Customer Experience will be the key growth driving factor for businesses in 2019 and onwards. And marketers who are able to deliver an amazing customer experience will excel in the luxury Industry. With marketing trends changing faster than the seasons in a year, what remains are the skills that differentiate great marketers from average ones. Marketers have always kept customers a priority probably, more than any other job role in a business. However, as market forces pressure businesses to improve their profits each quarter, the role of a marketer is evolving. In other words, in 2019, a marketer is as accountable for sales & company growth as any other role, probably more than the sales team themselves.
A great number of opportunities exist for young talent currently in the job market due to the “millennial mindset” that has taken precedence across the luxury market. Brands are consistently trying to tap into the millennial demographic and need talent with a similar mindset. If you’re interested in a marketing career in the rapidly changing luxury industry, you need to truly understand how the industry works and get ahead of the competition. So here are our top skills that one needs to rise up to the challenge to build a formidable career in marketing for the luxury industry:
- Know Thy Customer
Nothing works better than an in-depth insight into who your customers are, what they need and how they can be approached for fulfilling their needs & wants. Whether you are required to market to B2B or B2C customers such as millennials, you need core commercial skills that help you identify the latest trends and insights about consumer behavior, social demographics, consumer targeting, and profiling will always be key. Knowing what the customers like or dislike is a great insight which is then used to customize your marketing efforts accordingly.
- Storytelling
Luxury is not just about the product. In the end, luxury is about thought, heritage, mindset, and the image. Similarly, marketing in the luxury industry is not just about products, it’s about the story behind the luxury. And people connect with stories. A good marketer knows how to leverage emotional connect to sell a luxury good, be it via online mediums or offline. While there is a level of exuberance and indulgence only available with luxury goods, however, consumers who appreciate and prefer luxury goods, connect with the brand at a much deeper level. Connecting the value into your story is key. This is especially important for luxury brands simply because goods at a luxury brand are definitely top of the line products that command the best and the highest prices. Ultimately, it is never about justifying the high cost. It’s the pleasure of being associated with such a product and brand that must be satisfied. For this one needs to have the next skill which is clearly a strong skill to have.
- Research
Gaining knowledge and building an interest in the industry that you wish to pursue is always important for both you and the organization that you ultimately join. At the same time, the luxury industry relies on the latest trends. A continuous search for the latest trends and in-depth awareness of the best practices in the industry is a key skill that aspirants must develop in themselves.
- An Eye for Detail
Details are everything. This is especially true for the luxury industry as well. As a luxury industry professional, you would be required to work on multiple projects which would require your constant attention in very tight deadlines. What you would need is a great eye for detail combined with amazing project management skills to deliver excellence, spot skips or process flaws and eliminate errors that might hinder the business.
- Tech & Data Savvy Skills
Digital Marketing has become the backbone of any business. The latest trend of offline to online consumption trends combined with omnichannel sales strategies is pushing brands to search for top talents that are customer, tech & data savvy. Being able to decipher volumes of data to make sense of the latest trends, customer likes & dislikes etc. is the need of the hour. There are a variety of digital tools that enable such insights and being tech-savvy allows the aspirants to navigate through the intricacies of such tools with ease to produce deep insights that businesses need. At the start, one may not be asked to deliver on such complex tasks, however, being tech & data savvy allows employees to access better career opportunities faster than others with bigger roles to perform in the organization.
- Deliver ‘Experiences’
One of the prime reasons why Luxury brands over the years have done so well is because of the fact that shopping at a luxury store is nothing short of an experience. The run of the mill shopping experience is nowhere near to what a luxury store does to entice customers and to convert leads to paying customers. At the same time, with instant access to the internet and technology, consumers do research information online, yet when it comes to high-value low-frequency purchases such as a luxury car or a high-value product. Consumers still prefer shopping at a luxury store. Hence, it becomes imperative to offer a unique experience to the consumers who walk into the store. Dedicated personal shopping assistants, exclusive invite-only lounges, etc. combined with employees who possess in-depth product knowledge & maintain very high service standards, no dime is spared in going all out to offer a ‘first-class’ shopping experience – one where they feel looked after and catered to.
- Communication Excellence
In an industry where service is paramount, luxury brands recruit new talent who have an eye for perfection and have excellent communication skills so as to be able to hold engaging conversations with people, customers, and others, be it digitally or in-person. Dealing with high net worth individuals need a certain panache and great communication skills are not an asset rather a basic skill. While the job role in the industry requires knowledge and understanding of the latest trends in the industry, however, having inherent knowledge about the field is not enough, employees need business acumen and technical expertise as well. Even with that knowledge, if the employee is not able to convey that information, the effort shall go in vain. Ultimately, In this industry, small details matter, from the right body language to excellent communication skills because marketing & selling luxury needs to be subtle in its approach.
Final Thoughts
A marketing career in the luxury industry can be extremely rewarding if supported with the correct training and grooming. A skill enhancement training from a reputable institution gives an edge over others. Developing core marketing skills relevant to the industry will go a long way in building a successful career. The massive job opportunities combined with high standards of working conditions are positively affecting aspirants’ preference to work in the global industry. What is required is to pursue a skill development training that helps aspirants learn the softer aspects of the industry to be able to develop the core skills needed in the industry.
- Luxury Connect Business School is India’s first and only luxury B-School that enables students to develop the key skills needed for a successful career in the Luxury Industry.
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