Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
What does the online luxury experience entail?
An online luxury experience is exactly what it says. There are no hidden
meanings. To illustrate this, let's look at what the two terms stand for. Some
of the synonyms of the word “experience” are
encounter, incident
and
event
.
Take these and add them to some of the synonyms of “luxury”, which are
magnificent, indulgence
and
extra
, and you will come up with the following,
directly from the dictionary. It's as simple as that:
•
Magnificent encounter
•
Indulging incident
•
Extra event
These descriptions should pretty much clarify the luxury experience. So,
down to the questions luxury brands ought to be asking: “Does our website
embody a
magnificent encounter
?”, “Does it represent an
indulging inci-
dent
?”, in other words a pleasurable affair. “Is it an
extra event
?”, meaning
added value for the client. If the answers to these questions are not clear then
read on but if they are, then we should probably have a chat as I have yet to
find a luxury company that has a “yes” answer to all of the three questions.
Another way of looking at luxury online experience is through a simple
communications approach. If you've ever come across the notion that only
about 40 percent of communications is based on speech and text while the
rest is a matter of experience, then you'll understand what I mean. The other
60 percent is about experience. In the luxury segment, the only factor that
will determine an ongoing relationship with a brand is continuous reinforce-
ment of positive experiences across all touch-points, particularly through the
website. This is not only because luxury online is cost effective (it really is),
but also because long after the price of a product or service is forgotten, it is
the good feelings (positive experiences) that will always be remembered and
associated with the brand. The same applies for the negative experiences.
And how does a luxury brand go about the business of creating an excep-
tional experience through its website?
First, it is important to understand the keywords that are linked to experi-
ence and then identify how to approach applying the web elements correlated
to each of them in a balanced and integrated form.
•
Mood
•
Ambience
•
Feeling
•
Desire
•
Character
•
Emotion
•
Interaction
•
Atmosphere
The common point of these terms is that they express intangible qualities
that are associated with the mind. This confirms the obvious certainty that
experiences are associated with thoughts and feelings, which all emanate
