The Real Reason Clients Buy - Creating a Luxury Retail Experience

So if you've ever had a client in your chair or a client at your salon and you see your stylist educating them about the product and then all of a sudden they pick up their phone and they're like scrolling on Amazon or scrolling on another site , saying , oh wait , we'll see if I can get this cheaper , or hey , I'm just going to buy it later .

And so why is it that that happens , or occurs sometimes through the buying experience ? We're going to really dive in deep to that today and teach you like how can you create that luxury retail experience so that guests know exactly who their touch point is when it comes to taking home their hair and skincare products ?

mine . And so , finally , the day came where I got to go in , um , and , and keep in mind too , like , as I was going in to look at it , you know they were still offering me a beverage . It was still a wonderful experience .

But on the day that I went in to buy it , you know , um , they , you know , of course , were more than accommodating to help me try on anything that I wanted to inside of the store . And you know we're offering beverages . You know , champagne , water I can't remember what the selection was , but you know .

And then , when it came time to purchase , they took the bag and they wrapped it up beautifully , put a bow on it , put it in a bag and you know the it wasn't like your traditional we're going up to the cash register , punching in numbers and telling you the total it was . You know , here's a book with your total .

Give you the total , I give you the card , they take it back , then they bring it out for you to sign , and just the presentation of your bag inside of all of these bags and boxes and everything was just a wonderful experience , you know , and I think to me , you know , it really stood out because I had never made a purchase like that before and you know

just the excitement , even of going home and unboxing it . It was like I almost couldn't stand it . I wanted to unbox it in the car already and already be carrying it around . But it really is just a memorable experience when you shop in a luxury store like that .

I'm just going to rock it like a baby because she's so beautiful and so elegant , and it was just like all the little touch points that we had during that experience that , I think , made the bag even more valuable than it was .

You know , even if you go in to a luxury retail store , you know and purchase , like socks , or you know , look online and see what something you know that has a really low cost to just get that experience and see like , hey , there's probably no difference in the experience if you're buying socks versus if you're buying , you know , their most expensive bag or

whatever their most expensive offering is . You know , and just seeing the feelings and and that connection that gets driven into that experience , I think you know that really can set the stage for what you can create , um as possible inside of your company as well .

Let me say that again People buy because they want to or they feel like it , and you know emotions are such a primary driver of purchasing decisions . Like to be . Compare .

That emotional shopping experience , like like Lindsay's bag maybe there was a dupe or duplicate at Walmart for a lot less money , but that emotional experience of having that luxury experience , you know , helped her to even feel like the bag was valued more . You know , because when you think about Walmart , Walmart nothing wrong with Walmart .

I've been to Walmart , I've shopped at Walmart . Walmart definitely serves its purpose at times , but Walmart's about convenience , low prices . You know people buy what they need there . When you're walking into , like Gucci or St Lawrence , like Lindsay was saying , you know it's more about exclusive exclusivity , it's about status , indulgence , and people buy .

The people buy there because they feel special , they feel important and they want to feel luxurious .

It's almost like , you know , you're saying to yourself I am a badass and this is mine and I can do this in the world and I , you know , can create incredible things .

And the value is there for me , you know , because I think , truly , people buy to eliminate pain or to engage in pleasure , you know , and so , really like , when you are able to explore those different motivations behind either avoiding pain or seeking pleasure , you know it , it really helps you understand that consumer psychology .

Because , you know , some people might be purchasing , let's say , for example , hair extensions in your salon . Some people might be purchasing it because their hair is so thin , they're trying to avoid that pain that they're experiencing in their life .

But others might be thinking , gosh , I've always wanted to have , you know , thick , luscious , mermaid hair , you know , and so they might be purchasing to really seek pleasure , you know , and so I think really just getting clear on those two psychological things you know of the eliminating pain or engaging in pleasure , can really help you amplify just the way that

you speak to your consumers and the way you know that you think about your marketing efforts and how you're going to bring the right clients in for the right services .

And so you know , when I was referring to earlier , when I mentioned like a , client's in your chair and they're like you show them this great product or your team shows them this great product , then they're automatically looking at Amazon for the product to purchase . And I think a lot of times what happens is we're not delivering that value for the guest .

You know , when Lindsay was just talking about like the , when you buy a luxury bag , it's actually wrapped in that paper which is put in a different bag . Then it's wrapped again , put in a different bag . So it's all about that presentation .

And I think the most important thing you can do is if you really learn to create a solution for someone and you really help to eliminate pain , they don't care what the price is , they know it's important for them and that's going to make them want to feel like they want to buy it . Because PS , people are buying .

Like if you scroll TikTok , like you will see like 17 , 18 year olds selling products . I'm like , okay , if they're selling products , then I know this is possible for our team .

Like , people are buying , they're looking for those solutions to their hair challenges , to their skin challenges , to make their life more simple and more efficient and to give them the hair and the skin of their dreams .

You know , and you know I would say that the people on our teams , you know , feel the exact opposite , like they truly want to be able to deliver amazing results for the guests that sit in their chair , the clients that come into our companies , you know , and so I think that that's just a really good thing to point out .

Like , hey , if you don't help solve your guests problems , your clients issues that they have going on , if you're not looking at their pain points and trying to help them seek pleasure as well when it comes to their hair , skin , nails , whatever it is specifically for you inside of the beauty industry , you are not stopping them from purchasing it because there is

an 18 year old on Tik TOK who doesn't care , they're going to sell them anything that they can under the sun , you know . And so , just keeping it in mind , like you know , if you are not trying to serve your guests to the highest degree every time they come in and find out what it is that is painful for them and find out . You know how you can make

their hair , skin , nails , whatever it might be , whatever they're trying to upgrade , make it more pleasurable for them . Then you're not preventing them from buying , you're just preventing them from buying from you .

And so you know , really diving into that and trying to create that experience for them to where you know they have no problem parting with the money that they've given you and they really feel like , wow , I received high value . You know , I've never had somebody dive into my problems this much before or help me find a better solution .

So , you know , this could be a really huge opportunity to maybe even go on a field trip . Maybe it's even if you do have a local Gucci or something within distant driving distances to like go in and buy something and like take your team with you if that's possible , or to a fine restaurant .

You know , lindsay and I were just at a restaurant here in Charlotte months long ago and the next day Lindsay said , hey , you know , we went to a steak 48 , they called and wanted to know about our experience , and she's like that's the first time that a restaurant has ever called and followed up and I said , yeah , for me too . I said that's amazing .

So , like those are the little touch points that just help , like your team , see that perceived value . You know , if I give you a dollar , if I give you a dollar and you give me $10 , like that's going to be a good day . So how that luxurious retail experience helps increase that perceived value . Do you have a really nice display ?

Are your , are your stylist service providers asking the right questions ? Because it has to go beyond . What do you want to do today ? Like that , that gives me chills . When I hear that I'm like that makes me sick to my stomach .

That's not the worst thing you can say , but like let's really create your dream hair plan today , let's really create your dream skincare plan today , or whatever it may be , by continuing to ask the client questions really helps to draw information out which really helps you to create that diagnosis , that prescription for them that's going to help solve their problems .

You know , a few different areas and one of those areas is access , you know , and so sometimes people want to buy to get closer to a person , event or even a feeling , and so you know , when you've gone as far as to creating the brand that you've created inside of your company , a lot of times people want to be a part of that .

You know , and I think that that's also why , statistically , you know , when a service provider leaves to go to another salon or suite or whatever it is like , if somebody moves on from you know a lot of the companies that we work with right away , the salon usually keeps about 30% of the clients that that service provider was handling , mostly just because you

know you've created such an environment that you know people want access to your environment . They love the feeling that they get when you're in your space . They love , you know , knowing that there's other people , that they know who go there . You know , and and that's why you know , you can create an experience similar to like Gucci .

You know where it's like you're offering access to an exclusive world , you know .

So , whether it's like you host VIP events in your company or you have limited edition products , or you're exclusive with some brands that they can't get everywhere , or you know you're just offering those personalized services or experience for people , you know people really want to have closer access to some of their favorite people .

You know , and I and I think that that's also true about like TikTok , instagram , stuff like that you know people pay to get closer to their favorite creators by buying , buying their products or supporting their ventures , you know , and so the same thing can happen with your own brand .

You know , when you start to create that luxury environment that people want to have access to , they will pay to have that access . You know the price tag isn't , you know , as shocking , because you might pay , you know , $2,000 for a bag at Gucci and you might pay $24.99 for a bag at Walmart , and they both still hold stuff .

You know they both , you know , kind of technically do the same thing . Sure , one might be Italian leather and one might be pleather .

You know there's different materials that might make up stuff , but but truly what it comes down to is like the access , the feelings , the you know , all the additional things that you subscribe , that you put place value on as a consumer .

And so thinking about that , you know um inside of your environment , like how can you create that space where people want to have access to you Because they know that they are going to have the best of the best and , you know , always have an amazing experience ?

They're going to like go over and above for you , like you're going to feel like you are somebody just literally rolled out the red carpet for you when you go into Walmart we've all heard of those beautiful Walmart greeters welcome to Walmart .

And then you just kind of walk through the gate and so thinking about that acknowledgement piece is like what are you doing for your clients to make them feel valued and important ?

You know , knowing someone's name has so much power to it , like working with your team to learn names to either do some safe social stalking if you have a new guest so that you can put a name to that guest as soon as they walk in .

That's the power of really creating that connection to someone , because luxury experiences make clients feel special and it makes it feel like what they're paying is worth the investment . They're actually getting more than what they're paying for .

And I think when you create that acknowledgement and that experience for them , they're going to be certain they want to buy for you because you are creating that space for them to buy .

Like I actually came to buy a gift certificate . Do you guys not sell those here ? You know , and so I think a lot of times we can get in a hurry inside of you know , even a salon company and you know say something like did you have an appointment ? And you know say something like did you have an appointment ? Or hi , what was your name ?

Or you know you're just like in check in mode and you forget about this acknowledgement piece and really paying attention to that personalized attention and , like you said , you know learning somebody's name before they even come in there's . You know it's with modern technology you can do that and you know it . It really is that wow factor

for somebody that really sets that apart , because you know that's like a basic human need , like do you see me ? Do you hear me ? Does what I say matter ? And so when you can already start out by like hey , we see you , we know you , we've been awaiting your arrival .

You are already setting the stage for creating incredible value for that guest and you haven't even touched their hair , skin , nails , whatever it might be that you're about to provide for them .

So when you have that experience , that you feel different like , you feel like a better person when you leave a space or a business , that's the kind of achievement you want to create . For someone .

Purchasing luxury items symbolizes success or reaching a certain status , and so when you think about your higher end brands in your salon space , like , what are you doing to create that extra value ? Are you doing the scalp analysis with a microscope ? Are you doing the style strategy with your cloths ?

Are you looking at face shapes or even helping determine , like , what lipsticks are going to be best on them ? And so when you create that for them , they feel like man , I feel super special .

And you know you've probably seen this on TikToks where people showcase their hauls or their forms of achievement and whether it's the latest fashion trend or maybe it's a limited edition product , so like they see that all day long while scrolling . And so why not create that space in your salon companies as well ?

You know this , this experience that we're going to create , and , you know , I would say step one to that would be just designing the environment , you know , and so , so , really thinking about the physical space of your store and the feelings that you're trying to create , you know . So think about the senses that you want people to experience .

You know sight , sound , touch . You know just all of the sensorial experience that you want to create for a guest when they walk in your door , you know . So you might look at , um , you know , I always love to have some sort of like a table right away in the entrance when you walk in that almost kind of like stops people in their tracks .

That lets them know like , hey , this is a retail experience as well , as you know , hair , skin , nails , whatever it might be , um , you know . So something that's a little bit more high end .

Maybe some nesting tables pay attention to kind of the lighting in that area , really , truly in the whole space , like if you're , you know , looking for ways to upgrade your space . Lighting and flooring and paint are three of the top things to really wow in a space , you know .

And if you don't have that in your budget , to really focus on those things right now , setting some goals for yourself to get there , I think is key , you know .

And then thinking about , like , just those little luxury components in those nesting tables , you know , maybe if you have some trays , putting either some you know beans or black rice or something as the base for some clips , or even you know , laying out some products that you know almost look like a little Instagram worthy picture .

You know , doing some different things , creating some cute little things on Canva that aren't , you know , that don't look dated , that look very modern , to kind of showcase what are some new products , offerings that you have . Or , you know , do you have a you know complimentary gift with purchase this month , or whatever it might be ?

Just really thinking about the environment that you're creating . Does it make people want to buy ?

You know , because we've all been in an environment before where you're like I want to buy , I don't even know why , I just want to , and that's what we were trying to create for our consumers so that right away , like they've already , you've already lowered their resistance where they're like I want to buy in here , it smells good , it's clean , you know , it's

just a really inviting experience already .

You know , role-playing at salon celebrations , role-playing at growth sessions , like how do you create that luxury language , how do you create that luxury experience ? And like if there's a certain way or expectation that you want to do things , just like at St Laurent , where Lindsay was talking about her bag , the certain way it was wrapped .

Like if there's a certain way your retail products are wrapped , like have a video of that , and so , like , anytime someone gets stuck or needs to know how to do something because they're lost , they can refer to that video , and that saves you so much time when it comes to training .

And so this is just something that you have to consistently work with your team and always using your space to elevate what you already have as well . You know , build that foundation and then , once you build that foundation , you can add little tweaks and things to it to make it even better .

So you know you want to make sure that you're offering high-end products that align with your luxury experience that you're trying to create , you know , and you know talk with your guests about how exclusive these are to you , you guys , and to them , and how that's important for you to make sure that you're offering the best inside of the industry .

Um , you know , and then just even talking about , like , just different seasonal collections or limited edition drops or whatever it might be , um , just really making sure that you're talking about those offerings , curating different ones for different seasons .

Um , you know , running some sort of a different promotion every about eight weeks inside of your company , I think is huge and that doesn't always mean sale , you know , because there's going to be seven different buyer types We've talked about that before um , where some people want to be at the front row in the concert and some people are looking for free tickets .

And so when you're thinking about that , as you know , a salon company owner really thinking about like , hey , how do I hit those , um , those categories that want to be towards the front and in a concert , who you know ? And a lot of times , like they're not necessarily always the bargain shopper ?

Sure , you'll want to have some sort of a special here and there to kind of capture that audience as well , but then don't forget to showcase the latest and greatest .

You know , I think some people get really stuck in that sale mindset , but a lot of consumers want to know what's new on the market , what's the latest and greatest , and that's what they want to purchase as well .

You know the perceived value and what the purchase represents , whether it's access , acknowledgement or achievement and so I would invite you to just become a client in your space like schedule a blowout with someone and see , like what are the touch points , what are the points of difference , that we can add a taste of luxury to make this feel more elevated , because

at the end of the day , the guest wants to feel that they got more than they paid for .