Luxury Unfiltered: Why extreme value creation is the only way forward for luxury

May 21, 2025

Daniel Langer is the founder and CEO of consulting firm Équité

Luxury is an emotional state, not a label.

It’s irrelevant how companies label something; what is important is what clients feel. In my masterclasses with luxury professionals, I see time and time again that there is this internal misconception that just because something is labeled “luxury,” clients will pay premiums, develop desirability, voice advocacy or return as loyal clients.

This misconception is dangerous.

Clients want to be inspired, not sold to
The world of luxury is changing at breakneck speed. Fragmentation, hyper-competition, complexity and emotional volatility are now the rule, not the exception.

In this new reality, the traditional definitions of luxury, heritage, exclusivity and craftsmanship are no longer enough, they are the table stakes and simply expected. Today, true luxury is measured by the depth of emotional resonance a brand can create.

It’s not about the product itself, but about how that product, and the experience around it, makes a client feel. Luxury is pure emotion.

Today’s clients are more sophisticated and discerning than ever. They don’t want to be sold to.

Especially high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) are used to being treated as walking wallets wherever they go, and there is no greater turn-off for them. Instead, they want to be inspired.

They want to feel understood, to have their desires anticipated, and their aspirations reflected back at them. The brands and professionals who understand this and who, consequently, make extreme value creation their guiding principle are the ones who will rise above the noise.

In uncertain times, when everything feels unstable, clients seek what is deeply meaningful, and nothing is more meaningful than a brand or advisor who makes them feel valued in a profound, almost extreme way.

Emotion, not logic, drives every decision
For years, luxury sales training was built around logic.

Present the facts. Build the case. Overcome objections with more data. But logic alone no longer moves the needle.

In fact, it never did. Neuroscience tells us that emotion is the real driver of decision-making.

Portuguese neuroscientist Antonio Damasio’s groundbreaking research showed that people with damage to the emotional centers of their brains couldn’t make decisions, even when their logic was perfectly intact. Emotion is not a soft factor, I can’t stress this enough.

Emotion is the very foundation of action. Without it, decisions remain unmade, and opportunities are lost.

In today’s information-rich environment, logic has become noise. Clients are inundated with specs, facts and claims.

These data points blur together, making it nearly impossible for any one brand to stand out on logic alone. Importantly, when something feels like an Excel spreadsheet presentation, how can anyone assume that clients will be inspired?

What does break through? A moment of emotional recognition. A story that mirrors a client’s values. The sense that you understand their world better than anyone else.

This is the new battleground for luxury: not in the realm of rational argument, but in the realm of emotional connection. Logic supports the sale, but emotion closes it.

Trust, once granted by reputation or legacy, must now be rebuilt in every single interaction. Clients no longer assume that brands have their best interests at heart.

They need to feel it. Emotional resonance is what establishes trust.

If your approach feels robotic, rehearsed, or detached, it fails. I have seen this in countless mystery shopping projects my team and I have conducted all over the world.

If your presence is intuitive, emotionally attuned, and responsive, it resonates. That is what drives loyalty, advocacy and conversion in luxury today.

Clients are making decisions based on what feels right. This is not irrational.

It is, in fact, deeply human. You can present a technically flawless offer, but if it doesn’t feel aligned, it will be rejected.

The call to action: elevate your value, elevate your impact
The new imperative for luxury brands and professionals is to tune into the emotional frequency of their clients. Satisfaction is not enough – you must create delight.

Transactions are not enough. You must create transformations.

Luxury’s future belongs to those who make extreme value creation their obsession. This means moving beyond transactional selling to transformational storytelling.

It means designing every experience, every interaction, to reflect your client’s aspirations and values. It means making emotional resonance, not logic, your ultimate differentiator.

It requires training to be able to have the situational awareness required to master this. Discussing with participants of many of my masterclasses, I can attest that the traditional way that many organizations are still conducting sales training no longer works.

Are you ready to lead this emotional revolution in luxury? The brands and professionals who do will define the future of luxury.

Now is the time to elevate your value creation skills, your impact and your resonance. The world is waiting.

Luxury Unfiltered is a weekly column by Daniel Langer. He is the CEO of Équité, a global luxury strategy and creative brand activation firm, where he is the advisor to some of the most iconic luxury brands. He is recognized as a global top-five luxury key opinion leader. He serves as the executive professor of luxury strategy and pricing at Pepperdine University in Malibu and as a professor of luxury at New York University, New York. Dr. Langer has authored best-selling books on luxury management in English and Chinese and is a respected global keynote speaker.

Dr. Langer conducts masterclass management training on various luxury topics around the world. As a luxury expert featured on Bloomberg TV, Financial Times, The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist and others, Mr. Langer holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in luxury management and has received education from Harvard Business School. Follow him on LinkedIn and Instagram, and listen to his Future of Luxury Podcast.

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