Why Luxury Brands Need To Focus On The Human Customer Experience

Luxury Is Getting Emotional

More and more we are seeing customers wanting emotional luxury. A luxury of feeling special and recognised. You know when they remember your name? There's nothing better. Yet, according to a number of reports, only 20% of consumers say they feel special and recognised by whomever might be representing that brand. With this in mind, the world of luxury needs to wake up because this right here in front of our very eyes is a seriously untapped opportunity. Brands need and must start achieving better engagement with consumers. 

Luxury these days is only ever a tap away. Need that new Mercedes you've had your eye on to drive you to dinner? That can be arranged. Need an array of gorgeous designer dresses sent to you this afternoon for that event tomorrow? No problem. 

Brands are continually increasing access to luxury-like experiences for you on a daily basis, though what happens when you jump in the Merc and your driver doesn't greet you by your name, open the door and put your favourite playlist on? What happens if those dresses arrive and they're actually not the ones you ordered? 

These are just a couple of examples why brands cannot differentiate and rely on technology alone. To build and sustain a brand these days, you need to get emotional. We as consumers want and need to feel special. 

More than just a smile

Picture this. You're Julia Roberts. You've just been handed an obscene amount of money to spend on one of the most luxurious shopping streets in the world. Chances are, you're going to be expecting a service that goes over and above what you've been used to experiencing in the past. This is where your emotional intelligence kicks in. You won't just be deriving the value from the product. Oh no. You need to be able to fully justify this amount and this means service.

The shoppers of this world who dabble in the luxury market more so as a treat (the majority) want to feel more. They need that brand representative to make them feel like they're their best customer by a mile. That feeling of recognition is in this situation, is a very important one. Want to be left alone? Again, the brand should know you well enough (within that first minute of meeting) to know and understand that too.

It's a break from the everyday. With spending power and time on your side. Those brands you choose to shop with should have staff that realise this. What does this mean to those brands? Ultimately training and a lot of it. 5* customer service these days is smiling, listening, being attentive and anticipatory. Nothing is too much trouble and before the customer is even asking for another glass of bubbles, you're already pouring. This is the human side of the experience. The technology, as wonderful and imperative as it is, is an enhancement. Your likes, dislikes, wishlist wants, marital status, age, background all feeds into the insights. How you were made to feel when you were engaging with one of the brand representatives won't.

How does this all benefit brands?

The laws of attraction are a very powerful force. Sustain positive emotions with your customers and chances are you'll have a client for life. Brands can also utilise what happens on the shop floor to their benefit. The whole experience with can help to drive communications the customer receives going forward. 

In a world of so much uncertainty at the moment as the world changes at a colossal speed, the one thing we do know is that as simple humans, we will always want to feel a sense of belonging. To feel special when we walk into those beautiful brands.

So whereas technology will date as it continually evolves, service with a great big smile won't.