Why Swarovski? Crystallized Differentiation

Firstly, we traveled to Innsbruck, Austria to visit Swarovski stores in the area and to visit their headquarters.

While in Innsbruck, we went to KristallWelten (Swarovski HQ and Crystal Museum) where we had the chance to admire Swarovski's products from its beginning and as shown in movies and big events.

We held interviews with Swarovski employees there and then, we flew to Vienna to visit some stores in Vienna's downtown area.

Methodology

To learn how Swarovski’s marketing strategies contribute to their enduring brand loyalty, our methodology involves a holistic approach that combines on-site investigations of their headquarters, stores, and museum, stakeholder interviews, and an exploration of the cities where Swarovski has a prominent presence to understand their cultural context better. Our primary destinations include the Swarovski store in Innsbruck, the market town of Wattens, the Kristallwelten crystal museum located in Wattens–which also serves as Swarovski’s headquarters, the city of Vienna, and the Swarovski store in Vienna. 

Academic Findings

Swarovski’s enduring brand loyalty is the result of their prioritization and understanding of customer needs. 

This can be seen through the designs of the Swarovski stores. In the Swarovski Innsbruck store, the jewelry and figures are organized into various sections based on a theme and has a directed pathway for consumers so that they are guided to every product for sale and so that they don’t end up in the same place twice. Additionally, the signs used to guide the consumers in this location are in English and Chinese, which is interesting because German is the national language of Austria. After interviewing several Austrian citizens, particularly those living in Innsbruck—where Swarovski has a prominent presence—Swarovski is just a company that appeals to those who enjoy sparkly items. Austrians are aware of this company and may purchase products as a gift, but more often than not it is foreigners that buy products from this company. This aligns with the information we gathered from an interview with an employee, we discovered that many of Swarovski’s customers are international to Austria, with most of them from China—explaining the unique languages used for the sign. Swarovski’s understanding of their customer demographic has allowed them to create designs that appeal to all cultures as well. Their last limited edition collection appeals to those hailing from Africa as it was a Safari animal themed collection. They also have a Chinese Year of the Dragon collection as well to appeal to their large Chinese audience. The lack of German within the store reflects the viewpoint of many Austrians. 

Swarovski’s prioritization and understanding of customer needs can also be seen through the interactions between Swarovski employees and customers. After visiting both the Swarovski Kristallwelten Museum as well as the Swarovski store in Vienna, we noticed that the majority of employees at the Swarovski company are foreigners to Austria. There have been Filipino, Italian, Indian, Chinese, American, and Turkish employees, most of whom have worked for the company for over 20-30 years. This demonstrates the diversity and employee loyalty that is present in all the Swarovski sites that we visited. In addition, their goal is to make the customer feel special. Swarovski’s crystal-making process is a well-kept secret as even top employees from Wattens have not been able to enter the factory where the company produces their famous crystals. However, exclusive customers who are part of their membership program can participate in a special factory tour. In addition, members can relax in Swarovski’s VIP lounge in the Kristallwelten Museum as well as those in select Swarovski stores, where they receive a complimentary drink. These handcrafted interactions between the consumer and the company allow the customer to feel as though they are special, which aligns well with the company’s heritage of producing affordably beautiful crystals that many can afford.

Next Steps

The next steps would be to look at other stores across many countries in the world and see whether their relationship with their customers is different. We already know that many Swarovski customers in the Austria stores are from China, so it would be interesting to visit a Swarovski in China to see their customer demographic and find out to what extent Swarovski tailors their marketing and branding towards the individuality of the consumers.

Personal Impact

As students who are interested in business with aspirations of starting our own companies in the future, understanding the importance of Swarovski’s relationship with their customers can allow our companies to endure and succeed for as long as one like Swarovski, was an invaluable experience that we will apply to our future endeavors.

We are immensely grateful for the given opportunity, and the support we had from the Keller Venture Family Grant and our Faculty Advisor. All of our work is dedicated to them, and we hope it inspires other students to pursue their own research.