What distinguishes an “average product” from a “high class product” or service? Robert Reppa and Evan Hirsch (2007) argue that superb service is the crucial ingredient of successful high-end brands. In their previous article “The Luxury touch” REPPA and HIRSCH present four major principles to deliver customer satisfaction year after year.

1. Luxury brand companies establish a customer-centered culture, which identifies nurtures. It reinforces service as the primary value, too.
2. Luxury brand companies employ a rigorous selection process to populate the organization with excellent sales and support staff. The fundamental idea behind this attribute: The motivation / commitment to accommodate customers cannot be taught to people who are not predisposed to it.
3. Constantly retraining of employees to adopt organizational values is another principle. Hence employees can achieve greater mastery of procedures and products.
4. Those organizations systematically measure and reward customer-centric behaviour and excellence in sales and services. The objective of this principle is to enforce high standards and reinforce expectation.

The article is available as pdf-file here.