My favourite Little Luxuries Chapter and Why: Luxury Lexicon
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I have always been a ‘wordy’ person and come from a family that loves word play games, puns and curious about language in general. I have also cringed more than once when I come across a business that positions itself as a premium or even luxury provider but then I see the use of language which instantly breaks the experience they are trying to present.
It’s a tell. We have all heard the ‘fake it til you make it’ expression and while I don’t mind that approach (because it could help us with things like impostor syndrome), the key is that the fakery needs to be air-tight. Language is one of those places where the illusion can easily fall apart.
Whether you’re still faking it, or are more confidently walking into territory into more premium pricing, it’s important that your brand presents as a well-crafted and well-honed energy layer over your entire business. The elements within the energy you have defined must match the vibrational frequency. What do I mean by this? Think of examples from your own life that have soured what you expected to be a decadent experience: You splurge for a dinner at an upscale restaurant and their washrooms aren’t well kept or you see a glimpse of the kitchen and it looks dirty. They “look” high end, but clues that they aren’t, lurk in the corners. You book at an upscale hotel and the service at the front desk is crappy. I think we can all recall an experience that just didn’t live up to the proverbial hype. This can be harmful to a brand, and we are small, intimate brands that can be even more susceptible to negative judgement if we don’t ensure that the details are addressed.
Brand dissonance
Last year I travelled with my family. There was a golf course in one area that purported itself as a feature resort and we decided to go for dinner. I was in a fairly remote spot in Canada but I expected local cuisine, as many other spots we visited used fresh, local ingredients that reflected the area’s culture and traditions. The club and the grounds were very nice, but the menu was a different story. Pretty much what I refer to as brown food: they had fish & chips which was normal for the area, but otherwise it was hamburgers, hot dogs and basically food that was thrown in the deep fryer from frozen that I could get anywhere. Even the fish & chips seemed like it came from a package. Disappointing!
We had also visited an off-the-map spot during the trip, and after a cold and rainy boat tour, we decided on a quick & easy diner lunch. I had ordered a pea soup and it was literally was the best pea soup I have ever eaten! After the meal I found out that the diner had won awards for their recipe at local festivals. The diner exceeded our expectations and surprised and delighted us, while the upscale club fell flat. And I paid a lot more for my meal there, which made it a much more bitter pill to swallow.
This is brand dissonance - elements that don’t align with other brand aspects that have crafted an expectation in the consumer’s mind. When something is off, people feel it and that feeling can often be sufficient for people to move on from that brand.
The diner example shows that even a very basic brand can implement details that instantly make them stand out and memorable. The diner doesn’t present itself as high end, but the details they paid attention to supported and elevated the brand. It’s not just a traditional diner, it’s a traditional diner that prided itself on the best pea soup in the region.
If you are not in the premium space, touches like those suggested in the Luxury Lexicon and the other topics covered in the Little Luxuries handbook can help you be perceived in that better light - the way I ended up perceiving the diner. Then, as you move into more premium levels of the market, you already have a grasp of the details to keep up with and build upon elevated perceptions.
The vocabulary of your craft
A lexicon is a vocabulary. For our purposes it is the vocabulary of your brand. As photographers we start with the vocabulary of the industry. The mistake most make is to only continue using that broader lexicon, without developing their very own love language that suits their style and their ideal client. Let’s use the classic example that appears everywhere in our circles: capturing your memories. I elaborate on the pitfalls of using this generic language in this blog post. If you remain within the broader lexicon that everyone uses, and our industry is saturated, it’s easy to become lost in the sea of the same. That is the polar opposite of the questions mostly asked in forums: How can I stand out? If you are trying to find ways to stand out but maintain very generic language and expression on your website, in your communication channels and your media platforms, then you are sabotaging your own efforts!
The Luxury Lexicon chapter in the handbook talks about developing that love language. The chapter features examples from luxury brands - how they communicate with their ideal clients and the phrasing, expressions and psychology of language they use to ignite their audience across all of their senses. This is why I love this chapter so much. Just like a good book by a skilled author engages and loses the reader into imagination, words can do the same for our business. While the education in the area may cost you a bit to acquire, words are free forever and there are endless and imaginative possibilities. And I hope my choice of words and phrasing has an inspirational tone, which is part of the ShineSparkL brand.
Language warmly invites clients into your business, and keeps them engaged so that they can discover you and your work. Language moves them through the experience and makes them feel special, important and those feelings are critical to bookings, referrals and repeat business.
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