Gaurav Bhatia sheds light on the key factors responsible for enhancing the luxury experience

Luxury brands are often regarded as an extravagant experience in the minds of customers. According to the survey carried out by ProdegeMR, approximately 64 per cent of respondents advocate for luxury experience on the ground that these goods are of better quality. Experiences have always been intrinsic to luxury. Brands dealing in luxury are all about lavish and elite feelings. To create a loyal customer base, understanding their yearnings is crucial. Gaurav Bhatia, the Ex MD of Sotheby’s, sheds light on the prospects to enhance the experience of luxury customers.

People are increasingly moving from an expressive to an impressively rich mind-set. They seek experiences over material goods. In the deluxe world, intangible characteristics such as experiences, are fundamental to creating value and motivating repeated purchase, hence, resulting in growing demand for luxurious flavour.

The former Sotheby’s MD and present CEO Maison India Gaurav Bhatia says, “Customers get drawn to luxury for the experience it provides. That’s the real value that a brand gives. When you buy a Louis Vuitton bag, you aren’t just buying a good quality bag, but buying into the magic of travel that the brand promises. That’s the experience you bring with you once you connect with the brand.” With increasing wealth and a broader spectrum of clients who can afford luxury goods, even if only from time to time, the desire for elite impression has increased. He adds, “As luxury has become more accessible via digital media, experience remains a differentiator that can make deluxe products unique, relevent and highly desirable. This begins from the in-store experience (or entry onto the website) to the ultimate purchase.”

Brands offer more than mere conspicuous or hedonic benefits, they can also represent opportunities to enlarge an individual’s perspective and self-content. Multiple factors including personalisation, customer insights and feedback, building micro-moments, and providing impeccable services collectively contributes to furnishing customer experience. Gaurav Bhatia Sotheby’s India, Ex MD provides insights on how to build an art collection.

Elaborating on these elements, the expert emphasises on the fact that companies must adapt to technology like artificial intelligence to enhance hyper-personalisation relating to product, promotion, and the shopping experience. These technologies are providing new opportunities for luxury brands to offer better and seamless customer involvement both online and offline. According to a recent study, shoppers who are engaged through live chat are approximately five times more probable to convert interaction into sales. Additionally, they can spend nearly 60 per cent more than those who are not engaged.

In view of amplifying the experience, the second key element is to constantly invest in data impelled reviews of in-store buying behaviour. A 360 degree view of customer insights across brands will allow them to develop more captivating, discerned offers, and deliver more significant client satisfaction.

In conjunction with customer insights, their feedback also matters. A brand that acts swiftly based upon the responses and comments of consumers, maintains a healthy relationship with them for a long period of time.

Addressing the most important factor to magnify customer experience former Sotheby’s MD Gaurav Bhatia explains, “Just caring for consumers is not enough. Beyond that, smart businesses make constant efforts to enthral their end users.” He suggests it can be done by the flowers at the store, the in-store experience or just slipping in a handwritten note wishing them birthdays and anniversaries. For instance, companies can invite loyal buyers to an executive VIP sale to make them feel a part of the community.

Shoppers are guided by emotions, which is why the brand experience is extremely vital. However, this also means that they may quickly regret their purchasing decisions. The choice to buy a luxury product must, therefore, be confirmed at all possible touchpoints. The identity belongs not only to the brand, but also to the customer. Because people are willing to spend more money in return for a better customer experience, products at all touchpoints must offer a vibrant brand experience.

An art and luxury bon vivant, Gaurav Bhatia Sotheby's follows the mantra of go big or go home. In the world-wide debate of less is more and more is more, his expertise tells him that for luxury brands, maximalism is the key that will take them to ever-rising heights. In aspects of luxury including fashion and interior designing, consumers are gravitating towards the popular taste of this movement. “Maximalism is integral to India for we live with beauty that expresses itself through every medium, our art, textiles, jewellery, sculpture, architecture. Maximalism is in our blood as we are a vibrant culture that believes in colour and joie de vivre. This becomes a conscious choice among customers and maximalist luxury a nature choice with them,” says Bhatia.