Every single person that walks through your door must be treated as royalty. Because how they’re treated determines the story told about your store. And it’s those stories that build a brand.
Dear Lilian,
How should a multi-branded retailer incorporate 3rd party coop materials which may not be altered (other than placement of jewelers logo), be deployed without diluting the retailer’s own brand?
Co-op Curious in Colorado
Dear Co-op Curious,
Let’s start by clarifying one thing: the only way you can dilute your brand is by offering poor customer service.
If your luxury sales people aren’t taught that it doesn’t matter what a person wears when they enter your store, and potential customers are treated with varying levels of respect based on their attire, your brand is already more watered down than Anita Ekberg taking a soak in the Fontana di Trevi.
How salespeople treat luxury consumers when they walk through the front door is a subject very near and dear to me – it’s the secret to my success as one of the top earners at Tourneau Atlanta many years.
The man wearing sweatpants, ignored by everyone in the store but me, bought a rose gold Breitling Bentley from me at full price. And the customer who called looking for a $800 Movado would later allow me to curate his entire watch collection, which, through my personalized service and recommendation, was valued at $400,000 at the end of 2004.
So I start my response to you, dear Curious, with reinforcing the need to ensure every single person that walks through your door is treated as royalty. Because how they’re treated determines the story told about your store. And it’s those stories that build a brand.
Now, to your direct question.
