Author Archive
Using Customer Review Keywords to Pick Up Women, Men
Have you ever noticed that if you really want good information about a product, you’re much more likely to find that information in a product review than in the product description itself?
Why aren’t product descriptions more helpful?
Here’s one thought: Men and women may care about different things. Product descriptions may not be speaking to both genders’ needs. In product reviews, men talk about what they care about, and women talk about what they care about. This may be one reason why reviews help increase conversion.
Here’s a real life example. I searched for reviews for gas grills. Although the reviewer’s gender isn’t always obvious, I picked two that had a good chance of being either male or female.
First, an excerpt from a gas grill review by “dickiedo” — I’m guessing that’s a man:
Pros: It is sturdy, attractive and cooks good.
Cons: I wish the control knobs were on the front of the grill.I bought this grill at Home Depot in the morning and that afternoon I grilled the best steaks I have ever cooked using the cooking instructions provided by Weber. The next day I grilled some great tasting hamburgers. Before cooking the burgers I heated the grill and easily brushed off the residue from the steaks leaving the cooking surface clean. I really liked cooking on my Weber charcoal grills, but I am now a firm Weber gas grill fan.
Now, an excerpt from a gas grill review by “juliet166″ — I’m guessing that’s a woman:
Pros: weber quality, even cooking, portability, easy cleanup
Cons: 14oz. propane canisters, lack of warming tray, no side traysI became a weber convert several years ago after purchasing a genesis silver c, and experiencing the exceptional cooking found in weber grills. Due to a divorce and move to a small apt without a deck, I was desperate for a grill that I could easily transport outdoors to use, but would not take up a lot of space inside my apt. Because of the dome shaped lid, it easily fits a small roast, or vertical rib stand. Clean up is easy just by letting the grill run a few minutes and then brushing with a wire brush.
I have not had any issues with the automatic ignition. I have been using my grill for 3 months now, and it always starts on the first or second push.
Here’s what’s interesting about these two reviews: They’re an example of the gender preferences Joseph Carrabis of NextStage Evolution talks about on the iMedia Connection blog, where he insists that women purchase strategically while men purchase immediately:
Men make purchasing decisions based strongly on immediate or present needs.
Women want to know that today’s purchase will meet their immediate needs, mid-term and even their needs long-term needs. Long-term and far-term usability can even be a stronger consideration for the female purchasing persona than immediate need
Notice that in Dickiedo’s testimonial, he’s talking about purchasing the grill that morning and grilling that afternoon — great job of speaking to a guy’s immediate and present need.
In Juliet’s review, she’s commenting that even after 3 months, the grill still starts on the first or second push, meeting a longer-term durability need.
Carrabis discusses another gender difference:
Men are willing to make a purchase once it has been demonstrated that someone else was successful with the same purchase; kind of a, “that worked for Joe, so it’ll probably work for me” mentality.
Women posit things differently. It’s good to know if something worked for Sally; it’s better to know what Sally’s motivations were for her purchase. Success in itself isn’t meaningful unless the conditions leading to success are the same. (So much for women not being cut out for the sciences!) This can be thought of as, “it may have worked for Sally, but Sally bought it for reason A and I’m interested in reason B, so the same purchase might not work for me.”
Juliet shares her background motivation for purchasing the grill. She’s recently divorced and moved to a small apartment without a deck. She wanted something she could transport outdoors but wouldn’t take up a lot of room. Now a woman can compare her motivation to Juliet’s to see if it’s a good match for her situation, for her motivation.
How can manufacturers and e-commerce sites use this information to create better product descriptions that sell more products?
- Talk about both immediate and long-term value. “Take it home this afternoon, grill steaks tonight”; “Our grills start at just the touch of a button now, and for months/years to come.”
- Talk about different motivations for buying the product and successful uses of it. “With our even heating system, grillers of all skills can cook the perfect steak every time”; “If you live in an apartment but still want the that backyard grill experience, this is the grill for you. It’s small and portable, but with a domed lid, so it’s big enough to cook family meals like a small roast or vertical rib stand.”
One more hint. While both Dickiedo and Juliet mentioned “easy cleaning”, Juliet got very specific with what that means (”Let the grill run for a few minutes and brush with a wire brush”). This may also tie-in with women’s need for longer-term value. I know a woman who’s sworn off a famous cookware brand because their products are very sensitive and hard to clean. Remember, she’s not just thinking about cooking dinner tonight, she’s picturing how she’ll use the product for months, even years to come. Make sure you’re talking about what it’s like to use and maintain the product in the future as well as the present.
By using keywords that address the underlying motivations of both men and women, your product descriptions are sure to pick them up before the competition.
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys. If you’d like to become a customer pickup artist like Holly, join her on June 2nd for FutureNow’s Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar in Manhattan.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Interview on Persuasion Architecture, Personas and ROI
In case you weren’t able to join me today at the King Conversion: Websites that Sell conference in Erie, PA — put on by the fabulous folks at eBizITPA — I at least wanted to share a recent interview on personas and persuasive planning.
I had a chance to sit down with Cathy von Birgelen to talk about what’s on the mind of Pennsylvania business owners, and what they want to know about improving their websites and other online marketing efforts. You probably have a lot of the same questions and I think I may have some answers for you.
You can either download the interview (by right-clicking here) or just listen to it streaming below:
Click here for Holly’s interview
Hot Topics
Need to bookmark this for the next time you’ve got a few minutes? No problem. I’ll be going into more detail in the actual presentation, but…
Here’s what’s covered in the interview:
• How to start a meaningful relationship with Customers. (Hint: don’t ask them to marry you on the first date.)
• The four buying modes — Spontaneous, Competitive, Humanistic and Methodical — and how to increase conversion based on understanding what information each type wants and how they want that information presented. (There’s no such thing as an average customer.)
• How to use personas to create persuasive messages that speak to people in their language about what they care about. (Because it can’t always be about you.)
• The real purpose of your homepage and how to reduce those nasty battles over that prime real estate. (I know, I’ve seen the scars and bruises.)
• Common conversion mistakes and how to make simple changes that can have a big impact on your bottom line. (Seriously, you’ll be smacking your head and going, “duh” — here’s how Amazon does it.)
• Content for search engines vs. content for customers (Who said you had to choose?)
• What analytics to focus on that can actually tell you something about your site and where it’s most broken. (Hey, if you want to go ahead and read those 20 page analytics reports,knock yourself out. But if you want to know 5 specific metrics to look at, let’s talk.)
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys; and co-instructor of FutureNow’s Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar, June 2nd in Manhattan.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Using Video to Build Better Customer Relationships
Advertising Age recently did a CMO roundtable video. It’s a great idea: Get a bunch of top Chief Marketing Officers with a moderator and ask them to discuss their biggest challenges.
I guarantee you a lot of CMO’s (and a whole lot of other people) tuned in to watch this frank round table discussion.
What industry is your website targeting? Are you a sales training company targeting sales managers? Why not get together a group of 3-4 sales managers and ask them to talk about their biggest challenges with employee training?
Are you a website development company targeting small business owners? Why not gather a group of small business owners and record a session where they talk about their experiences — good and bad — with trying to put up a website that increases business?
These would have to be candid, honest discussions about real issues people are facing. There’s no sales pitch for your company allowed in these videos. It’s simply your way to facilitate an honest discussion about the issues and challenges within your industry.
Consider of the power video. When a prospective customers comes to your site to watch this video, they gain knowledge and insight from watching peers discuss issues that are important to them.
THEN you can create copy and links, so that after they watch the video, you can show how your service addresses their issues, solves their problems, and overcomes their challenges.
It’s called building rapport. You’re letting your prospective customers know: “We understand you. We care about the same issues you do. We’re in touch with people like you, and if we’re listening to their concerns, needs, and desires, we’ll listen to yours, too.”
It’s about showing, not telling. Instead of saying, “We’re an industry leader, well versed in the problems that sales managers face every day,” SHOW them. It will be way more effective.
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys; and co-instructor of FutureNow’s Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar, June 2nd in Manhattan.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Will Yahoo’s Shine Be the Next Big Site for Women?
I wish someone would do a take-off of Shania’ Twain’s “I Feel Like a Woman” and change it to “I Don’t Feel Like a Woman.”
I visit a lot of the “women’s sites” on the Web, and I almost always feel out of place. The subject matter doesn’t excite me. The headlines don’t speak to me. It all feels the same…
• Celebrity gossip
• Diets and recipes
• Love/romance tips
• Fashion news/shopping tips
• Wellness/health issues
Sorry, but none of those are particularly high on my radar. I guess I just don’t have the same interests as other women. But since marketing to women online is my area, I headed over to Yahoo to check out their new women’s site, Shine.
At first glance, that refrain echoed in my head (”I Don’t Feel Like a Woman”). I just don’t get it. Do women really like this stuff? And hasn’t it all been done before? Dozens of times?
But I turned off the tune in my head and investigated further. I went to the About Us page and actually found some of the site’s best content is in the author bios. These sound like interesting, articulate, funny women!
So I kept going, and found the “Work & Money” section. There was some really great content there. And I really like the blog style format.
I started to read the comments to see what other women had to say about Yahoo’s new venture. The reviews are mixed. Some women seemed to like the content, but other women had similar reactions to mine:
For those of you complaining that this site is too “glamorous” and not in touch with real women - please note that you’re on the “Entertainment” section of the site. I read a few articles in the “Work+Money” section that I felt were totally relevant to the issues I’m currently dealing in my life. So far, I’m impressed with the content.
Would like to see more on PEOPLE in general. There is way too much of the glitz an glamour stuff (Imatation Life) on every pc site and tv channel…would also like to see more relating to older women: health, fashion, etc.
This is about what I expected for Shine…it’s not a real ‘woman’s website, but still caters to the younger, interested in glamour, fashion and celeb gossip types. Like a few of the others, I won’t return…it’s just not informative enough for those of us over 50.
Only time will tell whether Shine will be successful. Yahoo has the advantage of being able to tap into other verticals, like their Green section and their Finance section (two subjects in which I actually am interested). I think the “Work & Money” section is actually content that hasn’t been done to death. From the comments on that section, it seems women are really responding to it.
If I could ask Shine to add one thing, it would be a humor section. I do so enjoy a funny female writer. Have you talked with Lenore Skenazy? She routinely makes me snort chardonnay through my nose. Love her.
So, what do you think? What’s your feeling about Shine? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? What would you like to see covered?
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is a Persuasion Architect at FutureNow and co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys.
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How Website Images Affect Visitor Persuasion
Have you ever read a blog post that had so many interesting and profound ideas, you actually re-read it several times? That’s what happened to me when I read this fascinating article by Joseph Carrabis at iMedia Connections.
I originally read the article because it talks about gender and website design. But there’s much more to it than the title (”Website Marketing Across Genders”) suggests. For instance, the phenomenon he calls “Towards” and “AwayFrom” advertising.
I’ll dig into that in another post, but in the meantime, take a look at his description of using a visual on a page to draw visitors toward a specific action:
Let me give you an example of an automotive retailer site that also works in print. The goal is to have the visitor purchase a new vehicle. Place an image in the upper part of the screen or print piece. The left of the image is the owned vehicle, the right of the image is the desired or target vehicle. Just right of center is the couple or an individual facing the desired vehicle and walking towards it.
The web’s media capabilities allow the message to get across very well because the couple or individual can be seen actually moving towards the target vehicle. In a static image that implies walking have the right hand swinging towards the target vehicle, the left hand swinging towards the owned vehicle.
So simple. So powerful.
Speaking of simple and powerful, if you haven’t read Bryan Eisenberg’s award-winning article on images and eyetracking, you should. It definitely clarifies Joseph’s point.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
What is Web Copy and How Should I Use It?
Pearce responded to our “Ask the Experts” post, looking for a definition of “web copy.”
If you look up its definition, copy refers to any “written matter intended to be reproduced in printed form” (e.g., “The text of a news story, advertisement, television commercial, etc., as distinguished from related visual material”). The word was originally used in the context of the printing press, but it essentially means the same thing online.
Since all copy is content, but not all content is copy, some people separate the two. They use “copy” exclusively to mean text that is written to persuade visitors to take action. “Content,” meanwhile, doesn’t imply an intent to persuade. (For example, think of a website that features celebrity news Content, with a page urging visitors, via persuasive Copy, to subscribe.)
So, “web copy” refers to any and all words published on your website. And without it, your site looks something like this.
I don’t know if this is all that helpful for Pearce, but here’s what is important…
Web Copy is different from Offline Copy.
Offline copy (like a billboard) isn’t interactive. Web copy (like what you read on this blog) is. Web copy needs to be formatted in easy-to-read chunks. It’s hard to read a lot of copy online. Break up your copy with headers, subheaders, short paragraphs and bullet points.
Web copy has a powerful advantage over offline copy: Hyperlinks.
Hyperlinks create persuasive momentum. They provide a clear pathway for your visitor to accomplish his or her goals, and your business to accomplish your goals. What actions do you want your visitors to take? Your website should be planned with visitor goals and company goals in mind. Use your web copy to answer your visitors’ questions, address their objections, and provide hyperlinks that move them toward the actions you want them to take.
How do I plan goals for my website?
Pearce’s second question (”"Do you have any ideas on how to come up with goals for college websites?”) helps illustrate where web copy fits into the overall process of planning, building, and optimizing a website.
To find your website’s goals and use copy to support them, ask yourself these three questions:
- Who is my audience?
- What actions do I want them to take?
- What information do they need in order to feel confident taking action?
Pearce should look at all the different types of visitors who might come to a college website (prospective students, current students, faculty, alumni, people in the community), then map out what each of these visitors is trying to accomplish. What questions are they asking? What information are they hoping to find? What information would you most like each of these groups to see?
For Pearce, this involves looking not only at his visitors’ goals, but the goals of the college itself. (Do they have a new program they want to push, a special event, or a special benefit that prospective students would love?) Once he has this information, he can plan pathways and provide information that is relevant for each of these types of visitors.
All pathways should lead toward an action you want your visitors to take. After all, how can you measure success if you haven’t defined what success looks like?
Thanks for the questions, Pearce!
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[Editor’s Note: Got a question for FutureNow? All you have to do is “Ask the Experts“.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
“Secret Life of a Soccer Mom” TV Show Creates Backlash
Wow, there are some seriously perturbed moms out there! What’s got them so upset? A new TV show on TLC called The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom. The show’s premise: Stay-at-home mom (Tracey Gold) is given a chance to go back in time and discover what her life would have been had she not given up her dream career.
Sounds like something almost every mom would love, right? Apparently not.
Newsweek reported on the ugly response from miffed moms:
If the initial reaction to the “Secret Life of a Soccer Mom,” (Mondays at 10 p.m. ET) is any indication, TLC has struck one of the rawest nerves of parenting.
TLC’s online message boards were jammed with comments from women outraged that Adrian (one of the featured Soccer Moms) would choose a career over being a stay-at-home mom (SAHM in parent lingo). The posts said the premise of the show is “sick” and Adrian is “selfish.” One mom wrote, “Let’s show the other side of the story … how the kids’ world is going to be turned upside down by having to go to day care.” Another woman goes even further: “Unless you’re about to starve there is no reason for you to be at work. If you didn’t want to raise your children, you should not have had them. It’s child abandonment.”
Hmm… How do you really feel?
Women have been in the workforce for decades now, but the tension between moms who stay at home and those who, by choice, have jobs outside the home continues to brew. When in mixed company, mothers on both sides of the fence tend to tiptoe around the subject. Totally unvarnished confessions of either boredom or guilt are usually left to gatherings of moms of one’s own kind.
This is one of the many reasons why marketing to “Soccer Moms” is tricky. These women have so many conflicting views, habits, motivations, and needs. Promote a successful woman who has it all in her career and you risk alienating the stay-at-home moms. Focus only on a mother’s life at home with her kids and you risk alienating moms who don’t want that to define who they are.
These are some dangerous waters. Here are some comments from the show’s message board:
• “Horrible show. Don’t have children if you are not prepared to raise them, plain and simple. Someone mentioned how many school shooting were there is the 1950’s? Go ask your grandmothers how much crime was around when she was a young women, how many children walked around with anger and “issues.” Nothing like today because of the feminist movement, women began working and thinking they could have it all, but when you work and have children, you are sacrificing them for your work.”
• “I cannot believe this debate is still such an issue. Everyone needs to grow up and get over it! Some moms work, some moms don’t, other choose to, others have to. I commend the show for bringing this to light, not all moms want to be at home 24/7. We do not assume a dad should stay home? I am working mom, my kids are well mannered, happy, content, intelligent kids who love life and love their parents. I know a lot of great working moms, teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, laborers, and more, without them our work force would be male dominated, should they stop having kids because of this?”
• “I have read most of these post on here, the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I will agree with you that most of them on here are full of whining women, trying to put themselves on pedestals, that’s the only point I can agree with you on. I am a stay at home mother of three great kids, but I by no means think that I am any more important or any higher caliber of a mother any of my friends who have kids and work out of the home.”
And those were some of the nicer posts! The point is, these women have hugely differing opinions, motivations, needs, self images, and positions on motherhood. It’s why I just have to laugh when marketers target “Soccer Moms” and think they can speak to them all the same way.
One final point. The very wording use to describe the premise of the show is offending these women:
I just had to share this. I was looking around TLC’s website and found this on the page where you can apply to be on one of their shows. According to them this show is celebrating stay-at-home moms. Celebrating? Yeah, right. Read below.quote:
Celebrating Stay-at-Home Moms!
Are you or is someone you know a stay-at-home mom? Is your life filled with driving the kids from soccer practice, piano lessons, dance classes and back home with barely enough time to get food on the table? Do you feel like everyday is for someone else with no time left for you? If your answer is yes, TLC is looking for you to be a part of a wonderful new show celebrating “soccer moms”.If you’ve put your needs on the backburner to run a world of diapers, dishes and laundry, we want you! E-mail us your information at: soccermomcasting9@gmail.com
Welcome to how the world views “Soccer Moms”.
Is this how you view a Soccer Mom? If it is, you may be hurting your efforts to market to this widely diverse group. If you want to market to these moms, you’ll have to do your homework. You’ll have to dig deep to see what’s going on in their minds and in their hearts.
If she’s feeling resentful of having to always stay home and take care of the kids, is she really going to share that openly?
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[Editor’s Note: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys, and co-instructor of our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Do Men and Women Laugh at the Same Ads?
It was one of those eye-opening moments. I was watching Bryan Eisenberg teach Call to Action — the seminar, not the book. (Even though I’ve seen him teach it several times, I still learn something new every time I attend.)
He showed the “Bra Scientist” video clip by Zafu that I blogged about last year.
As the audience was watching the clip, I noticed something interesting: There were certain points when the men were laughing and the women weren’t. And there were other points when the women were guffawing but the men weren’t even smiling.
The guys laughed when the scientist asked the woman in the parking lot if she would talk about her “um, well… you know, uh… breasts.” It’s a funny line, well delivered. (The guys found it funny, anyway.) She responds “Sure” and the scientist is quite pleased the interview can continue. But then she kicks his head off. Literally.
Some of the women looked a little shocked, but for other women, it garnered full-on belly laughs.
Why is this important? Because humor is one of the most pervasive devices advertisers use to try to sell products. Is that humor hitting the mark with target audiences? A recent Advertising Age article claims that “Snide Advertising is Bad for Business and Society” (subscription required but it’s available here).
In the article, Richard Rapaport discusses “the nasty tone that seems to dominate advertising” and “commercials built on sadism, on derision, on one-upsmanship — in a word, ’snide.’” He gives this example:
Another building block of snide advertising is physical aggression. Consider the quite literally shocking ad for Priceline.com in which William Shatner enters the house of a frustrated online vacation shopper and stuns him with a Taser before sitting down at the man’s computer. “Did I zap your daddy?” Shatner coos at the man’s disquieted child. “Yes, I did,” he admits, “but I saved him lots of money.”
I’m not sure what percentage of Priceline’s audience is women, but women book more online travel than men do. I wonder how they feel about that ad.
While I do believe some humor is universal, I think there are certain types of jokes and subject matter that men find funny that women don’t, and vice-versa. Part of what makes something funny is that it rings true to you (”Oh my God, I’ve so been there!”). Different content may speak more to one gender than the other.
Eric Berger at the Sci Guy blog asked if women have a better sense of humor. One comment grabbed my attention. A reader named Scott has this to say:
The women in my office say that the reason they have less expectation of a reward is that most guys tell such bad jokes, and repeat them over and over. Women don’t tend to be entertained by jokes about bodily functions, sexual performance, or many of the other common topics of guy jokes. I’ve never heard a woman tell a Christa Macaullife/Space Shuttle Challenger joke, yet there are guys who still crack up over them. So perhaps women have a more “refined” sense of humor, not necessarily a “better” sense of humor.
Interesting. There’s a fascinating study done by Professor Hugo Carretero Dios at the University of Granada that finds that humor depends on the person. Or, as the press release claims, “Scientific research on sense of humor sheds light on psychological profiles.”
Carretero Dios observed a generational change in the women’s preferences to the different types of humour. “There has been change in women’s values and roles in our society,” says Carretero Dios. “In people over 45-50, we observed that both men and women laughed more at jokes degrading to women than those degrading to men”. At the same time, both men and women showed more rejection to jokes degrading to men.
However, among the participants between 18-25 years old, the trend was different and men and women had different reactions. Men laugh more at jokes degrading to women and reject those degrading to men. By contrast, women laugh more at jokes degrading to men and reject those degrading to women. Indeed, this trend is more pronounced in women.
“Could these findings show a change in educational values or even a new pattern in the roles played by women”
I think the whole subject deserves more analysis, but it underscores the importance of understanding who your audience is and how gender could affect whether that audience thinks your ads are funny.
What ads have you seen recently that you found funny — or unfunny — and why?
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About the Author: Holly Buchanan is a Persuasion Architect at FutureNow and co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys.
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Women Entrepreneurs Grow Firms 2X Faster. Here’s Why…
Recently I’ve been studying up on women entrepreneurs. Why? Because they are one of the fastest growing segments of the business market.The Center for Women’s Business Research put out a recent report with some stats on women-owned businesses:
• Women-owned firms employ nearly 13 million people and generate $1.9 trillion in sales.
• Between 1997 and 2006, majority women-owned firms (51 percent or more women-owned) grew at twice the rate of all firms (42 percent vs. 24 percent).
Want some insight into who these business owners are and what they want? Check out Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs by Kaira Sturdivant Rouda. It’s a great read, whether you’re targeting female business owners or are one.
I knew I liked Kaira as soon as I read this:
“As a kid watching Bewitched, I was entranced by Samantha and her creative power, and I wanted Darrin’s job.”
In Real You Incorporated, Kaira hits on one of my favorite topics: Not all women think alike.
The book features real life stories from women entrepreneurs. It was interesting to see how different women approach their businesses. One business owner named the company after herself. It made perfect sense. Another wouldn’t dream of naming the company after herself. Again, not all women business owners think alike.
But many female business owners share similar problems. There’s a whole section on “Snarks,” folks masquerading as friends and confidantes who don’t have your best interest at heart. You’ll learn how to spot these people and avoid the problems they create. This section alone is worth the price of the book.
If you’re a women business owner (or any business owner targeting women), be sure to check out Kaira’s website. There are lots of interactive elements. You’ll find an “Ask Kaira” section where women entrepreneurs can write in with common questions. She has a downloadable chart where you can fill in your own “Real You” information. She has a featured entrepreneur section where you can be inspired and learn from different women business owners . There’s even a section where you can share your heroes.
I really like the interactive nature of the site. If you’re marketing to women, you want that interactivity. It’s a great way to build a relationship with your readers or customers.
If you’re marketing to women, business owners, or both, add Real You Incorporated to your list.
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[Editor’s Note: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys, and co-instructor of our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
If Victoria’s Secret Wants Me Back…
I used to shop at Victoria’s Secret. They had really great stuff. But lately, when I walk into the store, I feel like I’m at a teenage pajama party, a porn video shoot, or both.
Victoria’s Secret used to be “my” store — a place that catered to sophisticated women. Now it feels like a store catering to teenage girls and creepy guys. Why, I wondered, doesn’t Victoria’s Secret want me as a customer anymore? Could it be because I’m not 25? But isn’t that a good thing? I’m older and I have more money.
Barbara La Placa is the associate publisher of marketing for MORE Magazine, a monthly magazine aimed at women over 40. In this OMMA article, she talks about women over 40 and their buying habits:
La Placa uses the example of lipstick to compare older women with younger consumers. “Open up my medicine cabinet and I’ve got 700 lipsticks. You don’t see that with young girls who get one brand everyone else has. Me, I’m 49, and I’m always looking for the right shade. And I have the money to buy the darn things,” La Placa adds.
Touche. Wake up and meet the boomer market. There are more women over 40 than ever before. They have money and they’re spending it.
According to The Wall Street Journal, even Victoria’s Secret is acknowledging that efforts to target younger customers may have disenfranchised their core market.
In the 1990s, professional women shopped the pastel-painted stores for colorful, European-inspired lingerie, supplementing underwear wardrobes previously filled with black, white and beige styles. Soft music played in the background while saleswomen discreetly offered help.
But over time, Victoria’s Secret adapted to a changing culture. One reason Victoria’s Secret got off track, Ms. Turney said, was the success of its Pink brand, which launched in 2002 and aimed to introduce college students to Victoria’s Secret stores. Pink has grown tremendously; in October, an executive said it would probably reach $900 million in sales for 2007.
But as teens and 20-somethings snapped up Pink underwear and pajamas, too many other product lines at Victoria’s Secret shifted to target that same customer, Ms. Turney said.
It was great that Victoria’s Secret brought in the younger audience, but they forgot about the rest of their customers (like me). I’m sorry, but a pink stuffed dog isn’t going to get me to buy more bras. (Though it might make a nice “friend” for my Boston Terrier with a humping problem.)
Victoria’s Secret is working on changing its image, toning down the “super sexy” hype and going back to its “ultra-feminine” roots. Can they win back customers?
Changing customer views will be a huge challenge. Sheri Coulter, a 42-year-old secretary in Flower Mound, Texas, worked at a Victoria’s Secret store three years ago. “It was like pulling teeth to get the women our age to come in there,” she says. “In our 40s and up, we are sexy — just not the same sexy a college gal is.”
For a time, she says, the store where she worked stopped carrying sizes 38 or larger, embarrassing some older customers who were turned away.
If they want me back, that’s great. But if they are re-re-branding, Victoria’s Secret should take some redesign cues from its own website (which does a much better job than the store, in my opinion).
Here’s what VictoriasSecret.com does well:
- The homepage shows a woman with an actual figure who looks sexy without being trashy.
- Great categorization. I can shop by collection, style of bra, see specials, or get tips on fitting.
- Product pages detail why each garment is or is not right for my body.
- I can increase the text size so I can actually read the product descriptions. (Thank you!)
For now, I’d much rather shop at the online store than the retail store. That’s a problem. If Victoria’s Secret wants me back as a customer, they’ll need to match the experience they’re presenting online with the experience they present in their stores.
[Editor’s Note: Holly Buchanan is co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth — Today’s Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys, and co-instructor of our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
