Luxury Brand Management: Do courses in Customer Service Management help attain better efficiency?

For a luxury brand, an efficient and effective customer service is one of the highest priorities. The elite class being the usual clientele for Luxury brands, immaculate service & high quality products are the least of expectations. Transactions result by virtue of trust between the sales associates and the client. Building trust requires professionalism at the highest level. An effective luxury brand manager benefits tremendously through proper and structured training through customer service courses. 

This allows one to effectively tackle and handle every scenario, which could be anticipated in this niche luxury market. An excellent customer service manager is able to put the customer at ease naturally. Showing empathy towards the client helps to make them comfortable and build trust. Luxury Connect Business School is India 1st & only Luxury B- School. It offers programs that give practical exposure to different luxury segments. It has strong industry relations with several global and domestic brands such as BMW, Ferrari, Roseate Resorts, Gucci, Sotheby’s, Swarovski and many more . Students get hands-on training   through workshops that are held by industry veterans and visiting sites of luxury brands. LCBS is well known for its Well-Experienced Professors, Internationally Vetted and Accredited Masters courses and World class facilities besides a extremely friendly environment.

 Importance of programs in Customer Service for top class Luxury Brand Management

LCBS presents customer service courses designed to prepare students for effective luxury brand management. 

Salient traits that are inculcated when you undertake any of the customer service courses in luxury brand management include:

Being empathetic – As mentioned earlier, showing empathy towards the customer is a basic rule for efficient and satisfactory customer service. Showing empathy to the customer’s plight makes the customer naturally feel cared for, especially when it is done with utmost respect and thorough understanding. 

Working with Feedback – Knowing the effectiveness of your customer service strategies is important. Regular feedback through surveys from your customers is an efficient way to know exactly what your customer feels about it. This is an effective way to implement the most fine-tuned customer service plans and improve your customer’s experience and your team’s performance at the same time. 

Using Customer Service Metrics – Learn to use the most efficient customer journey tracking tool on hand. There are several metrics in customer service (such as the amount of time spent on the phone and the number of times a particular customer has called for service) which should be reported on a regular basis to provide the customers with customized post-sales services.

Being Always Available  – Customers are most comfortable when they know that they are being heard by an empathetic person on the other end of the phone. One of the most effective ways to respond to customer queries is through the various popular social networking platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook. This way the customers’ queries can be responded to, and resolved, faster and with more efficiency. Apart from this the conventional method of talking to the customer over the customer service helpline is also important to instill a sense of comfort and trust in the customers.

How Courses in Customer Service help in top class Luxury Brand Management

According to management experts, customer service is the number one marketing tool that a luxury brand has at its disposal. Efficient customer service helps to drive customers to make repeat purchases from your brand, increases the value of your services or products, and help to build the best rapport with existing customers.

Ideally, the courses in customer service for management of luxury brands tend to train you in certain aspects of branding and marketing which are essential for the ideal growth of a brand, such as:

•  Complete and detailed product knowledge
•  Ideal voice, tone, and attitude when working in customer service 
•  Tricks and tips to address the customer’s query in the best possible manner

 These, and other such, strategies are taught to potential luxury brand management professionals in the best possible way by renowned Indian business school, Luxury Connect Business School. This educational institute is well known for providing extensive post-graduate diploma courses in luxury brand management in an effective and efficient manner.

A Trip to the Delhi’s Gateway to Luxury: DLF Emporio

By: Sunil

The term 2 of our batch started with an educational trip to the Delhi’s ultra luxury mall DLF Emporio. The mall is famous for Luxury fashion brands from all around the world as well as from Indian designers.The visit was supposed to start at 10.30 a.m. but, I along with one of my classmates Rahul reached half an hour early. We both were visiting the mall for the first time and the first moment of awe was the moment when we reached at the entrance of the mall. The courtyard with a huge fountain was looking very beautiful but the main eye catchers were the magnificent window displays of the two famous luxury brands Louis Vuitton and Dior. Both the brands have tried to capture the customers’ maximum attention through their ‘out of the world’ window displays and one cannot ignore the beauty of these store’s windows. All we both were wishing, was to visit these stores quickly and see how they look from the inside. We were supposed to visit five brands namely LV,Dior, Missoni, Versace, Roberto Cavali. This time we were visiting all fashion brands because the key learning was “Fashion is the fulcrum of the whole Luxury industry and a successful luxury brand manager must have the knowledge of that industry because all the different luxury sectors are directly or indirectly, affected by Fashion industry”.By 10:45 a.m. everyone from our batch and Mr. Akshay, our Head of Operations and Mr. Abhay Gupta, C.E.O. of our college came to supervise our visit and guide us.

Dior was the first store we visited. The store’s white theme was the first thing that I noticed. The whole store’s color theme was white mixed with yellow and white lights, giving the store a sophisticated look and communicating Dior’s brand value of Sophistication with chicness. At the Store, Dior’s Country head Mr. Anurag Tyagi were there to assist the students and educate us about the Brand and its brand values. I must say he is a brilliant storyteller and he explained, with great detail each and every product of the brand which was present in the store . One of the most important thing that I learned from him is in luxury business we need to be a storyteller and should know each and everything about the products of the brand as well as the how to present and tell the story is also of utter importance. One must tell story in such a way that the customer is not buying an item, but buying a dream. He told us about all the products of Dior like the Famous Lady dior, Dior’s Ja’Dior and Ja’Dore collections of this season and a unique cruise collection of Dior that held this year in L.A. The overall Atmospherics of the store were very classy .They had a separate lounge for their Special Clients. The store Personnel were all wearing black formals and were very well groomed and polite. Lastly we saw Dior homme collection which is the men’s collection. I really liked their new sneakers and now aspire to buy those someday in the future. The thing I really liked about the Dior store’s Visual merchandising was that they had focused on their key pieces by putting focus lights on them or using LED glowing Stands.

The 2nd store was Louis Vuitton. It is located just opposite to the Dior Store and gives a cut throat competition to Dior in each and every factor whether it’s the store’s visual appeal or the the size of the window displays.The visual merchandising elements are amazing. Their window was the main attention seeking element. It’s an art by Mr. Jeff Koons.The windows of LV had the famous Jeff Koons Art ‘the balloon dog’ on it. The store personnel were very active and filled with great enthusiasm. One of the store’s Associate gave us the tour of the whole store. Louis Vuitton has been famous for their travel trunks for ages, So he showed us the Trunk of Majaraja of Jammu , showing LV’s rich heritage and the sign of popularity of the brand in the Raj era. At that time customers had already started coming to the store. Most of the customers were HNI’s Wives with their children. Louis Vouitton’s Popularity in India could be noticed, as by 12.30 P.M. store had a lot of customers.Then the associate also showed us the bags which were Lv’s collaboration with Jeff Koons and were special editions. These all had Famous artworks by Jeff Loons such as Gauguin and other special editions such as artworks of Ancient Rome, Luncheon on the Grass and Monet by Famous artish Turner on their Bags showing the love of luxury brands to the different art movments of the Renaissance Period of Europe.

The 3rd Store we visited was Missoni, a complete knit wear brand from Verese, Itlay. The store had a very subtle element in Visual merchandising theme. The Personnel were Well Dressed but the whole store was empty with no customers, indicating the fact that Indians Have less Interest in buying expensive Knit wear. This thing was also confirmed by the store manager, that the customers usually buy accessories of that brand more like scarves, ties etc. And the Knitwear sales is overall less because their knits are usually very heavy and in Delhi it’s not that much cold as compared to Europe. I found that brand very interesting and really liked their 26 colored fabric collection. In that collection, one piece is dipped in a lot of colors during the manufacturing and the end result is the 25 or 26 colors of the Cardigan.

Moving on, the next brands were Roberto Cavali and Versace. We quickly toured both the brands. Both the brands are very bold ,Chic and colorful brands. Roberto Cavali’s men section; I must say was having the best and the most unique pieces. Whereas, Versace’s Tuxedos were eye catchingin the men’s section . One Key thing that I learned from the brand Roberto Cavali is that “due to their bold Women’s wear items, it is very hard for the sales personnel to sell the pieces to Indian women and the merchandiser has to put special attention about what pieces to buy for the Indian stores”.One thing was common in all the stores we visited that in all the stores there were screens showing the fashion shows of their respective brand. One can buy the same looks that those models in the show were wearing from the respective stores.

So, the overall learning experience was immense. And I learnt two big things that I am definitely going to incorporate in my Life : Communicate in a polite way by being a story teller, clearly knowing each and everything about the brand and the values, and delivering those values to the customers. The other thing is understanding the customers’ behavior, their demographics, psychographics and behavioral, cultural factors and make the changes in our brand accordingly so that our brand is liked by all and accepted by all.

Dress for the Job you want, Not for the Job you have

Scope of Fashion and Luxury Brand Management in India

Fashion and luxury brands are increasingly becoming popular worldwide. With the rise in numbers of HNI (High Networth Individuals) and UHNI (Ultra High Networth Individuals) in India, the high-end fashion and luxury brand market in the country are also set to witness an intense spurt in growth. 

There are numerous lucrative opportunities expected to open up in India, with increasing numbers of luxury brands turning their focus on the fast-emerging luxury goods retail market in the country. 

Let’s find out what the current situation of the Indian luxury brand market is, and what its bright future holds for management professionals trained in the right way.

Booming Indian Luxury Brand Market

There has been an intense rise in numbers of Indians joining the billionaire’s club in the past few years. Along with this, there is a remarkable rise in the urban elite class population as well in the country. This is resulting in numerous large and small luxury brands attempting to woo this niche clientele in India.

There is a significant increase in the sales network of brands offering premium quality merchandise and service. From designer clothing outlets to exclusive luxury cars and other items of opulence, a rise in the number of luxury brands is clearly visible.

These brands are in need of talented and trained professionals who can help to retain existing customers, as well as attract increasing numbers of potential customers in the exclusive market segment. A well-trained and experienced professional has a bright future in fashion and luxury brands for renowned and exotic organizations. 

What is Luxury Brand Management all about?

Fashion and luxury programs designed to cater top brands are inter-disciplinary study courses which use reliable management practices for the growth of businesses involved in the exclusive and premium service segment of a market.

The main role of a luxury brand manager is to understand the legacy and tradition of the brand and to associate its value with the right set of clients.

The luxury brand manager also has the exciting role of ensuring the higher popularity of a brand, while at the same time maintaining its exclusivity. This task requires making the brand popularly desirable amongst the mass audience and also offering the best value for money to its elite clients. 

The job also requires meeting with clients and discussing new corporate gift ideas with the senior officers in your company. This job requires the luxury brand manager to be inherently good at networking, which can be further polished with the right type of training. 

Need for Proficient Fashion and Luxury Management Professionals in India

As increasing numbers of brands are targeting the growing number of elite customers with their exclusive and premium services, there is also an intense need for efficient luxury brand management professionals in the booming fashion and style industry.

Leading management educational institute in India, Luxury Connect Business School, offers promising postgraduate diploma courses in luxury brand management, through intensive theory and workshops. These courses are designed to turn a budding management amateur into an expert fashion and luxury brand management professional. 

The Luxe Insights of Luxury Retail - LCBS

BY - Radhika 

DLF Emporio made its luxurious debut in 2007. The mall features over 100 brands including international high end brands like Gucci, Versace, Bottega Veneta, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Dior, Roberto Cavalli, Tod’s, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hermes, Fendi and many more. The mall also features some Indian designer brands such as Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Anita Dongre, Manish Arora, Sumeet Verma, Shantanu and Nikhil among others.

Being a student at Luxury Connect Business School, I got the opportunity to visit this luxe mall and to interact with some of the luxury brands.  Stepping into the Dior boutique, I felt this was the closest I could come to being welcomed in Mr. Dior’s own Maison. Mr Anurag Tyagi, the country head of Dior India, welcomed us to the world of Dior. We’ve seen that in recent times, there has been a shift from physical products to experience, and Dior, as a brand leaves no loops in providing the exquisite and elegant experience that the brand stands for. 

Louis Vuitton scored high in having the most interesting visual merchandising spread. Louis Vuitton provides excellent customer service to its customers. The brand gives its employees and customers the best retail experience possible. 

The third brand we visited was Missoni, an Italian brand known for its colorful knitwear designs. Missoni inaugurated and affirmed an unmistakable way of dressing and living: with a colorful “put-together” of zigzag motifs, stripes, waves and slub yarns in a patchwork of geometric and floral jacquard.

The most fascinating garment in the store was a jacket made out of a single yarn, dyed in 27 colors!

The Roberto Cavalli store spoke volumes. As Cavalli says “I don’t understand minimalism. It is so polite and boring. If you don’t want anyone to notice you, you should stay home and grow your own vegetables” and this is exactly what you would find in a Roberto Cavalli store, his bold patterns and exotic animal prints. Being bold and stylish is his brand mojo and is seen all through the store. 

Versace, I believe had the most attractive collection in comparison to other stores visited. The iconic Medusa logo is a perfect metaphor for the Versace’s brand style and core philosophy, which is empowered and seductive. Donatella Versace is not just famous for her designs: she is also a pop culture icon and well known for her elite entourage. Donatella’s pop culture influence is seen through out her collections, she uses different elements from the art period.

My experience at these stores was quiet enriching. Getting first hand in sights of how these retail stores work was highly valuable. The complete experience taught me that customer service and story telling are the requisites for the luxury brands. The impact of positioning and highlighting the merchandise in store ensured a clear message was communicated to the customers, no matter whether you step in a store in Italy, China or India. 

Customers have never been as demanding as they are today and expectations continue to rise rapidly. In an effort to differentiate by enriching the brand experience, luxury brands are extending their focus of the brand-customer relationship beyond pre-purchase encounters and shopping experiences to come after the sale.

Brands need to ensure that they meet these expectations to fuel positive word of mouth in this increasingly demanding society. The second most critical aspect of luxury retail is storytelling. Weaving a tale instead of just selling the benefits, especially when you put the customer in the center of the story, creates long-term customers for life. The important key point here is that being an ambassador of luxury brand, you aren’t just selling products, you’re selling dreams.  I learnt that giving attention to details, openness to constant change and to personalize your services as per the customers is crucial. 

The stores expressed themselves and exposed their collection, as they liked conveying their desired message and believe me, everyone had a story to tell. Luxury stores used a variety of merchandising techniques to build an aura of prestige, glamour and opulence for their brand. To get a job in a retail store one needs to understand the impact of product placement and customers first, and from, there, work your way up. Last but not the least, its all about gaining experience and working hard.  The complete journey would help me in the future to be a better brand representative. 

Education is a gift that none can take away

India is experiencing a huge shift in the retail market. With growing spending power of the younger generation, there is an intense rise in popularity for luxury brands in India. This has resulted in the competition in this niche market to become more intense.

The luxury brand industry worldwide is in need of people with the right training and talent when it comes to management. There are excellent management programs and courses  that are turning budding professionals into excellent luxury brand executives and managers.  In India, there is need of more than millions of  skilled professionals for luxury sector.

Indian Luxury Brand Market Has a Bright Future

India is set to become one of the most popular high-end markets for luxury consumer goods. According to a report by the Euro Monitor International, India is soon to overtake China as the world’s leading luxury good consumer, with an expected growth of an astonishing 86%, in terms of constant value, in the next couple of years.

There are several factors that are boosting the luxury consumer market in the country. Indian culture has an obsession with personal adornments. Hence there has been an intense increase in sales of opulent jewelry, luxury timepieces, designer clothing and other high-end personal accessories.

A comprehensive research study conducted by the firm of McKinsey showed that India is ready to offset China as the leading luxury consumer market. As the latter’s economy is slowing, the HNI and UHNI population is growing steadily in India. The report estimates that by 2020 the wealth of HNIs in India will increase by 94%, as compared to China’s 74%.

The resulting increase of luxury brands in the country will also mean the increase in the employment opportunities for appropriately trained management professionals.

Top Management Programs for Luxury Brand in India

India offers a varied choice when it comes to higher education, especially in business management. With the expected boost in the country’s luxury retail segment, an intensive increase in the need for professionals trained in the management of luxury brands is also expected.

Conventionally, larger luxury brands require managers to use bespoke strategies which can help to attract the consumer base. This is usually done with the help of product mix offers and exclusive deals.

On the other hand, smaller luxury brands seek management professionals who can provide the right access to new categories and to help increase their reach to increasing numbers of potential customers.

The growing luxury brand industry in the country is already in need of professionals who are capable of efficient customer interaction. Those with a natural talent for networking, especially amongst high-ranking corporate clients, are set to see lucrative opportunities in this niche, yet rich, sector.

Choosing the Right Management Programs in India

Luxury Connect Business School, the leading business management training provider, is the India 1st and only Luxury B- School that offers comprehensive management programs in the country for those seeking entry into the highly lucrative Indian and international luxury goods market. It offers  Internationally Vetted and Accredited Masters course   and has well-experienced professors from across the globe. These courses are designed to open doors of immense opportunities for the students. 

Luxury Brand Impact on Retail Operations

Why Should You Go for Courses in Retail Operations?
Luxury brands are unique, high-quality and provide a feeling of superiority over other conventional branded items and goods. There is a need to clearly distinguish the branded luxury products from conventional branded product items.
Effective management of luxury brands goes hand-in-hand with the best promotion and sales of the luxury goods. This shows that expert brand management skills are needed to ensure proper luxury branding, and for increasing sales.

How do Courses in Retail Operations help with Career in Luxury Brand Management?
The aim of ideal courses in retail operations in luxury brand management provides you with the requisite skills needed to manage luxury brands in a best-suited manner.

There is a significant difference when it comes to successfully managing a conventional brand and a luxury brand. The course will distinguish the salient points which make these two separate and clear all doubts about the luxury products industry.

The courses are aimed to train you in: 
•  Retaining existing customers
•  Engaging new customers
•  Making customers loyal to the luxury brand

The program provides knowledge on all aspects which are important for efficient management of any luxury brand.

Today, with increasing competition and customer demands, even in the niche luxury brands segment in numerous industries, it is vital to understand the intricate points which make for successful luxury brand management through a competitive edge.

Luxury brands are in dire need of highly-qualified and able professionals who are trained effectively in luxury brand management. Currently, the luxury brands with expert brand managers are witnessing immense growth while others are slowly disappearing from the market face altogether.
The global luxury brand industry today needs expert and skilled luxury brand managers who can carve a significant space in the luxury goods market.

What makes the best Courses for Luxury Brand Management?
Today, there are only a handful of educational institutes that provide the requisite and right knowledge to students, and executives, in luxury brand management.

Such an ideal luxury brand management course needs to teach executives the right key which helps to retain old customers and increase the number of existing customers significantly. These courses are designed for executives who wish to carve their career in a luxury brand or company. It is also aimed at teaching a newbie the right way to manage a brand, before choosing a career in luxury brand management.

Even students, with no previous knowledge or experience in this exclusive sector, will greatly benefit from these management courses. The educational programs are designed in such a manner that professionals can effectively update their knowledge and improve their skills in the niche market of luxury brands sector.
These courses essentially act as a ‘pathway to luxury brand management’.

Advantages of Courses in Luxury Brand Management
The completion of an efficient luxury brand management diploma, or course, will help the student/professional with:

•  The right knowledge of luxury brand management
•  Learning how to serve luxury brand-loving customers most efficiently
•  Developing insight into the latest globally-followed luxury brand management practices
•  Realizing their unique potential in brand management and retail
This course will help you to start a successful and progressive career in retail operations for luxury brands anywhere.

Always ensure that you get the best education and training in ideal luxury brand management course, from renowned educational institutes, such as Luxury Connect Business School. This is one of the most renowned and reliable centers for gaining knowledge and expertise in luxury brand management in India.

Career Prospects in Luxury Brand Management

Why is Luxury Brand Management a Strong Career Choice? 

Brands are what drive the commercial world today. Ideal branding is one of essential aspects of any industry. From airlines to food products, branding is what gives you a truly competitive edge. The flourishing multimedia channels, such as TV and the internet have allowed brands to reach an immense number of target audiences. 

Conventional branding techniques have become almost obsolete, with the advent of online branding. Today, every company is aiming to capture as many potential new customers as possible through efficient and innovative brand management techniques.

 Masters in Luxury Brand Management:

Luxury is a fine blend of traditions, modernity, culture, and future. A masters in Luxury Brand Management is aimed specifically to make you adept and efficient in the latest branding techniques and methods. This post-graduate course gives you expansive knowledge about managing a brand effectively and successfully. This knowledge helps you to build a brand from scratch, and develop it into a truly substantial name in the industry. This course equips students with better understanding of the latest evolutions of the luxury world. The luxury industry is growing globally with a more intricate web of craftsmanship to technology to digitalization. 

Advantages of Masters in Brand Management:

Doing a Masters in Brand Management can hone your inner talent for innovative promotional ideas into better and more effective marketing strategies. 

This course on Brand Management provides you with the theoretical know-how of:

• Principles of Brand Management
• Brand Promotion
• Market Research
• Advertising and Marketing
• Communications, PR and client relations
• Integrated marketing
• Strategy & Innovation
• Prediction of Consumer Demand
• Consumer Behavior
• Brand Launch
• Market Trend Analysis 
• Distribution, Packaging & logistics
• And many other subjects

These aspects of brand management are essential to be learned and put into practice if you wish to become a top luxury brand manager. 

Brand management mainly demands extensive research and analysis, with practical planning, to be worth the resources invested and the success of the end result. The course will offer students with luxury specialized classes that includes field trips to luxury seminars, industry visits, internships with reputed luxury brands and more to get immense exposure to the industry and its innovations. The idea is to hone your leadership, managerial and digital skills while managing luxury brands. 

Scope of Luxury Brand Management in India:

As a brand gets recognized increasingly amongst a wider audience, it automatically increases its sales. The rapidly-emerging luxury brand market in the country is offering an immense opportunity to young graduates in luxury management too.

There is an impressive scope of luxury brand management in the country, as well as around the world. According to a KPMG report at the India Luxury Summit 2014, a 70% global growth is expected in the worldwide luxury brand market, out of which around 40% of the growth in the market will be seen in India and China. The report also showed that the luxury brand market in India has also experienced a 30% surge in 2013, at a total value of USD 8.5 billion. With growing consumerism and modernism, this figure reached around USD 14 billion in 2016. 

Career Prospects in Luxury Brand Management:

The employment opportunities after a successful master in Luxury Brand Management are immense. The career growth rate is also impressive with this post-graduate diploma. You can start as a Marketing Analyst at any company and climb the hierarchy to Assistant Brand Manager, Marketing Manager and reach the top as a Marketing Director.

Renowned brands are always in need of fresh talent to get a competitive edge over their industry rivals. From mobile phones and insurance companies to pharmaceutical companies, there is always a demand for talented youth in Brand Management in the country. Luxury Connect Business School offers an extensive range of educational courses in brand management. The institute provides postgraduate diplomas and special certification courses that help to enhance your brand management skills and make you an expert in luxury brand management.