Luxury
Customer Journey
Luxury is neither a product or service it’s an attitude and state
of mind.
What the term
Luxury Customer Journey means?
In
precise, it means the strategic road map to delight and engage the customer with
the brand. The LCJ provides a clear understanding of the strategic road map luxury brands need to develop to engage their target in each
market analysed, with a strong focus on their digital as well as offline
transformation.
The
Luxury Customer Journey (LCJ) provides an initial snapshot of the most
important marketing KPI’s (top of mind, spontaneous and total awareness) before
delving deeper into the more relevant content and touch points that build brand
awareness and intention to buy, from traditional press and celebrity endorsement
to digital word of mouth and bloggers. The study explores customer behavior and their expectations during their e-commerce and boutique experiences,
in-store mobile usage, interaction with brands’ social media pages, as well as
the meaningfulness of specific content provided by the brands. It also tests
consumer appreciation of the newest experience innovations.
The
study confirms, people aspire to luxury fashion brands because they provide the
thrill associated with the sense of belonging to a selected tribe while
providing the unique opportunity to show off personal connoisseur-ship. However,
in the more mature markets during the recent economic slowdown, customers have
become increasingly price and quality conscious. They are willing to pay more if
they are provided with better, customized, meaningful experiences and services
while they approach, select and purchase a luxury product. Even customers in
emerging markets are increasingly gaining ground, moving quickly up the Luxury
Pyramid, from affordable and accessible logged products to niche and exclusive
goods.
In
this evolving landscape, The Luxury Customer Journey aims to unveil and
highlight the most significant differences in the behavior and expectations of
the modern luxury consumer.
The
path to purchase is almost never linear, involving interaction with different
content and communication assets from owned (i.e. official websites), to paid
(i.e. print advertising) and/or earned equity (i.e. word of mouth). Brand
storytelling is extremely important for consumers while Millennial's pose a
harder challenge for mature markets where brand heritage and roots have yet to
become relevant for them. All Global luxury consumers are interested in content
that provides them with practical and personal advice on new trends and
seasonal must-have products related to their age, profile, and taste.
Customized services and special treatment are also expected as well as
exclusive offers following a subscription to a brand web site and/or loyalty
program. Brands should shift their focus to their customers and on how to
engage them. They need to know their data; they need to understand their
customer; they need to be global yet increasingly local and personalized in
their approach; they need to become much more digital but at the same time
experiential.
Now
do you think is it easy enough to provide a luxury customer experience?
Well,
it requires work and attention to detail.
How can you go
about offering a luxury customer experience?
First
of all, bear in mind that, selling luxury products means selling a dream, which
is certainly something that goes beyond mere functionality, rather it
emphasizes status and other symbolic associations such as personal statement,
identity, and ultimately creates a sense of belonging. So, how can luxury
fashion brands deliver a “white-glove” customer experience and capitalize on
the opportunities offered by online and offline channels without risking
depreciating their brand equity and losing sales that are mainly happening in
stores? The answer is designing a customer experience that is well integrated
among all channels. In a market
servicing ever-more discerning consumers, the luxury sector needs to constantly
innovate in order to stay relevant. customers buy luxury goods because
they’re attracted to the brand’s image, so those aspects have to come to life.
Customer experience @ store
Brandships are
living marketing experiences – less about the financial transaction and more
about the emotional transaction. Stores must engage customers and create
desire. The purchase can happen at a later date, but the important thing is to
create that interest and affinity. Luxury brands have excelled at creating
special experiences for customers in-store to differentiate themselves from the
‘average’ retailer. This includes factors such as beautiful store design, great
personal service and advice from store staff, and maybe a glass of wine on arrival. This quality of service, added to the
quality of the products, provides potential customers with the best possible
store experience.
3 keys to Luxury Customer Journey
Know Your Audience
This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is a
practice ignored by brands all too often. Not all luxury buyers are driven by
the same motives or respond the same way to marketing tactics, and failure to
tailor your efforts to your specific audience’s needs could be costly.
Tell a Story
Today’s luxury buyers also favor substance over
style, meaning they are more likely to connect with a brand that has the marketing savvy to
tell a story and align with their personal values rather with a brand that
relies on its product’s flashiness. Your customers are educated, so treat them
that way by ramping up your content and avoiding gimmicks and commodity
marketing language.
Now that you have hooked your customer with your
brand experience and story, give them the ability to interact with your brand
in a way that is most convenient for their demanding lifestyle. Providing ample
options to suit their unique needs during every stage of the buying cycle
allows them to shop and make decisions in a manner of their choosing.
Accomplish this by pushing the creative envelope and utilizing technology in a
way that both accommodates your buyers’ unique needs and provides that Wow
Factor.
Challenges
facing for Luxury Brands
Not able to recreate customer
store experience into online
However, luxury brands have faced challenges when attempting to
recreate the in-store customer experience online, or to at least create an
online experience which matches the brand image, and they have not always
succeeded. Recreating the in-store luxury experience online may well be
impossible to do. Retailers can show their products in the best possible light
and create websites which are a pleasure to browse and buy from. After this
point, it’s about providing the kind of service, including delivery and
packaging, that customers would expect from a luxury retailer.
Product
returns
Customers are likely to expect a higher standard of service if
they have any problems post-purchase. Returns should be hassle-free.
Delivery and packaging
Customer expectations around delivery are higher than ever before.
The delivery of the product should be designed in such a way to create an
amazing experience to the customer. Packaging is a great way to deliver that
‘wow factor’ for customers. To an extent, the packaging needs to reinforce the
promise of the brand. If people order an expensive handbag, standard brown
packaging won’t do.
Great Copy writing
Product copy needs to work to convey the quality and luxury of the
product. The tone of voice needs to match the product and price. For example,
Rolex talks about the materials, the history and detail which goes into
creating its watches.
Product imagery
Images can be used to show
products in the best possible light and should be high quality.
Product Exclusivity
Luxury brands seek exclusivity; they should not try to be
everything to everyone. Product customization should be a part of luxury
brands.
Latest Technology
Always updated with the latest technologies. Luxury brands have
taken note of this shift well in time and are using technology in their favour
to interact with today’s consumers at the same wavelength. Here are how luxury
brands across the globe are playing the technology game right and things that
brands across industries can learn from them
Teach, don’t train
Your sales associates are people who you have chosen because you
feel they already have the intelligence and sophistication to appeal to your
elite clientele. Don’t simply provide them with a list of facts to
memorize and procedures to follow. Educate them about your brand, its
history, and the science and psychology of good customer relationships.
Teach them to be active creators of your brand’s world, and encourage them to
invite the customer into that world rather than fixating on making a sale.
Empower
To be successful globally, a brand has to make the best possible
use of the local knowledge its sales associates bring to each store. Hire
people you trust and then trust them; let them work together with your expert
management to find the best way to express your brand in their specific context.
A confident, assured sales associate inspires the trust and respect of
customers, which in turn translates into trust in and respect for your brand.
Encourage personal
relationships
The key to building consumer loyalty is post-purchase communication
between the brand and the customer, but many customers feel uncomfortable
giving their contact information away to a faceless corporation, even one they
admire. However, a sales associate can assure them that the offers and
promotions they receive will be curated by an actual person, who knows their
interests and will listen attentively to their feedback. A sales
associate has the power to tailor your brand’s image to the
customer’s exact measurements in a way nothing and no one else can.
Create a culture of
improvement
There is no “end” to customer service, no point at which you can
say there is nothing left to improve. Indeed, the best customer service is
provided by those companies that never give up looking for the better way no
matter how successful their previous methods have been. While quantitative
metrics are important for monitoring performance, pressuring sales associates
with negative feedback - especially in the form of scores - is embarrassing and dis empowering. A sales associate cannot be a great representative of a
brand with whom he or she has a hostile or anxious relationship. Rather, create
a culture of constant progress, where sales associates know that identifying
areas for improvement will be a regular part of everyone’s work. Make
evaluations into a tool you give your sales associates to help them grow.
Create an Effortless Experience
The key to customer loyalty is an effortless customer service
experience and Don’t exceed their expectations too. An effortless experience is the key to customer loyalty.
Always believe
We don’t pay for the
product; we pay for the experience, the exclusivity and the aspiration
associated with it
What Green Wind Solutions
Can Offer?
If you are looking for a strategy or marketing plans
for your business or brand – we can help you. If you need a specialized
marketing consultant, strategy consultant, brand consultant or business
consultant -this is the place. We offer full support in creating long-term
strategies, marketing plans, brand management and other services designed for
luxury and premium brands. We support small businesses as well as well-known
global brands.
