Monday, August 27, 2007
THE FEMALE SHOP NEVER STOPS
A few years ago, some enlightened US marketer drew a map of the different journeys undertaken by men and women shopping for a pair of jeans. See diagram below.


The male journey was direct, under 10 minutes and made in a linear fashion. Coincidentally, a lot of modern agency strategy planning takes this linear view to the buying cycle:

Trigger > Consider > Search > Choose > Buy > Experience

The female journey on the other hand was complex, retraced steps, explored many options and retailers, took a long time and then an outcome was made.

The amount spent by a woman versus a man, speaks for itself.

While there is always going to be a starting trigger or need that initiates the process, and a purchase made which concludes it, what happens in between is far less predictable, linear, or sequential.

Along the journey to purchase, a female may revise her thinking at any time.

She’ll touch it first and feel it, them pick it up, put it down again.
Move three metres and go through the same rituals, come back to it, try it on.
Research, phase one complete.  (To be repeated many more times on many different occasions.)
Go to a new store.
Begin research phase two, three and four.
Have new doubts and return to phase one again.
And that’s just research. The decision to move from research to purchase could take 5 seconds, 5 days or 5 months.

Yes, the female process of making decisions is organic.

Women do "shop" for pleasure and for leisure. However, their functionality shopping is always undergoing review.

As part of female behaviour, notes and reviews are exchanged often and regularly amongst others.

Word of mouth, personal recommendation and the Internet or other quick-research methods will have played a big part in her loyalty to your brand.

Traditional forms of advertising will have played a major role of course. Moreover, they are often responsible for getting the personal "board of directors" endorsing a woman’s ongoing relationship with your brand by keeping it in the awareness.

If a woman has a wonderful first hand experience with your brand she’ll tell 5 of her "board of director" friends.

But if a woman has a bad experience with your brand she will tell that anyone that will listen. This is her way of purging the toxic experience from her world and protecting others from the same experience.

There are scientific explanations for this behaviour, and physiological reasons for the differences between the way men and women’s brains process information on purchasing decisions.

Because of the organic nature that drives this female behaviour, it may seem frustrating to the Marketer trying to attract or retain their consumer.

It certainly keeps Marketers on their toes, because this reinforces the adage that "everything matters."

And making an effort with her, respecting her, talking to her, LISTENING to her, creating trust with her, empathising with her are just the beginning.

Just because she bought yesterday, or is not in the market, don’t assume she’s not paying attention to your communications. Remember, her decision making process is never complete, and her radar is always on.

In the world where she can, and will, review your brand and it’s place in her life constantly, keeping up with her needs is imperative.

Remember, she controls the lions share of the average household budget, are a lot of places and products for her to spend it.

What is your brand doing to get on, and stay on, her list?
Sunday, August 26, 2007 6:18:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Trackback
 Thursday, August 09, 2007
WHY THE AESTHETICS OF YOUR STORE MATTER EVEN MORE
Ever noticed that women will, and frequently do, observe every minor detail? 
The way you looked at her when you kissed her goodbye.
The way her best friend was dressed up more than usual when they went for a casual coffee. 
A minor haircut or a color change.
The way her mother signed off an email.
Women are wired to tune in into subtle changes and nuance. It’s what helps them nurture their 
offspring and tend to babes that can’t yet communicate. It’s an instinct that has been developed
in the DNA of the female race. 
It’s scientifically proven that women have different brain structures and functionality to men. Males
and females produce different hormones, have different ways of interpreting communication 
and therefore respond differently to different cues.
Maybe this accounts for why women tend to do the lioness-share of the housework?
Could it be because the look and state of their environment has a greater impact on a woman’s feelings?
The way you store looks, smells, and feels, overlays all her rational thought processes such as value 
for money and product benefits.
The appearance may be the key in swaying her one way or another in selling your product or service.
Right down to the stitching on the lapel of the Sales Assistant’s outfit, the way your windows are dressed,
 the shelves stacked, 
the imagery in store.
It all matters.
The way women feel in your store is very dependent upon how your environment looks. If your environment
looks like it matters to you and provides "serving suggestions", stimulation and a source of inspiration
the chances of converting her to purchasing are great. This feeling you have created of harmony, tended 
and cared for, shows her that she matters. 
And so your brand will matter to her. 
Think of it like she is coming home from a trip away (from your brand). If the house is messy and not
"house-proud" she interprets that you don’t care about her feelings. Or worse still, that you are 
more interested in yourselves than her.
If the house is preened, clean and welcoming – then she feels valued, nurtured and loved.
Form becomes as important as function in the decision-making and buying process.
Take Apple as great example in creating an aesthetic that pleases women.
The accessories that were designed to "dress up" the iPOD with were a great example of embracing female
aesthetic values. This iconic music carrier is all about making life cleaner, simpler, more compact and manageable. 
You’ve just won over every woman.
In virtually every high-end fashion shoot the stylist will choose a sleek lined, rounded corner, complementary 
colored Apple to adorn the shot over the dull grey or black boxed PC.
In the movie "You’ve got Mail" the lovely heroine Meg Ryan used a Mac, whereas the dominating and greedy Tom Hanks 
used a PC.
It would seem that women are from Apple and men are from IBM. 
It is no surprise that most marketing decisions are based on rational, product feature and benefits kind of thinking. 
In a world of parity and sameness, it is most commonly the place to look for competitive advantage. 
These pressures can lead to aesthetics being overlooked or underplayed.
Yet this appeal can turn or burn your female customer. The Marketer that tunes their radar to the world of appearance
will gain a competitive edge. In a world where women do notice everything, and look for meaning in the detail, it is
imperative to take notice.
You might be the cheapest in town – but there’s no need to look cheap.
A discount warehouse will earn its reputation through the female community because it is genuinely cheaper and 
priced to please. 
It doesn’t have to live in an environment of ugliness to win the loyalty of her purse. 
Sydney Real Estate Agents have recently noticed that putting a luxury European car in the driveway or garage of a
house for sale can increase a sale price by around 10%. This ads to the old classics of baking bread, brewing 
coffee for inspections, and renovating just the bathroom and kitchen to increase appeal. 
All of these are aesthetics targeted at the real family decision maker – the women.
Ask yourself how you can improve your aesthetics, improve your appeal to women and you will without doubt, 
improve your bottom line.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007 2:26:48 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Trackback