 Anne M. Obarski |
Women make up what percentage of your customer base? For most, that answer is above 80 percent. So, what are you doing consistently to attract, satisfy and multiply your best customers? Women account for more than 80 percent of all consumer purchases, and they spend more than $5 trillion annually—by 2015 it is said that $15 trillion will land in the hands of baby boomer women. Wouldn’t you love them to spend a good share of that at your garden center? Yes, that’s a rhetorical question. And here’s a rhetorical statement: It’s time for you to look at your business through a woman’s eyes. Paco Underhill, in his new book, “What Women Want,” challenges businesses to ask this powerful question of everything they do: “What makes this package, product, space, design, or service ‘female friendly’?” As you ponder how you would answer that question at your store, consider that there are three things a woman shopper is expecting you to deliver: 1. Women develop strong opinions about a business based on appearance. Those “touch points” begin right in the parking lot. Encountering fingerprints on the entry door or visible trash of any kind will lead to the conclusion that—if the entry is dirty—then so is the rest of the store. If you think people disregard un-cleanliness in a garden center, think again. 2. Women shop in a variety of businesses and have expectations when it comes to store design. They expect a race-track design in supermarkets, high-end design in a department store and minimal design in Sam’s Club. What does your female customer expect in your garden center? Women want “simplicity.” Simplify your displays, focus on informational signing and create soft, curving aisles for her to meander. Straight, monotonous rows; hoses and pallets she could trip over; hanging baskets that are too hard to reach; aisles she can’t pass another cart in; confusing or no price signage; chemical smells that leave her looking for the exit—these are all reasons she’ll give for not returning. A knowledgeable, attentive garden center employee can be a female customer’s best friend—and work to your competitive advantage as part of your “store design.” 3. Personalization is rampant in every business, including a garden center. Women crave the unique and unexpected. Many garden centers are seeing sales rise in jewelry, handbags, accessories and more. The shopper might come in for a flat of flowers—and then add high-gross-margin items like a pair of earrings or a unique garden gnome. Personalizing her shopping experience is what you are after. Nothing does that better than a woman-friendly event, such as “Ladies Night Out.” Events are the new draw for garden centers when they are well-planned and well-executed. Wine tasting, art auctions, jazz nights are all examples of an “experience” to which women are drawn. I have heard it said that divorces would be reduced if we delivered in marriage what we sold in dating. We sometimes forget what helped us begin our businesses, and we get sloppy in the areas that first attracted customers—then we seem so surprised when they don’t come back. Every now and then it’s good to go back to the rhetorical question I asked earlier, only with this addendum: What are you doing to woo your best customer, your female customer, so she is so happy that she would never think of leaving you, and she would share that feeling with everyone she knows? Anne M. Obarski is a retail strategist and frequent speaker regarding customer retention and relationship building. Join her group for garden center professionals at www.merchandiseconcepts.com/gcroundtable. |
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