Luxury is made up of small choices

Every time I have my beard trimmed I have to ask, “Please, no sharp lines.”

Then, one day, I went to a barber and forgot to make this request. Yet he used blending instead of sharp lines. When I noticed and asked him why, he replied, “I just always blend; it ages better this way.” I’ve never gone to another barber since.

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If your product strategy relies on customer loyalty or positions you as a luxury product, you need to understand the mechanics of luxury.

One of the ways to cultivate a luxurious customer experience is to find things that are slightly harder to do and make them your defaults.

Not everyone will care about blending their facial hair. Customers who do care, though, will find that they always have to ask for it.

It is slightly harder to blend, but if you make it your default, then people who care will truly appreciate it. They will come back for it and be willing to pay more.

Compared to cheaper earbuds, Apple AirPods have some added conveniences that make a big difference in everyday life. For example, I usually use them with my iPhone, but if I need to connect them to my MacBook, I go to settings and tap ‘Connect’. They will disconnect from my phone automatically. Cheap headphones remain unavailable until disconnected.

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If you examine your customer experience and find touch points where you can add incremental value like this, it compounds.

It may add X to your costs, you can charge 2X, but make sure it’s 3X in value to your customer.

And that is what makes luxury.

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Truly yours, Sergey Soloviov