Lessons from above: what a private jet & travel agency duo can teach retailers about emotional connection
In the retail space, a lot of talk revolves around creating unique experiences for the customer based on individual needs and preferences. With this conversation, it’s easy to get caught up in what’s going on only within the retail industry. But, looking outside of retail for inspiration can help retailers and brands see how to implement change within their own spaces.
In this case, that means looking at the travel industry where private jet company, JetSuite, recently teamed up with luxury travel agency, Embark, to deliver what today’s customers want most — unique experiences that satisfy deeper emotional needs of the individual.
How does Jetsuite & Embark offer personalized experiences?
Embark starts planning customers’ trips by first figuring out the type of experience the customer is looking for on an emotional level. Before anything, Embark asks questions like, ‘Is the customer seeking a deeper connection with a loved one? Are they looking to satisfy a desire for adventure and the chance to explore someplace new? Or, are they looking for a way to celebrate and reward themselves for working hard?’
Once Embark understands the emotion the customer desires to experience, they plan the itinerary of the trip from there. Embark uses feedback from the customer to plan every detail — everything from inflight snack food and meals to the Coyuchi blanket the customer prefers to snuggle up with during a nap while on route to their destination.
Through their partnerships with sustainability-focused luxury brands, Jetsuite caters to the customer’s personal needs by offering a selection of other onboard amenities. According to Penta, this includes a signature cabin scent, provided by Paris-based fragrance house, Diptyque, and vegan and cruelty-free bath and spa kits from New York-based Red Flower. JetSuite even offers amenities for customers’ pets, provided by For the Furry.
What’s worth emulating from JetSuite & Embark
As with retail, customers want memorable and personalized experiences, but also experiences that satisfy some emotional desire, whether the customer is aware of it or not. That’s exactly what we see JetSuite and Embark offering through their partnership.
In many ways, offering an experience based entirely on the customer’s emotional needs equates to a new way of looking at the business/customer relationship. Rather than a company telling the customer, “This is the experience (shopping, traveling, or otherwise) we’ve decided for you to have,” JetSuite and Embark ask the question, “What emotions and emotional experiences are you (the customer) looking for? How can we (the company) plan your experience in a way that best satisfies your emotional desires for traveling in the first place?”
Marketing their companies’ offerings in a way that meets customers wants and needs allows JetSuite and Embark to give autonomy back to the customer. JetSuite and Embark aim to show the customer that their relationship with either brand is a mutual relationship, not an impersonal exchange of value with companies unwilling to meet customers where they’re at with their own wants and needs. In this case, Embark still crafts the customer’s experience, but it does so in a way that conforms to the customer’s emotional desires and expectations.
What JetSuite & Embark’s approach demonstrates to retailers
Though most people will never experience the level of luxury offered by JetSuite and Embark, the companies’ emphasis on meeting individual desires and wants demonstrates an active response to a shifting behavior among today’s customers — customers that now desire deeper emotional fulfillment through their experiences.
The Takeaway:
What lessons can retailers and brands learn from the JetSuite experience? What questions should retailers and brands ask?
- Lesson: The customer’s drive to obtain certain experiences is often rooted in emotion or desired emotion(s).
- Question: How can your brand provide for the emotional needs of customers as part of your brand experience?
- Question: How can your brand answer to the true emotional needs of the customer instead of simply offering a variety of tactical product variations?
- Question: How does your brand’s understanding of the customer’s needs affect the way your brand engages with customers at every stage of the journey?
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The above piece was written by Connor Beck in collaboration with Carter Jensen and the Latitude research team.
Supporting Resources — Barron’s, PSFK, JetSuite, Pursuitist
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Additional Resources
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