in the luxury industry

luxsell

Tag Archives: Selling

Luxury Associates Need to Become Luxury Curators

30 Monday May 2016

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Retention, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training, luxury service, Luxury Talent

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, luxury service, Sales, Selling, Value Selling

Curator

I recently returned from the largest international conference for professionals in the field of learning and development sponsored by the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Nearly 11,000 attendees from over 80 countries attended 300 concurrent sessions in Denver, Colorado. The exhibition hall boasted more than 400 leading training services providers. As I wandered the aisles of learning content vendors, one word repeatedly caught my attention—curated.

‘Curate’ is not a new word. Its root goes back to the Latin curare, which means to care. The first known use of the word ‘curator’ as someone who is in charge of a museum or art gallery collection dates back to 1561. The word has evolved over the centuries and today Dictionary.com defines ‘curate’ as “to pull together, sift through, and select for presentation, as music or website content.”

Content curation is so omnipresent in consumers’ lives today that we barely notice it. Your shows on Netflix are curated based on your viewing history, Spotify tailors music selections specifically to your taste, most news services feed you content according to your specified preferences, and shopping services such as StitchFix will curate a personal wardrobe for you. Curation as a marketing and sales technique gained ground in 2011 with Steven Rosenbaum’s book Creation Nation.

I love the idea of turning luxury sales associates into luxury curators for two reasons. The first reason is the root of the word – to care. Care needs to inform everything a luxury associate does: caring about the customer, caring about the customer’s needs, caring about the luxury experience, and caring about the presentation. The second reason is the idea that the curated experience is a personalized experience for the luxury consumer. Today’s luxury customers seek experiences that are customized to their personal preferences, that are exceptional, and that they can share and remember. Recently, Saks Fifth Avenue launched a service through which associates are available 24/7 to curate personalized virtual boutiques for individual customers. But curation isn’t just about technology. As Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute says, “Technology today presents an immense opportunity for targeting potential customers, but it is ultimately the intimate humanistic relationships that sales professionals form with customers that keep them coming back.”  It is the luxury sales associate who holds the key to building those connections.

What do luxury sales associates need to do in order to become luxury curators? To find some answers I searched “How to curate?” and found some great tips on Coschedule.com. Coschedule is a marketing calendaring service whose tips are specific to how to curate online content. I’ve borrowed the heading for each tip and turned each into a suggestion for sales associates who are looking to create a curated luxury experience for their clients:

  • Provide your take on things – Add your own personal touch. To paraphrase Coschedule, provide every piece with context. You should always surround the piece with your views, knowledge, and insight. Share a story about your brand’s heritage or an intimate detail about the craftsmanship.
  • Don’t make it all about you – Remember your customers have different preferences than you. Research and understand the lifestyles of your luxury customers. Read luxury travel and style magazines, subscribe to luxury blogs, and know your competition.
  • Answer your audience’s common questions – Be knowledgeable about your brand, your services, distinguishing product characteristics, shipping and return policies, corporate responsibility programs, etc. Common questions may also include concierge-type recommendations on where to eat, shop or find local attractions.
  • Be very, very selective – Rather than rattling off a list of features, share two or three benefits (a personalized statement of value) you believe best meet your customer’s needs. To turn a feature into a benefit, think of the customer asking “Why is this important to this me?”
  • Take advantage of in-house expertise – Observe your co-workers. How are they interacting with customers? What can you learn from them? Be open to asking for feedback. Ask your manager to observe you and provide suggestions on how you can improve. If you don’t know the answer to a question, make sure you find someone who does.
  • Don’t forget your CTA’s (Calls to Action) – Your relationship to the customer doesn’t end when he or she walks out the door. Think about how you can proactively reach out to customers to grow the relationship by building upon additional needs. A hand-written thank you note is always welcome. You may want to invite them to an upcoming event, alert them to a new item, or just check in to see how they’re enjoying their purchase.

If you view your role as a curator rather than a sales person, you will provide the level of care and personalization necessary to turn every customer interaction into an extraordinary luxury experience.

 

GRACE: The Perfect Recipe for Luxury Customer Service

09 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training, luxury service, Luxury Talent, Sales Coaching, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling, Value Selling

GRACEDaniel Humm is the chef and owner for the Michelin three-star restaurant Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad in New York City. He’s also the recipient of six James Beard Awards, four stars from the New York Times and the S. Pellegrino Chef’s Choice 2015 award. Mr. Humm was recently interviewed by New York Magazine and asked how me keeps his team motivated. He replied:

We treat every service as if it’s the only one that matters, the same way a sports team prepares for a championship match. Everything we do is done with intention and the desire to make the guest’s experience the best it can be.

Continue reading →

Coach the Coach: A collaborative coaching technique for sales managers

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Customer Complaints, Customer Service, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training, Sales Coaching

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Coaching, Customer Service, Jewelry, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Sales, Sales Coaching, Selling

coachA few years ago I headed up a training team for a high-end jewelry brand. We were asked to create a learning initiative to help promote diamond sales. The blended program integrated different learning methodologies including e-learning, videos, webinars, games, support tools and in-store activities. The program required sales management teams to coach their local sales teams through a multi-week agenda. While the initiative did improve diamond sales, it unfortunately brought to light a mistaken belief that our sales managers were good coaches.

We looked for a way to help our sales managers improve their coaching skills. We needed a design that was both low-cost (we had exhausted our budget) and time efficient (sales managers were bogged down with daily operational tasks). In addition, we had other programs running simultaneously and could not afford to invest a lot of resources into designing a formal coaching program. Our solution was to create a program where the sales managers became coaches for each other. Here’s how it worked:

  1. We scheduled 30-minute phone calls with groups of no more than 10 sales managers at a time.
  2. We wrote a few scenarios of sales interactions “gone wrong.” I played the role of sales associate while another team member played the customer (you could also role-pay with one of the callers if you send out the script in advance. Each scenario lasted 2-3 minutes and focused on an issue such as being rude, giving wrong information, or not asking open-ended questions.
  3. Prior to the call, we asked one of the sales managers to role-play as the sales manager in the scenario. Once the scenario concluded, we asked the sales manager to provide feedback to the “sales associate” (me).
  4. After the sales manager finished coaching the sales associate, we asked the other sales managers if they’d experienced a similar situation and how they’d handled it. We questioned whether they believed the sales associate’s behavior would change as a result of the coaching. If not, why not? If so, then why had the coaching been effective?
  5. We encouraged the sales managers to coach each other (hence “Coach-the-Coach”). We allowed this process to happen naturally; our role was simply to guide the conversation back if it went off track.
  6. We spent the last 5 minutes of each call reviewing key learning points and emailed a summary to all participants afterwards. Several sales managers offered suggestions for future scenarios.

One unanticipated benefit of the program was that the groups learned over time to trust and depend on each other for advice. The Coach-the-Coach program proved to be a quick, interactive, fun, and convenient way for our sales managers to hone their coaching skills.

Please don’t be rude!

20 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling

rudeMilton 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

Continue reading →

Handling Customer Complaints with Grace

31 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Complaints, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Brand

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Brand, Customer Complaints, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling

complaint

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 →

Once Upon a Time: Telling Luxury’s Story

11 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Fashion, Helping Customers Envision, Luxury Brand, Luxury Sales Training

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brand, Chanel, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Dior, Fashion, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling

story“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.

Continue reading →

Should We Try to Exceed Customer Expectations?

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Sales Training

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling, Value Selling

Happy CustomerYesterday someone told me there’s no point in trying to exceed customer expectations, because once you do, the bar is raised and the exception becomes the norm. It creates a never ending spiral upward. All I can say, is “poppycock” (yes, people used to say “poppycock,” probably the same folks who used to say “balderdash”). Anyway, you get my point. Continue reading →

Finding Luxury Talent

21 Friday Nov 2014

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Fashion, Luxury Sales Training

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Brand, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury Retail, Selling

interviewMy last post talked about educational institutions that now offer Luxury MBA degrees. This led to the question—what happens once you have such as degree? Interestingly, I just ran across an article from the Boston Consulting Group titled, “Minding the Talent Gap: Fashion and Luxury’s Greatest Challenge for the Next Decade.” The article reveals that luxury companies are struggling to find the right talent.  What a perfect time to evaluate whether those Luxury MBA programs provide the same skills and knowledge that luxury and fashion brands seek today. For example, needed skills at the executive level are: analytical and creative skills; retail, product, and brand expertise; and international experience. Continue reading →

Luxury Institute’s Seven Trends Shaping Luxury in 2015

16 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Sales Training

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, eCommerce, etail, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Luxury Retail, Sales, Selling

Following is a link to the seven trLuxuryInstitute_Logo_taglnends the Luxury Institute forecasts for 2015:

Click here to view the Luxury Institute’s Seven Trends Shaping Luxury in 2015.

After reading through the list, some of my key takeaways are:

  • There is over saturation in the luxury sector. Brands will need to do an even better job of differentiating their products and services. Customer service, relationship building and social outreach are critical.
  • Leaders must strive to inspire, empower, measure and reinforce best practices.
  • It’s all about developing relationships, particularly across channels. (See my previous post What the Luxury Sales Associate Needs to Know in an Omni-Channel World).

Also, and very importantly, look for luxury brands to empower store sales associates who have multi-channel clients to reach out and build human relationships after the client purchases in any channel.

 

 

 

What the Luxury Sales Associate Needs to Know in an Omni-Channel World

04 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by Victoria Macdonald in Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Luxury Sales Training

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brand, Customer Experience, Customer Service, eCommerce, Luxury, Luxury Brand, Luxury Fashion, Sales, Selling

omnichannelMore and more luxury and fashion brands are using omni-channel retailing to maximize their brand exposure and increase purchasing opportunities for their customers. For omni-channel to work successfully, the brand message needs to be consistent across all consumer touch points, including in-store, online, mobile apps, social networking, etc. In order to deliver a seamless customer experience, sales associates will need a new level of training in technology, product and processes. Continue reading →

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 353 other followers

Feeds

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Archives

Categories

  • Brand
  • Customer Complaints
  • Customer Experience
  • Customer Retention
  • Customer Service
  • Fashion
  • Fine Dining
  • Helping Customers Envision
  • John Hardy
  • Luxury
  • Luxury Brand
  • Luxury Customer Service
  • Luxury Dining
  • Luxury Fashion
  • Luxury MBA
  • Luxury Sales Training
  • luxury service
  • Luxury Talent
  • Reflection
  • Sales Coaching
  • The Devil Sells Prada
  • Tiffany
  • Uncategorized

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 353 other followers

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 353 other followers

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel