Author: Neen James
_Neen James_
Reading time: 21 minutes
Synopsis
Exceptional Experiences (2025) teaches how ideas from luxury businesses can be used in any business. These luxury businesses focus on creating great experiences, not just products. By using the five “luxury levers” – entice, invite, excite, delight, ignite – you can make your business special. You can also make more money and build much better relationships with your customers.
What’s in it for me? Create amazing brand experiences.
Every business can offer a luxury feeling – even yours. This might sound strange if you clean pools or sell printer cartridges. But let’s think about this for a moment.
When you think about it, luxury is not really about expensive items. It is about experiences. It is about paying attention. This kind of attention helps you connect with people. Luxury is found in small things that show you really care about someone. It is also about a personal way of doing things. This way feels just right for their situation. And any business can create that kind of experience. This is true even if they don’t sell very expensive bags.
How can you make your business feel luxurious? You can do this by taking five important steps: entice, invite, excite, delight, and ignite. Follow these steps, and your customers will feel very important.
In this summary, you will learn how to use these steps. They will make your brand much better and more special. Let’s start.
Blink 1 – Luxury lever one: entice
Two hundred years ago, a young French widow changed what luxury meant. Her name was Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, also known as Veuve Clicquot (the Widow Clicquot). She took over her late husband’s champagne business, which was not doing well. She then made it a sign of celebration and high status.
How did she do it? It was not just by making great champagne. Madame Clicquot understood something deep about luxury. It is about how people see it, not just the product itself. She attracted her customers by clever placement. She gave champagne to Napoleon and the Czar of Russia. This made sure her champagne was seen with powerful people. During the Napoleonic Wars, she famously sent bottles secretly by boat. This made sure they arrived at victory celebrations. A special drink, enjoyed by important people? What could be more attractive than that?
This brings us to the first luxury step: entice. In a market with many choices, customers always ask, “Why should I choose you?” Enticing means finding special ways to connect with your customers.
One strong way to create that emotional connection is to share your story. What made you start this business? What hard times did you get through? What beliefs lead your work? When customers understand why you do what you do, they are not just buying something. They are connecting with your story.
Another way is to share your history. This means putting your brand’s history and values into every interaction with customers. Chanel shows this very well. Go into any Chanel shop, and you will see Coco Chanel’s story everywhere. There are photos from her life. There are designs that show her style. Even her apartment above the first Rue Cambon store is kept as it was. When someone buys a Chanel lipstick, they are not just buying makeup. They are buying into a long history of new ideas, being free, and classic style. This connection to history makes even a small purchase feel important.
The third step is to work together with other businesses. This helps make you more attractive. Think about the Fairmont Tremblant hotel working with Canada Goose. Guests who stay at this fancy mountain hotel get special Canada Goose coats. This is not just two brands working together. It is a well-made team effort. It gives a great experience by mixing the hotel’s fancy mountain service with Canada Goose’s fame for high-quality outdoor clothes. When you work with the right partners, you use their connections and good names. This creates something more attractive than each brand could do by itself.
Blink 2 – Luxury lever two: invite
When Hermès releases a new bag, they don’t just advertise it. Their sales staff personally call a special list of their best customers. They invite them to private showings before the bag is even in shops. This means individual phone calls, not emails sent to many people. They often talk about what the customer bought before and what they like. The customer feels truly chosen, not just sold to. That is inviting people in a very special way.
This is the second luxury step: invite. Luxury is mainly about special experiences made just for one person. These are moments that feel like they were made exactly for them. But you can only create these experiences if you truly know who they are for. This means carefully choosing who you want as customers. Then you must make your invitation very exact and thoughtful for them.
First, create detailed descriptions of your perfect customers. You can do this by research and imagining who they are. Who are your perfect customers? What do they care about, more than just the clear things? What bothers them about what is available now? What hopes make them choose? To make things personal, you need a lot of information. To make things exactly right, you need a true connection.
Once you have invited customers in, keep them interested with truly personal service. Think of top-level care, like a hotel concierge. At famous hotels like The Savoy in London, concierges have done everything. They find rare old wines and set up surprise marriage proposals. They keep detailed notes about what returning guests like. This includes their preferred room temperature, pillow firmness, and even which newspapers they read. But you don’t need to spend a lot of money like a luxury hotel to offer this kind of careful service. Remember names, what they like, and past talks. Give each customer one person to always talk to. This way, they never have to say the same things twice. Guess what they need before they even ask.
Offer personal access. These are experiences that most people cannot get. This could mean getting new products first, special learning materials, or events only for people who are invited. A dog walker might offer emergency late-night service only for their best customers. A pool cleaning service could give top customers priority appointments when it’s very hot. Or they could offer free water testing advice, which is usually only for their top customers.
Even unusual businesses can add special personal touches. A printer cartridge supplier could look at how each customer uses cartridges. Then they could suggest when to buy more before they run out, with handwritten notes. An accounting firm might create personal tax calendars. These would show important dates only for that customer’s business and situation, not general deadlines.
Finally, always show a luxury feeling in every message. In written messages, use words that show something is special and personal. Say, “we’ve saved this especially for you” instead of “look at our new product.” When you talk face-to-face, ask questions that go beyond just what they need the product for. Ask, “What would make this process very easy for you?” or “What is the perfect result you hope for?” These questions show that you truly want to create experiences just for them, not just make sales.
Blink 3 – Luxury lever three: excite
When Tiffany & Co. released a special paint color with Farrow & Ball, nobody expected it. The famous jewelry company is known for its well-known light blue boxes. They made a paint so customers could use that exact color – officially called “Tiffany Blue” – in their homes. Suddenly, the color that was only on special packaging was available for bedroom walls and kitchen cabinets. It was surprising and pleasing. It made people ask: What will Tiffany do next? That is excitement – keeping customers truly curious about what you will do next.
This is the third luxury step: excite. When clients think about your brand, they should wonder: “What will they do next?”
Think about the idea of luxury monograms. Why would someone pay extra to get their initials carved onto a perfume bottle? Or put onto a Louis Vuitton bag? Or sewn onto high-quality bed sheets? Really, they are just a few letters. But those letters change a normal purchase into something exciting. It is exciting because it is special. It feels made very special for you.
What is your version of a monogramming service? How can you make each customer’s experience feel made just for them and exciting? A local coffee shop could remember regular customers’ exact orders. They could have them ready at their usual time. A fitness studio could create special music lists based on what each customer likes and how hard they exercise. A bookstore could make personal reading lists. These would be based on what customers bought before and what authors they talked about liking. Even a garden service could design seasonal plants just for what the customer likes and how much they can care for them. It is that “they really know me” feeling that creates excitement.
Another strong way to create excitement is using senses in surprising ways. IKEA does this very well. It sells cheap furniture that you build yourself. Yet, its shopping experience feels truly luxurious because it uses your senses on purpose. The display rooms are made for touching everything. You are encouraged to open drawers, sit on sofas, and check how firm mattresses are. You can taste food in their cafeteria with Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce. The way things are displayed creates many perfectly designed small room setups. It is a full experience for all your senses. This makes furniture shopping feel like an adventure. Other businesses can use this idea. A yoga studio could use special essential oil mixes that customers connect with their yoga. A vet clinic could design its waiting room with calming nature sounds, soft materials, and warm lights. This would help pets feel less worried.
Finally, there is excitement in including everyone. For example, Starbucks offers braille menus. Bank of America provides braille on cash machines and banking documents that are easy for everyone to use. Yes, including everyone should be normal. But in markets where it is often not, offering truly inclusive experiences makes brands look thoughtful and modern. This might mean a restaurant offering dining hours that are good for people with sensory sensitivities. This means lower lights and less noise for customers who process things differently. A gym could offer special equipment for members with different abilities. A shop could train staff in basic sign language or provide picture cards for communication. These are not just right choices. They are exciting because they show a level of attention and care that most other businesses just do not think about.
Blink 4 – Luxury lever four: delight
A guest at the Four Seasons said casually that they loved a special kind of rare tea served at breakfast. The staff did not just write it down. On the guest’s next visit, six months later, that exact tea was waiting in their room. There was also a handwritten note welcoming them back. The guest had not asked for it. They had hardly remembered saying it. That is not just exciting. That is making someone very happy.
Excitement is one step, but making someone very happy goes further. It mixes surprise with such very personal thoughtfulness. Customers then find themselves wondering: How did you guess what I needed even before I knew it?
Caroline Huo is a real estate agent who deals with expensive homes. She lives by one rule: “Show me you know me.” And she does this amazingly well. One customer sold their home and said simply that they would miss the lemon tree in the garden. Huo’s team did not send normal congratulation flowers. They arranged for a piece of that original lemon tree to be expertly joined to another plant. Then they delivered the new plant to the customer’s new home. It was like the old tree was continuing its life in a new place, just like the customer.
Giving thoughtful gifts is strong. It should not just be for usual holidays. Think about making gifts personal for important customer moments. For example, when they reach a business anniversary, finish a big sale, or achieve a personal goal they mentioned. When a customer starts a new part of their time with you, perhaps getting better services or signing up for another year, that is a chance to show you appreciate them. Gifts that arrive regularly can also keep customers very happy.
Gifts are great. But your best way to make customers very happy might be to train your whole team better. It cannot just be the owner or CEO trying to give everyone a personal touch. Train your staff especially on making customers very happy. And most importantly, give them power to act when they see chances. Ritz-Carlton employees are given money they can use without asking bosses. This is to make guest experiences better. This freedom means they can fix problems and create special moments right away. They don’t have to go through many rules first.
It is also very important to make sure your team has personally tried every step your customers take. Hotel companies let employees stay as guests in their own hotels for a reason. This is so they deeply understand every part of the experience. A spa should have staff get treatments regularly. A restaurant should have waiters eat as customers sometimes. When your team goes through the customer’s journey themselves, they can find problems and chances to make customers happy that managers might never see.
Blink 5 – Luxury lever five: ignite
When Glossier started, it did not use old-style advertising. Instead, it made products that were easy to share. They had pink packaging and looks that were good for Instagram. Customers then had to post about them. But the clever part was not just pretty products. Glossier actively showed customer photos. It replied personally to comments. It made its community feel like they were insiders building the brand together. Customers became supporters because they felt truly part of something.
Creating a luxurious experience takes hard work. But it gets you many loyal customers. More importantly, truly luxurious service makes customers want to tell others about you. Remember: when you say you are great, that is marketing. When other people say you are great, that is magic.
This is the fifth luxury step: ignite. Turn happy customers into loud supporters. You can do this through customer reviews, connections with other businesses, and natural sharing by people. People do not talk about normal ways of doing things or experiences. They talk about special ones. When you always use the luxury steps, you are actively asking customers to tell your story.
So how do you turn happy customers into champions? Start by making sharing easy and natural. Ask customers when they are most happy. This is right after you have fixed a hard problem or given something amazing. Ask for a customer review while that good feeling is fresh. A small fitness studio might ask for feedback right after a customer reaches a personal goal. This is when they feel a lot of emotion and thanks. Make the process easy. Offer to record a quick video review on your phone. Give clear questions like “What surprised you most about working with us?” Or even write something for them based on what they said. They can then check and change it.
Help customers connect with each other in a useful way. Do this by cleverly connecting customers whose businesses or interests match. A financial advisor might host small dinners four times a year. Here, business-owner customers can meet and build real relationships. When you become a trusted person who connects others – not just someone who provides a service – you become a key part of your customers’ wider connections.
Getting supporters is not the end. Once customers become active champions, the appreciation and personal touch must get stronger, not disappear. They have changed from loyal customers into an important part of your business. They should feel that special difference. Think about creating special experiences only for your supporters. A restaurant might invite their most active supporters to a private tasting of new dishes with the chef, before they are on the menu. A design company could host a yearly trip where top customers see next year’s trends and give ideas. Show your supporters clearly: a garden company might create a “customer showcase” series on social media. This would highlight your supporters’ changed gardens. It celebrates them and also shows your work at the same time.
The luxury way of getting supporters truly goes both ways. They make you better through their excitement and recommendations. You make them feel special through appreciation and special access. When that exchange feels real and continuous, magic grows naturally.
Final summary
The main idea of this summary of Exceptional Experiences by Neen James is this: any business can create luxury experiences. They do this by focusing on attention and connection, instead of expensive products. The five luxury steps – entice, invite, excite, delight, and ignite – give a clever plan. This plan changes normal customer interactions into memorable, personal experiences. These experiences build loyalty. When businesses always use these ideas, they do not just make customers happy. They create excited supporters who naturally tell others about them.
And that’s the end of this summary. We hope you enjoyed it. If you can, please take the time to leave us a rating. We appreciate it, and it helps us excite and make you happy. See you next time.
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/exceptional-experiences-en