Do you have a picture of YOUR customer?

By: John Stanley

I was recently working with a retail client and was discussing
their merchandise strategy with their display manager. I asked
the person about two products on the same display and who would
buy them. The display manager mentioned that one of the products
would, in their view, be purchased by 65 year-old woman, whilst
the product next to it would be purchased by a 25 year-old
woman.

Was the display working? I’m afraid not. Why wasn''t it working?
Because the person building the display did not start with a
picture of the consumer in mind.

Generational marketing In recent months there have been number
of articles in the press about generational marketing. What does
this mean? It means that as a retailer you need to consider who
to target. Is it Generation Y (15-25 year-olds), Generation X
(25-35 year-olds), the Jones’ Generation (35-49 year-olds), Baby
Boomers (50-65 year-olds), or Greying Tigers (over 65
years-old).

A flick through a glossy magazine will soon reveal that
marketers are very defined on who their target is and present
the pictorial or promotion accordingly. But, it’s more than
marketers getting the message across, it’s display teams
understanding the message and merchandising accordingly.

The challenges This does present some challenges. Traditionally,
merchandisers have presented products to consumers based on
specific categories i.e. placing all of one series of products
together. But is this the answer in the future?

Some retailers have an easy task. They have refined their
retailing to already attract one specific age group and can
merchandise accordingly. The real challenge occurs when you are
a retailer who needs to attract customers from across a wide
band of age groups.

If you fall into this latter category, then there is a real
argument for splitting up product categories based on target age
groups.

In the scenario mentioned at the beginning of this article, the
merchandiser had built the display based on an overall product
category. The result, in my opinion, was that all age groups
were put off, because the display did not appeal to any specific
age group.

The display manager would have had more success if she had built
a display based on a specific age group.

One of my clients, a German gift company, now segments its
product range based on age. Each segmented display is supported
by a promotional board that features a person enjoying the
product experience from the selected age group. The result is
displays in store target selected age groups to specific areas
in the store. This does mean that more space is required in
store to “sell the picture” but the end result is increased
sales per square metre.

Where do you start? Start with the customer in mind, not the
product. Have a defined age group in your mind when you’re
building a display and then build the display with that age
group in mind.

Let me give you a simple example based on my observations when
it comes to signage on displays. Generation X (I prefer to call
them IKEA Babies) know what the trends are and what is
fashionable. If you sign a product to tell them what is new and
trendy, they could feel you are talking down to them and this
may resist purchasing.

The next generation up, the Jones’ Generation, want to be trendy
and fashionable, but they need to be told what’s new. If you
don’t tell them what’s new, they may never discover it.

The Baby Boomers tend to pick up trends later. Tell them it’s
new and they will often wait while it’s accepted by the Jones’
Generation. Greying Tigers may resist new products completely as
they look on the product as a new gadget which they don’t
understand and that will quickly go out of fashion anyway.

Segmentation opportunities Some retailers will go to
considerable expense to get the formulae right. Wetherby’s in
South Africa have divided their store into two. One half is
targeted at Baby Boomers and the other half at Generation X.
Both groups walk through the same entrance, but are then split
into two, Baby Boomers turn left into the store, whilst
Generation X turn right. Both sections of the store have their
own coffee shop to ensure both consumer segments ‘linger longer’
in the comfort of their own generational group.

Become a maven of retail generational marketing Encourage your
retail team to become “mavens” or leaders of a trend. Make sure
that the business subscribes to magazines that target each
generational group you are targeting. Get the team to produce
‘storyboards’ on trends from those magazines that can help them
build appropriate displays.

One display will not serve all, start with the customer in mind
and build displays that a generation can relate to.

John Stanley:
John Stanley is a conference speaker and retail consultant with
over 20 years experience in 15 countries. John works with
retailers around the world assisting them with their
merchandising, staff and management training, customer flow,
customer service and image. If you would like to receive John’s
monthly newsletter please visit www.johnstanley.cc or email us
on newsletter@johnstanley.cc.