Interview • 31.07.2012

Grave mistakes while selling to Adam and Eve

Interview with Diana Jaffé, Founder of Bluestone Gender Marketing, Berlin

Diana Jaffé misses sensitivity in store design and with salespeople for the different needs of men and women. She says, many products are developed from a male way of thinking and advertising is also too masculine. She explains why so many new products fail. Her wish is to work scientifically and provide more education to achieve more success in retail. In doing so, she does away with a few prejudices.

Women go shopping while men just buy when they need something. Is it that simple?

No, at this point we are quite a bit smarter. Men as well as women know two types of shopping: shopping for things we need daily and shopping for things to treat ourselves. Women enjoy shopping, while men like to buy luxury items. Men also enjoy shopping, just in different areas than women. Shopping for clothes is fun for women, but for men it is a tedious affair that has to be done. You just have to take a closer look.

Especially when it comes to hobbies and status, men can become irrational. Men crave status. Status shows how assertive they are. This is an important signal when they look for a partner, but also in professional and social surroundings. Men demonstrate through status symbols that they are good providers and what they can accomplish. Status is important for women to belong to a group and be accepted by others. Brands play a role here. For both genders it is about distinctive marks – they have to be recognized by key people. Men tend more towards a car make or a watch. Women recognize clothing brands and also accessories easier, but a custom-made suit is also a great distinctive mark in certain male circles.

What does this mean for the retail market?

In 2010, we conducted a survey on the gender of things. Women purchase female products preferably from a female salesperson – and vice versa for men. Jewelry is considered feminine and there is more confidence in female sales staff. When it comes to a man’s watch, considered to be a status symbol, people trust a male sales person more. People have a strong sense of the gender of products. More than 80 percent – men as well as women – say that a department store is a feminine place. Most men do not want to be there.

We still find very many stores that are not attuned to how men and women behave there and how big their desire or their aversion is to be there. The KaDeWe department store did everything right by placing a giant seating section in the middle of the women’s shoe department. Men are safe there while their partners take a look around. Furniture stores are also uncomfortable places for men. At a furniture display, the first thing a man does is to plop onto a couch or a chair. Once he sits down, it is no longer easy to force him to look at things that he does not want to look at anyway. In a traditional department store, there is an enormous array of products and a merchandise density that is unbearable for most men.

Short paths for a man and a world of adventures for a woman?

A store that targets women should pay attention to places for rest. Women prefer small counters to lean on and nestle up against. Women want aisles that are wide enough, so they are not unintentionally being touched from behind. At a department store, you should display products on a vertical and not so much a horizontal level for women. For the younger clientele – men as well as women – it is important to buy things and to own them. This rapidly decreases with age. Men and women want to discover new things. Why is this pleasurable? Because it is consistent with natural learning. When we learn something, our brain dumps dopamine.

If men shop for items they have to buy, they have to see the items they look for quickly, because men do not ask for directions. Men are usually satisficers. They look for something that is good enough. Women are maximizers and always on the hunt for the best. They go to five or six different stores in town to be sure they are able to make the best decision.

Are salespeople sufficiently trained for this difference?

No, all sales approaches were developed by men for male salespeople and male customers. The sexes intuitively often do it right among themselves, if they were not dissuaded from doing so in training courses. Things go awry if men have to sell to women and vice versa. Couples are also difficult to service for most salespeople because you are not able to assess the partner correctly and additionally, couple dynamics come into play.

Nothing is worse than a car for women. Do women not want products just for women?

Often the assignment we get is to find something the client can address women with without putting off men. In fact, women are more willing to buy men’s products, but men never buy women’s products. Women indeed buy cars for women. The Mini is a woman’s car by its design, but it is part of BMW and BMW is considered to be male. Puppy dog eyes, childlike looks – this still works on women, because just through this visual impulse alone, the maternal hormone oxytocin is released. In business, women far too often undermine their own authority because they choose a car that is too small and cute.

Slowly but surely there are more beauty products for men. Where are the pitfalls?

The market has rapidly developed over the past few years. Care cosmetics for men have become widely accepted. Men have the issue here to find places to shop for these items that are appropriate for them. The traditional drug store is not an easy and transparent place for men. Women want to be beautiful and are interested in skincare. Looking good is important to them, because it is their biggest asset in mating. Conversely, women are not looking for beautiful men, but for a good provider as studies in more than 120 cultures revealed. Looking good for men means being powerful.

Let’s take a look at the causes: why are women and men so different when it comes to shopping? Are genes to blame?

We still do not know where nature ends and civilization begins. We distinguish between four levels of a pyramid: the lowest level is the one with which we are born. This is topped by culture and the third level is the social environment, the parents and later the peer group. On the top of the pyramid are your own experiences.

How many purchasing decisions in families are actually made by the man, the woman or the children?

Women make approximately 90 percent of decisions for daily necessities. The flop rate of 70 percent in the FMCG sector and 90 percent for food just in the first year after commercial launch shows that something goes terribly wrong there. The male world outlook shapes advertising far too much, particularly when it comes to FMCGs (fast-moving consumer goods). Advertisers lack images of modern femininity.

Are there masculine and female colors?

Yes and no, the most popular color for both is blue, followed by red – then things diverge. For men, the sophisticated color is black, while women show more diversity.

You have written the book “Advertising for Adam and Eve” (“Werben für Adam und Eva“). Do gender images in advertising match the products? Which sales campaign do you like and which one don’t you like?

Advertising does not match reality. You have to switch over to weaving products more into a story. Several years ago, one commercial with Heidi Klum and Seal for the VW Tiguan was great.
The car was merely an extra in a story about the couple. At no point was the spot about the special features of the car. The ad worked so well that VW had to cancel it. The car company was no longer able to meet demands! The question is how do I place my product in people’s perception? Far too little is communicated on the benefit for a woman and how this product fits into her life.

Your sequel “Selling to Adam and Eve” (“Verkaufen an Adam und Eva“) arrives in October. What new insights will readers gain there?

This is not a sequel, but an entirely different topic. ”Advertising for Adam and Eve“ was a reference book on marketing communication, meaning advertising, PR etc. ”Selling to Adam and Eve“ is a practical manual on gender sales, answering the question of how female customers buy and how male customers buy. What does a female sales clerk have to pay attention to with male customers and what should male sales clerks dispense with with female customers?

Who are your customers at Bluestone? Where do you see concrete results of your consulting service?

We do not talk about our customers, because as a consulting firm we often work on very sensitive assignments. Our customers include branded companies and commercial enterprises from virtually all industry sectors and the mass market. We work in Germany and abroad.

Interview by René Schellbach, iXtenso.com

channels: gender marketing