Through the Lens of an MBA

I'm sure you must be terribly confused by the title of this article. What in the world does an 8-year-old child have to do with an MBA education?

Plenty, I say, plenty. Just as different disciplines have different critical factors of success, these come to light in distilling the essence of that discipline. Finance is all about trade-offs, getting the best value, structuring strategically, and using the most efficient capital methods. Marketing is all about understanding the customer and tailoring that message to best appeal to the desires of the customer. But what about Luxury?

Okay, fine. Luxury is not a field of discipline, per se, but it is an entire industry of multiple disciplines, all working together under the fine guise of implicit rules. These rules were debated and agreed upon, chastised, and praised, a week ago at the Luxury Lab's Innovation Forum.

I'm here to present some takeaways from the Forum that you can use as implicit rules in your arsenal of tools sitting in the relationship know-how toolkit.

First you have to close your eyes. (Silence). Shoot. That didn't really work did it? (Note to self: psychological exercise transmitted in print does not translate into executable exercise if participant is asked to close eyes). Try again: first, read the following all the way through and then close your eyes. Close your eyes and envision yourself as a child. Try to remember as far back as you can to the time when you first walked by the window display at Christmastime and saw the One. The absolute most perfect thing that you had to have. That toy. That doll. That thingamajig. Think about the excitement, the bliss, the intensity of IMUSTHAVEIT you felt.

Another exercise: fast forward to now. Think about the last time you felt that way: the got-to, need-to, totally-going-to-ballistic-if-i-don't feeling. When was the last time you thought that about anything? Yeah, you may be stuck with your eyes closed for a long time. Don't worry, think long and hard, but try to come up with the closest thing to it.

Okay, now that I've dragged and drenched you through soft mushy non MBA land, let's bring you back. What business concept are you applying and what does this have to do with relationships? That thing I just asked you to tap into, that is your moment of zenith of price inelasticity and the utmost highest willingness to pay factor. This is what luxury professionals can only dare to dream to achieve. Luxury professionals are experts at getting very close. How do they do it? What can you be doing to increase that "willingness to pay" for you by appealing to the WOW factor?

Appeal to emotion. Let's face it, what main factors do we humans really connect with? The carnal: sex, ego, and did I mention sex? This is what drives luxury firms to success, such as the Porsche 9-11 purchased by balding, overweight men having a mid-life crisis. How will you do it? Take your key competitive advantage, whether that be physical (the alluring landscape of the human body can be a powerful thing when highlighted strategically) or unfolding through your personality (your unbelievable or your unbelievable knowledge of the arcane world of healthcare and why you adamantly believe that politicians are driving our nation into undesirable territory) and put it all out there, immediately and obviously. Dress you up fancy like a window display. Act as if you only had 30 seconds to appeal to Mr. or Ms. The One, and this is the essence of you distilled in one look and one phrase, specifically by getting the love interest emotionally charged up. Ruffle some "feathers" in both the physical and metaphorical sense. Do it big and bold, take a risk, and that will get the right target market of suitors your way.

Appeal to Exclusivity/Elitism. Just as in the luxury world, and back to when you were a little kid, that amazing thing you drooled over was all lit up, probably being fantasized by everyone else, and behind glass in the display window where you couldn't touch it, but boy did you want to! Take this same approach in an attempt to wow potential love interests. Dress yourself up and be in his/her "window." At first, make it well known to the love interest that to attain you, they must be of the lucky ones. Just as the democratization of luxury has diminished the value proposition of what luxury truly is, don't make the same mistake. Conversely, ensure that your love interest understands that they are VIP, receiving special treatment, and that you see something special in them worthy enough for you to spend time on, to do only special activities with, or to reveal only very personal information about you. When you give the star treatment, let her/him know how truly elite she/he is in receiving it. One easy way is to do something new for the both of you, so that way it will be special for both them and you, and stand out as the one time both of you have ever done something.

Appeal to the journey, appeal to the dream. When you wanted that amazing thing in the window, what did you envision? You jumping up and down after getting it? Yes, probably that. More so, you probably fantasized about the different experiences you would having playing with that toy and imaginary stories to engage in, the uncharted adventures you could embark upon on that bike. To achieve the Wow factor successfully, position yourself so your love interest can't help but imaging all the fun you'll be having together. Position yourself as an enabler, helping that person achieve his/her dream… dreams even currently unbeknownst.

So go back to those days of coming home knees dirty and leaves in your hair from the being in the playground all day. Back to when you had to be good because otherwise Santa Claus wouldn't put you on the list to get presents. Back to when you just had to had to had to have ice cream, and if you didn't people on the other side of the mall would hear you crying at the top of your lungs. Armed with using emotion, elitism, and appealing to the dream, wow you and your love interest by shaking things up and awakening that eight-year-old child.