I came home this evening a very disappointed consumer. I had just seen “Man of Steel” and “The Wolverine“. I know it seems so off-message to start my post on luxury with talk of comic book heroes, but read on to see where this leads. Continue reading
success principles
Finally…. Luxury Car Brands are Taking Tips from the Kings of Customer Service
Key Takeaway from The Luxury Doctrine (a new resource in development):
If you want to be successful, especially in luxury, you have to think of, and act like the customer, at all steps in the value chain… you have to manage the customer’s experience
– Edmund Amoye, Lessons in Luxury
For those who have been following my posts on the different luxury segments, you’ll notice that the key catalyst for success in today’s environment is innovation in managing the customer experience. If you are new to this customer-centric theme, I have a list of related posts at the bottom, to get you up to speed.
In every business there are seasons and cycles – ups and downs. At their rollout to end-users, luxury goods and services are sometimes heralded as innovative novelties and “must haves”. However, as brands permeate, manufacturers innovate, and marketing teams penetrate (I had to use that rhyme… too easy to pass up), commoditization sets in. Luckily, the Ford Motor Co. is doing something about that with its Lincoln automotive brand.
– Top View of the 2013 Lincoln MKZ Continue reading
What Apple Can Teach You About Not Having To Compete On Price
I found this great article at www.fastcompany.com. The major take aways for businesses that do not want to compete on price are:
- Develop Powerful Branding – Effective and unique branding puts your product in a competitive space that has little to do with price, and more to do with being cool, trendy (or timeless), and of great quality.
- Strategic Marketing – This encompasses the four Ps of marketing and much more. In luxury marketing you need to be thinking about the four Es (exclusivity, emotion, engagement, and experience). While Apple won’t admit that they intentionally create product shortages in order to create a buzz, it is certainly part of the reason why customers are willing to pay huge premiums to have their products as soon as they are released.
- Excellent customer service – Customer service is something you can not afford to lack. From getting customer’s to try your products and services to keeping them loyal, customer service is the lynch pin that sets you appart from competitors.
- A product that doesn’t disappoint – All of the above won’t mean anything if you don’t have a stellar product. Take a page from companies like Apple and Patagonia who are committed first to making the best product possible.
If a product can’t live up to the expectations set by its marketing, it won’t be successful for the long term
Rant on How Your Crazy Ideas Define You
As we end the first month of 2012, thoughts of the progress I have made with blog and my other luxe pursuits baffle me. Here’s my summary of it all…
Sometimes you never know what will come of your crazy ideas. Before you know it, you have a brand. The brand isn’t really yours. It belongs to those who identify and personalize it in their hearts and minds.
Your brand is the befitting proxy for your beliefs, tastes, vision, and passions, whether or not you are physically present in the many conversations, transactions, and encounters people have with it.
Beyond all material success, the pursuit of an identity is the single most indomitable challenge some of us will ever undertake.
Here’s to pursuing the weird ideas that make us who we are. The worst that can happen is that you fail. Failures are necessary transit points to success. Even if you fail at something, you are closer to finding out just who you are.
Keep thinking, stay hungry, and embrace the beautiful struggle.
– Edmund Amoye Continue reading
Lessons in Luxury 