Having worked in the luxury industry for close to two decades cultivating relationships with HNWIs, while being a luxury customer myself, I have to break some hard news to you:
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There are 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 the brand names or products.
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𝟵𝟵% 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 from customers’ points of view.
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To a lot of HNW clientele, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 that businesses perceive as valuable, such as the products, the events, or the gifts are 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
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While many businesses strive to create “money-can’t-buy” experiences, they are 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗡𝗪𝗜𝘀.
If you are one of the few top luxury players whose products sell themselves, and you constantly have a queue lined up in front of your stores, the above may not be your major concern (for now). 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝟵%, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀’ 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲.
The key to customers’ hearts lies in the 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗧𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. This requires the client-facing team’s ability to communicate effectively and make every customer feel special and well taken care of according to 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. Here are some examples of what that means when it comes to customer interactions in a retail context:
– To gauge that customer A is under time pressure and values efficiency, hence dropping everything else on hand to deliver a smooth and speedy transaction for him.
– To sense that customer B values nurturing and conversations, thus making her feel really welcome, giving her the right amount of attention, and being curious about her needs.
– To give genuine feedback about specific products that don’t actually fit the customer and invite her to come back again in a week with new deliveries that may suit her better.
For HNWIs, though “money-can’t-buy” is subjective to each individual, it usually is not a tangible object. This could be efficiency for one, bonding and acknowledgement for another and accessibility and fame for someone else, to name a few examples.
Taking a resonant quote from my friend Joseph Sampermans, “In a material and digital world, over time, I believe we will find that the human factor, the people-related service elements, will always be a better investment than the ever-evolving and technologically advanced hardware.”
𝗧𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗹𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿.
