Offline Persuasion
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
How to Drive Customers from a Yogurt Lid to a Website
I don’t have a strong allegiance to any one yogurt brand. I enjoy yogurt and eat it fairly often, but I usually bounce between brands. Recently, though, Stonyfield Farm had a unique opportunity to convert me into a full-time customer.
Right there on the lid was this note:
“Profits for the Planet — You can’t have healthy food or healthy people without a healthy planet. That’s why we give 10% of our profits to efforts that help protect and restore the Earth.”
Wow, what great messaging! It was right there, front-and-center on the top of my yogurt. There was no way I could miss it.
But they missed a real opportunity. I’d like to know more about what they’re doing to help protect and restore the planet. Why not have a link to the website? Alas, it was a dead-end message.
How much more powerful might this have been had Stonyfield Farm considered the tops of their yogurt container to be a driving point. What if they included a call to action to visit their website to find out what they’re doing to protect the Earth?
If I weren’t in marketer-Holly mode, I’d have likely never thought to go to Stonyfield Farm’s website, but there’s lots of great stuff there that could engage consumer-Holly.
Are you missing opportunities to drive customers to your website?
[Editor’s note: Join “copywriter-Holly” at our Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar on March 28th in San Francisco.]
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Written by:Holly Buchanan
Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2007
Bert Decker trains executives to communicate better. He’s nationally recognized as a persuasive presentation coach and has an impressive client list. Not only is he a friend but we send people to his trainings. That’s why his “Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2007” is a must-read.
I’ll give you his top three, but you’ll have to read the post for the other seven and Bert’s analysis.
Top Three Best
1) Gov. Mike Huckabee — What but for communicating would get a presidential candidate so far so fast?
2) Dr. Mehmet Oz — He became “America’s Doctor” in one short year, because of his communications (and Oprah of course.)
3) Al Gore — Even if he hadn’t won the Academy Award, Al Gore would get the communicator’s comeback of the year award.
Top Three Worst
1) Alberto Gonzales — He not only lied, but showed he was lying because of his behaviors.
2) Michael Vick — When you want your public AND the judges empathy, it is not the time to ‘gut it out’ and put on a stone face.
3) Robert Eckert — The Chairman of Mattel was caught in a toy recall disaster probably not of his making, but ‘the buck stops here.’
This is a long post with lots of worthwhile meaty commentary.
Read the “Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2007” for yourself.
P.S. Barack Obama has proven to be an excellent communicator. It’s not just what he is saying but how he’s saying it that’s turning people on. I’m registered as an Independent, and I’m not yet committed to any candidate, but he’s making a great case for himself.
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
Study: Most Online Searchers Driven by Offline Channels
A recent survey, conducted by Jupiter Research and commissioned by iProspect, suggests that two-thirds of online searchers are driven by offline channels such as TV or word-of-mouth. The study also concluded that more than a third of these offline-influenced searchers end up buying something.
According to the iProspect release:
. . . the study also took a look at purchase behavior. Specifically, offline-influenced online searchers were asked whether they ultimately had made a purchase from the company whose website had been the object of their search. The data revealed that more than one-third do so. This translates into a 39% conversion rate, and suggests a synergistic relationship exists between search and offline channels.
[…] “Think about it,” said [iProspect President Robert] Murray, “Two-thirds of search users jump through hoops to perform those searches now. Imagine what that number would be if marketers actually made it easy for them.”
Although we prefer to “believe what they do, not what they say,” this survey seems yet another sign that marketers need to approach online strategy for what it is; the tie that binds all multichannel efforts.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Foxy One-Page Proposals
Our friend, and fellow Wizard Academy faculty member, Mark L. Fox put together a video about “The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page” by Patrick G. Riley.
Click through for a brief video overview of a One-Page Proposal. The one-page proposal is a communication tool that can get an idea moving forward, cut through the clutter, and get to a decision–quickly.
Isn’t communicating effectively always harder than it seems?
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
Have You Ever Run An Ad That Failed?
Don’t miss Roy Williams’ MondayMorningMemo “The Media Is Not The Message“.
The entire memo is excellent, but my favorite part for online marketers is:
4. You committed to an ad campaign that was shorter than your product selling cycle. If people buy your product once a week, don’t expect your ads to return a profit during the first week. If people buy once a month, don’t expect to break even on your advertising during the first 30 days. If your product selling cycle is longer than 2 years, you can expect to lose money on your ads – even if they’re good – the first 4 to 6 months. You’ll start pulling ahead during the second six months. Your real growth won’t happen until you begin reaching that same group of people for a second year.
SOLUTION: Commit to an ad campaign commensurate with your product selling cycle.
What is the worst advertising fiasco you’ve ever been involved in?
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
Present, Persuade, Powerful…
If I were allowed to share only three words to describe what Bert Decker is all about, there they are.
I had the privilege of spending a few hours catching up with Bert in his hometown of San Francisco. Bert’s been busy. He’s just agreed to be one of the judges of the World’s Best Presentation contest with Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds and Jerry Weisman. He’s coaching quite a few execs and organizations on how to create communications experience. What we do for marketing and websites, Bert and crew do for presentations. The best news is he told me he’s doing one of his Communicate to Influence seminars in New York City on April 23-24th, and has just 4 seats left. (Sorry I didn’t share with you earlier. One of those seats will be going to one of my staff; we’ve sent others in the past.) Don’t miss it if you are going to be in NYC on those days!
Discover how you can better present, persuade and deliver powerful communications.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Are Websites Just for ECommerce?
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar on the topic of marketing to women, to the National Association of School Music Dealers. During the segment on the importance of effective websites, a participant raised his hand. “We don’t have e-commerce on our website,” he said. “If we’re not selling online, is it really important to invest in a good website?”
I could have given several answers, but with limited time, I simply presented him with one statistic. According to a recent study cited in eMarketer.com, 58% of broadband users who did research on a product made the purchase in a store.
Not surprisingly, the room became very quiet. I had just provided a wake-up call.
You may not be selling product online, but you’re definitely selling your brand. You’d better do a good job convincing me online that you’re my best choice; otherwise, you probably won’t see my face in front of your cash register.
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Written by:Michele Miller
Change Your Business’ Lifestyle
I recently finished the last of what seemed like endless trips for my promotional book tour. Many people came up and said, “You look good. What did you do to lose all that weight?” For years, I’d tried everything to lose weight. But this time my motivations and actions were different.
My elder brother and business partner, Jeffrey, had an executive physical. He was warned that travel, 16-hour days, stress, restaurant food, and the rest of his lifestyle were taking their toll. I wasn’t far behind, so I took his warning personally and decided to make some lifestyle changes, too.
I ramped up exercise. I’ve always been a fairly healthy, mostly vegetarian eater, but I made a firm decision to cut out as much wheat, dairy, sugar, and processed foods as possible. I’ve lost over 40 pounds since June. Of course, I miss my pizza and pasta — who wouldn’t? But I enjoyed donating all my larger clothes, to charity. I’ve never felt better, and I have more energy and mental clarity. There’s still more to do, but I know I’m on the right path.
So what does this have to do with ROI (define) marketing?
Continue reading my column on ClickZ…
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Online Planning for Offline Results
Your online persuasive process can help fuel offline sales as well.
Let’s pretend for a moment that your analytics reports are lying to you. (It’s nothing personal; they just don’t always see the big picture.)
Now think about a few key questions: Do you know what percentage of online visitors your business converts into offline customers? How many offline sales have you lost from bad online experiences and vice versa? How depressing and/or exciting would it be if you could accurately measure such things? Would you rather have more business or more data?
Okay, don’t answer that last one. Let’s talk about the others.
If there’s any offline component to your business’s online sales process whatsoever-from cold call leads for complex B2B sales to moving consumer goods in brick-and-mortar stores-your website should be anticipating and answering potential questions for potential customers. One thing is certain: your customers/clients/whatevers don’t care which channel they used to find you. In their minds, your brand is some combination of how you’ve treated them and how they’ve perceived your actions. Although brand perceptions tend to ebb and flow over time, an exceptionally good or bad experience-regardless of the medium-can quickly tip the scales.
Read the rest of this article.
Read the entire newsletter: Volume 141
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Written by:Robert Gorell
