Training Luxury: Customers buy experiences in physical stores, not products

A new generation of shoppers and workers are walking through the doors of fashion stores. Business strategies from mid-range brands to luxury brands are changing. To understand this change, brands need to leave an open space to create and implement new strategies for success. What are the tools for optimizing staff training? How can brands efficiently serve consumers? Who should fashion companies hire to ensure success and avoid turnover?

Renato Mosca, founder and CEO of international retail specialist Training Luxury, weighs in on which new methods to use.

How would you define the current training sector of luxury companies?

Training Luxury: It is a complication period. While the sector is experiencing positive growth, there is a large imbalance with what is happening in China, Asia and the rest of the world. The keys to success are based on growth over the past 15 years, thanks to emerging markets - especially China - returning to a new normal in which success is measured by the customer’s experience and loyalty. E-commerce is growing immensely, and will clearly continue to affect the relationship between consumers and physical stores. The development of this relationship is not solely a “facade,” it is becoming strategic. Today, we can no longer discuss simply the customization of the product; customizing relationships has almost become more important.

What changes or trends have you observed recently in this sector?

The customer experience is surely the most common issue. Customers don’t purchase more products, but rather experiences. Online shopping have put traditional sales to the test. Thanks to social media and websites, shoppers are much more prepared before entering a store and already knows in detail the characteristics of the products they want to buy. The customer knows what to find and a sales consultant is capable of understanding these wishes. The physical store plays a new role, complementary to online commerce. I think that physical stores will continue to have a pertinent importance (Amazon wouldn’t think to open all of its physical stores we’ve been speaking about), but with a role completely different to that of traditional stores. Wanting to compete with the same weapons is anachronistic. The physical store should stimulate desires and not give information about the products. That is totally outdated.

Which profile is sought most by luxury brands?

It is clear that with this scenario, the profile of the retailer must change a lot. Previously, the retailer was an expert in its products. Now, the retailer must be an expert in its relationships. Of course, retailers must know the product, but above all else, they need to have empathy, great listening ability and the ability to identify the wishes of the customer. These points become essential requirements. The new sales consultant must be "interested" rather than "interesting." The sale will be the result of the application of a "customer journey" (the customer’s visit inside the store) and the ability to step out of the box to meet the specific needs of the customer. This is what Americans call "managing unmapped customer journey."

I sincerely believe that it is a serious mistake to confuse the customer experience with the implementation of a technological tool in the store. Without the support of the sales staff, it becomes an unprofitable investment and, after a while, becomes unattractive to the customer.

How can you improve teamwork?

I think that many organizations underestimate the importance of corporate values and how these values should be reflected in the behavior of workers. Unfortunately, in many cases, values are words without much depth and turn into something that is said to employees during their first days of work without giving them too much weight. Today, many organizations still work with "Silo," without promoting integration between departments. At first glance, there would be no conflict, but everyone only cultivates their own garden. Competition between departments is encouraged, although in a related sense, it is called collaboration. In retail, this is obvious: how do you promote the customer experience in a healthy way if there are still individual sales commissions?

Successful organizations base all their processes on values, from selection to training and internal promotion of talent. It ends up promoting teamwork. Everyone knows where to go, what behaviors are based on these values, and it's easy to identify them internally. The goal is the same, from the financial director to the salesman.

Who are Training Luxury’s classes for and how do they work?

Our courses have the same experience as mentioned above and are aimed at companies that really believe in the development of their employees. We specialize in the luxury, fashion and consumer goods sectors. At the same time, the courses on leadership and communication are offered to banks and multinationals from other sectors. First, we seek to understand why training is needed and what stage of change or development the company needs. It is essential to understand if after the training, there will be someone who will give the necessary follow-up to implement new skills and new behaviors. Training is just one of the elements. With our courses, we want to help companies understand how to communicate their values to employees. And for employees to identify the behaviors that will need to be passed on to the end customer.

Business coaching is a trend ... Why is it so important to apply it to luxury businesses?

Coaching is now an almost indispensable tool for business leaders. Micromanagement and highly directive style don’t help people to develop and take proactive initiatives. Talents want the opportunity to think and find solutions for themselves. They want to achieve the goals and style of directive leadership, which causes a lack of motivation, especially in profiles with more potential in organizations.

Obviously, this often happens in luxury businesses, and especially in stores. If there the necessary follow-up is not there, there is more demotivation and a strong turnover of personnel. For this, coaching is a fantastic tool. It helps to think and take responsibility and initiatives when creating an action plan. Now you must know how to coach. We see a lot of manipulation sold, because coaching does not manipulate anyone.

In respect to hiring, why is the turnover rate generally so high?

Workplace turnover or dissatisfaction are two fairly common elements today. I think this is due to the lack of identification of the profile sought in organizations. In many cases, human resources are looking for a profile of the candidate X and the sales manager is thinking about a profile Y. And this is "paralyzing" the selection process, because there is no coherence within of the same structure. In addition, many companies still base their selection process solely on the quality of the candidate's CV, regardless of the culture, values and degree of integration of the individual in the group. Our role as consultants is to help companies to identify the profile that best fits their values and culture. This is why our analysis goes beyond the interview and taking into account the CV; it also relies on new tools allowing an assessment of the motivations of the personality linking the motivation of the performance. This helps to create a powerful prediction of the candidate's success in a certain professional environment. Companies that rely heavily on our consulting style are able to reduce the selection process by as much as 50 percent and use a shortlist of highly focused candidates on the job.

What advantages would better hiring guidance provide fashion companies?

The benefits would be huge. Not only would the turnover decrease, but staff would be much more engaged, more identified with the values of the brand. When the only motivation is the salary, employees are willing to see the competition more easily. When workers have the same values as the company, they work with much more dedication and the end customer notices this.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.fr. Translated and edited by Robyn Turk.

Photos: courtesy of Training Luxury