THE STORY
Many, many years ago, I did some consumer research to try to understand the difference between a Wal-Mart customer and a Target customer.
The people who loved Wal-Mart thought that Target customers were stupid, because:
1) Target shoppers are were paying too much (and that’s wasteful—which is a bad thing). They could get the stuff cheaper at Wal-Mart.
2) Target shoppers were seduced by all the frills and glamour, which at the end of the day is worthless, because the only thing you get to take home is the product.
At the same time, the people who shopped Target thought that the Wal-Mart shoppers were stupid, because:
1) The Wal-Mart shoppers were putting up with a dirty, undesirable shopping experience when they did not have to.
2) Don’t the People who shop at Wal-Mart realize that by going into those stores they are associating with the undesirable people of society, so by association they would be considered an undesirable person?
So in the end, both sides thought that they were the smart shopper and that the other shopper was stupid.
THE ANALOGY
We tend to patronize those companies that reinforce the way we look at life. The Wal-Mart shopper tended to have a moral code which was against wastefulness. Many of them saw wastefulness as an indicator of being a bad parent, since money wasted at the store was less money they could spend on their family. Since Wal-Mart seemed to waste the least amount of money, that’s where these shoppers went.
Conversely, the Target shopper saw shopping as more than just a task to get a product as cheaply as possible. They also valued the shopping experience and how that experience would influence how others thought about them. Whereas the Wal-Mart shopper was more directed by an internal moral compass, the Target shopper was more influenced by external direction from the culture around them. Since the external culture thought more highly of Target, Target became the store of choice.
Therefore, when creating strategic direction for your brand, one must take into account how the customer integrates this purchase into their larger view of life and self worth. Otherwise, they will miss out on some of the key motivators of purchase and perhaps end up looking like the “stupid” choice for a large sector of people.
THE PRINCIPLE
This is the second of two blogs looking at how to be successful as a retailer. Once you get past mastering the basics of retailing (right product, right price), there are three more areas one must master. We called it mastering PAR, because this acronym spells out the three areas:
1) Personality
2) Advocacy
3) Respect
In the last blog, we looked at personality. In this blog, we will look at Advocacy and Respect.
2) Advocacy
If one assumes that most stores in a particular sector sell about the same stuff at roughly the same prices, then what becomes the tie-breaker to get you to choose one over the other? Often, it has to do with which store is doing a better job of being an advocate for your way of life.
One way a store can be an advocate is by helping its core customers get more of what they want and less of what they don’t want. Most people do not want to wade through acres of stuff they are not interested in so they can find the stuff they are interested in. An advocate store will know its customer type well enough to pre-select only those products important to their customer. This can be a great time-saving service.
Walgreen’s recently found out from its customers that they would enjoy the experience more if the selection was reduced, so that is what they are doing. In the area of food, Trader Joe’s and Aldi have been successful by narrowing the choice to just what their customer is looking for. In fashion, specialty stores tend to do well if they focus on a particular type of fashion statement rather than trying to be too many things in the same store (such as the successful focus of American Eagle Outfitters versus the muddle of the Gap).
For additional selection options to become meaningful choice, it needs to be relevant to the customer’s way of life. Otherwise, it no longer represents choice, but only clutter. Advocates get rid of the clutter on behalf of their customers.
Another way to become an advocate is by reinforcing the fact that you endorse the lifestyle of your customers. These retailers seem themselves as more than just sellers of goods, but also as outfitters of a lifestyle. Whole Foods is about more than just product. It is trying to advance an entire way of healthy living. Hot Topic makes the Goth teen feel like their lifestyle is welcomed, understood and appreciated. Christian bookstores are not just selling books, but endorsing and supporting a particular spiritual lifestyle.
A third way to be an advocate is to be a fighter for your customers. It is sort of like being a concierge for your customer, looking for special ways to help out your customer. This could include anything from special ordering product to lobbying for the rights of the customer. It’s going that extra step to make the customer’s experience special.
Finally a store can be an advocate by supporting the same causes which are important to their customer. More than ever, customers want to patronize stores which direct some of their profits to help make the world a better place. If the causes which are important to the customer are also important to the store (and the store puts their money where their mouth is) the store will tend to be patronized more. This could include environmental causes, neighborhood causes, or helping those less fortunate.
3) Respect
Closely associated with advocacy is respect. Customers do not want to be taken for granted. They want to be appreciated for their patronage. About a week ago, MSNBC ran a web page asking people to write in about how to improve Wal-Mart. One of the biggest complaints was the long lines at the store. People felt that those long lines showed no respect for the customer’s time. If you do not respect a customer’s time, then they will shop at a place where they get the respect. One of the reasons for the success of Carmax is the fact that they do a better job than the competition in respecting the time of their customers.
Customers want stores that respect the choices their customers make. Don’t be patronizing or judgmental. Believe in what you are selling and be proud of it.
Finally, show respect for the customer beyond the store experience. The relationship shouldn’t end at the cash register. If you sell poor quality junk that breaks down shortly after purchase, you have not shown respect for your customer. Stand behind what you sell and make sure the post purchase satisfaction is just as important as the in-store satisfaction. Repeat business creates profits. If you let down the customer after the transaction, you might not get another transaction from them.
SUMMARY
Customers have too many choices of where to spend their money. To get them to choose you, a retailer must go beyond just having the right goods at the right price. Instead, they must form deeper relationships which reinforce the lifestyles and moral codes of their customers. You must stand alongside your customer and become an advocate for the things most important to their way of life. In addition, you need to respect their time, their choices and their post-purchase experiences. Otherwise, you are seen as just a cold-hearted business. And it is difficult to excel high enough on the retailing basics in order to overcome this bad impression.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sometimes, I think many retailers spend too much time defining themselves in terms of what they sell rather than who they serve. If a retailer were to focus more on pleasing a particular type of customer, they may find many more opportunities to profitably sell many more things which they would never dream of doing if they defined themselves by some narrow product category.
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