The Decision Maker; The Woman

The Female Consumer; Understand HER Influence.

A few summers ago ( oh heck, way back pre COVID ), my house was the place to be for my kids, their friends and all the moms. Around 3:32 pm every Friday, my front door opened and closed as a revolving door in a fancy hotel on the Vegas strip. Kids in, kids out. Generally, the mom’s stayed close to the rose. But the other door that swirled with action was my fridge door! See, I had this rule; no kid was to ask me IF they could get something to eat; they were to take what they wanted.

The afternoons would wind down, and the vultures (aka the kids) would stumble into the kitchen to let us moms know it was that time; dinner time. Of course, every week’s meal was different, and they were always excited to know what yummy food would fill their bellies. My dining table sat nine comfortably; I often had 11 or 12 little bums to squish in; magically, we always figured it out.

The kiddies would squish in; the moms would plate and serve the food. We placed juice and condiments on the table and let them enjoy the feast, and we enjoyed the (often) hilarious conversations that took place.

Like a bolt of lightning, the food was gone, and so were the kids.

Rinse, repeat, every Friday for as long as I can remember.

You might wonder why I am telling you the story of my kid’s crazy Fridays. Well, one day, not too long ago, I got a call from one of my mom friends. “Katie, how are you?” she started the conversation, “I am good, how have you been? It has been forever since we’ve gotten together” I could hear her laughter over the phone. “Isn’t the saying of the last few years, I miss you!” I smiled. “I miss you too” before I could go on, she cut me off “we also miss our Fridays and I thought you would enjoy what just happened in the grocery store! I was shopping with the kids, going down the aisles as I normally do, when my boy told me to stop. He said, “Mom, get that juice; it’s the one Noah and Ela’s mom had at their house!” So I did, and we talked about all our fun times at your place. We should start that up again; we all miss those Fridays.”

We made plans to do just that, and last Friday, I had a house full of kids and a bottle of rose!

Here’s how this story impacts you.

A CPO in the corporate world is a person who is responsible for the strategy and execution of all product-related activities within an organization.

See, women are the Chief Purchasing Officers of the home. She is responsible for making the home (organization) run smoothly. She chooses the shampoo you use, the food you eat, and the products your kids are exposed to and most often, her influence spreads far past just one organization (family) into that of those she impacts; her kids’ friends, her mother, sister, brother, inlaws and friends. She is usually the person most focused on the needs and preferences of those surrounding her.

When I got this call, it got me thinking I needed to share this story and the impact she has on your business. For example, every time a kid ran up my driveway, they noticed the car brand I drove, which plays a part in priming their mind for their vehicle of choice in the future. Or like the example of the juice my friend’s son just had to have; he was exposed to it every Friday and remembered it; not only did he remember it, he asked for it, and his mom bought it.

Women, do and will continue to, influence all household purchases. Women are the Chief Purchasing Officers in their households and the most influential consumers in the world. We are the economy of the United States. As women have become more educated, with far more financial strength and decision-making abilities, their earning power has grown exponentially.

According to Inc., “Women earn more higher-education degrees than men and start new businesses at a faster rate. Women’s earning power is growing faster than men’s. And women now make up more than half of Twitter users and Facebook subscribers.” In fact, according to the Inclusionary Leadership Group, women make or influence 83 percent of all non-business-to-business consumer purchases. Not only do females hold veto power on the majority of purchasing decisions, but they are also a business’s number one referral source!

Being aware of her impact is the tip of the iceberg. You must also know her influence, which will only benefit your brand experience strategies so they resonate with the decision maker: the woman. Yet the reality is, most businesses still don’t take this huge female customer segment very seriously, and organizational team members are not given the tools to tailor the customer experience to women. In a very real, male-dominated world, women are still dealing with the long-standing idea of the perceived female lack of power when in fact she has been the main influencer of purchases for centuries.

It’s puzzling to me just how few organizations don’t take a closer look at this customer group; after all, she is the most powerful customer. She directly impacts your top line, referrals, and future customer base.

Take notice of the brands your kids gravitate to, and ask yourself, is my brand one SHE would stand behind; do I provide an experience that SHE can’t live without? If you are unsure, it’s time to CustomHER Experience.

I usually focus my writing and conversation with my clients around solution driven language. What you should do to deliver an exceptional and unexpected experience for your customers. Instead, I thought I’d write about what you should STOP doing when interacting with the Decision Maker; The Woman.

If you want to impact at the CORE of your business truly, it’s people, and the experiences you provide, what you stop doing is equally if not more important than the ‘new people-centric programs’ you put into place.

Here are five things you and your team should stop doing when interacting with your female consumer.

Stop:

1. Greeting men first when in a ‘coupled’ shopping situation

In an independent study I conducted I found that when a woman is shopping with a man, the man most often gets greeted first. The greeting is the first interaction that will set the tone for the entire journey; it is a customer’s favourite pick up line. Try greeting her first (or at least at the same time). The female consumer will feel like an equal, respected, and open for the journey she is about to experience.

2. Assuming she doesn’t know what you’re talking about

Women love details, and they want to know those details before making purchasing decisions. Women also find joy in the hunt of the shopping journey; the hunt is where she collects the details she needs to make a decision. So when she steps into your store, on the phone with you, or ready to make a purchase don’t treat her like she doesn’t know what you’re talking about, it’s more likely she knows more than you know.

3. Thinking of the female consumer as an interruption

She is the most influential consumer in the world. She makes purchase decisions for 3-4 generations in her household. She is the ultimate customer, and it is essential that you know that. She is not an interruption.

4. Thinking that building relationships is a waste of time

Creating a connection with your female consumer should be the number one priority. It is that connection and relationship that leads to trust. Trust leads to purchase and loyalty. Remove lack of time as an excuse, and make the relationship you have with your female customer a priority.

5. Thinking she’s just like you!

Women are physiologically different than men. We are simply built different, and you’re in the customer perception business. No longer can you live by the golden rule grandma used to preach “treat others the way you want to be treated”. It’s high time you live by the platinum rule” treat others the way they need or want to be treated”. Take the time to understand the female consumer; this will go a long way in tailoring the experience you offer her!

Women are the world’s most influential consumer; instead of ignoring her influence, appreciate her significance to your business. Take the time to create real relationships, and stop making the common mistakes listed above. Your customers will be happy and so will your top line sales.

In this series of  “The Decision Maker; A Woman’s Perspective on Customer Experience”, I will outline my experiences as a customer (a female customer) as I experience them!

This first post takes place in Miami at an upscale hotel; when NO was the only option.

I landed in Miami for a series of business meetings over a three-day period. I had specifically chosen to stay a Conrad Property as I had such a great experience at their locations around the world. My expectations were high, and I was very excited to be staying there.

Consistency is one of the most critical aspects of providing an exceptional experience for customers. Consistency is essential in building relationships and earning the trust that comes with customer growth. Unfortunately, consistency didn’t reveal itself on my stay, and the confidence I once had with The Conrad has been broken.

I arrived at 12 pm; before check-in time, which was 3 pm. I understand that if a hotel is busy that a guest can’t always be accommodated and placed into a room before the guaranteed check-in time. So, I asked when the earliest they thought I could get into a room as I needed to shower and change before a business meeting I had at 4 pm and needed to leave the hotel at 3 pm to get to the meeting on time. They said there was nothing they could do and would let me know.

I don’t know about you, as a female in business (or anyone in business for that matter) having the ability to shower before a meeting is essential, especially if you fly in that day.   Again, I understand the logistics of having guests check out, having the room clean, and then giving the rooms to the next fleet of guests. What I didn’t understand is why the team members at other Conrad properties are empowered to make it right for the customer and the lack of consistency in this empowerment throughout their other properties?   How are they not consistently empowered to do what it takes to accommodate a guest; like ensuring they can use a shower before a meeting.

‘No’ Was The Only Option

After the first ‘no there’s nothing we can do for you’ response I walked away to grab some lunch. I was hopeful that my room would open up before 3 pm. Unfortunately, lunch had come and gone, and I still didn’t hear any news about the status of my room.   I went back to the front desk and asked again what the status of my room was. They let me know that the room was still not ready and there was nothing they could do. I then asked if they had a room or shower available that I could use. No was the answer. I then asked if I could use the spa’s shower; again, no was the answer. They did at this point offer the gym (which was located in another building and had no place to put my luggage). I would have to walk across to the other building with my luggage to use the shower when the spa was on the same level and the reception. I asked again, “are you sure I can’t use that shower?  I need to get ready, and I don’t want to lug my luggage”. Guess that the answer was? NO.

The Female Impact

At that point, I started to get very frustrated. As a customer, this type of experience is the type of experience that makes you wish you could find another place to stay.

As a Customer Experience expert, I know that the team is following the ‘policy’, so it’s hard for me to get upset at them. I also know there is a heck of a lot more wiggle room to make it right! As I have mentioned, I had stayed at other Conrad properties before and chose this one because of the previous experiences. As a woman, there was no compassion, concern or effort to help me from the team and that is enough for The Decision Maker to choose a different hotel for future business or personal trips. Did you know that the woman influences over 85% of all purchases made in the home? That includes the decisions on travel for her and her family! We are always scoping out great places to bring our family, even when we are on business trips. Creating an experience that makes her happy has a significant effect on earning the right to customer growth, loyalty and maintain the lifetime value of your customers.

I am here to inspire positive actionable change in the experiences the most influential consumer in the world has, and this is why I have decided to write these blog posts with a female perspective. I want to help organizations become better at the experience they provide their female customers (and customer’s in general).

With that, here are three ways organizations can change the experience for the better; to satisfy the Decision Maker and consumers alike:

Remove Rule (the word no) and Replace with Guidelines

Empower your team members to WOW the customer. In a large organization with multiple locations, this can be hard to control which is why a lot of organizations put rules into place. These rules, unfortunately, hurt the experience more often than not and these rules are often put into place because one or two customers abused the organization’s generosity.

By the year 2020 (which is pretty much today!) research shows that experience will beat out price and quality. If you want to keep your customers satisfied the only rule you should have in place is to do what’s right for the customer.  This brings me to the next suggestion I have; make exceptions based on each scenario presented.

Make Exceptions

It is imperative you listen to your guest’s story; remember rules are meant to be broken! Train your team to live in the grey so they can ensure they deliver on an exceptional guest experience! For example, in my case, the team member could’ve given me access to the spa shower instead of making me walk across to the other building (with my suitcase) to use the shower in the gym. The spa was on the same level as the lobby and in the same building as the rest of the rooms.  You need to Empower team members to handle service failure and make the exceptions to the ‘rules’ to make it right for the customer standing in front of them.

Train for Consistency  

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post consistency is the key to an exceptional experience for customers. Consistency is vital in building relationships and earning the trust that comes with customer growth. Consistency is what separates the Disney, Starbucks and Ritz Carleton’s of the world from the rest.

When I work with clients, I like to introduce a tool called ‘decision trees’. This simple tool helps to address the above two points and creates consistency in the experience you provide. By creating decision trees, you can empower your team members to make it right and give them all the options they need to WOW the customer. On top of it, they will feel like hero’s and your customers are happy to have done business with you.

What Does A Customer Remember?

I must have heard the word ‘NO’ at least a dozen times in the few short hours as I tried to check in and get showered for a meeting. A customer will remember two touchpoints above all else; the first impression and the last impression. My first impression was less then Steller, and unfortunately, they didn’t make up for it during my stay or at the end of my visit.

Here’s another tip about the female consumer (who remembers EVERYTHING!); they are the original social media; they will tell their stories to anyone who will listen. I must have told this story more than 20x before I left Miami and now I am sharing it with the social world.

It takes 12 positive interactions to make up for one. The Conrad broke my trust this visit, and I will be hesitant to stay there again.

Join me as I share my experiences as a customer (with a female perspective) as I experience them!

The Chief Purchasing Officer

Gender defines the way a message is perceived, from sales and service interactions to marketing, and call center scripting. All of these messages, moments, and service interactions sum up how your customers perceive your overall Brand Experience.

A Tailored Experience For The Decision Maker

So why would you want to take the time to create ways to tailor your Consumer Brand Experience to the female consumer? Women are the Chief Purchasing Officer in their household and the most influential consumer in the world. Women are the economy of the United States — according to inclusionary leadership group women spend or influence 83% of all non-business to business consumer purchases. Not only do they hold the veto vote on the majority of purchasing decisions, they are your number one referral source!

The reality is, most businesses don’t take this customer segment very seriously, and do not have the tools to give their team members to tailor the experience a woman receives when doing business with them. Furthermore, according to author Bridget Brennen, men make up 85% of the executives of the world! This gap between who buys and who designs the Customer Experience is enormous. The Brand Experience is ultimately created by men who are physiologically different from the female who influences almost 30 trillion dollars in consumer spending.

Gender Matters

Women crave connection more than their counterpart gender—men. Moreover, if gender defines the way a message is perceived, then we need to get better at connecting with The Chief Purchasing Officer as she holds the most significant influence in all purchases and influencing almost 30 trillion dollars in spending power.

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In a recent article I read in Automotive News Lincoln; Home Visits Revealed Customer’s Passions, Lincoln revealed the importance of getting to know their customers at a very intimate level. Lincoln has seen an impressive four consecutive years of global sales gains, what do they attribute this growth to? Getting to know their customers!

Getting Personal

To understand your customers, you have to know what they think and what they want!

The Golden Rule grandma use to preach; treat others the way you want to be treated is a thing of the past! The new rule in town is the Platinum Rule; treat others the way they want or need to be addressed. The only way to live this is to get to know your customers at a personal level.

To do just that, Lincoln got intimate with their would-be consumers by doing interviews in their homes. The Mission, as stated by Parker, was to “Find out whether they drink 2% milk or almond milk. Potato chips, or Kale chips. Do they have an Alexa or a Google Home? How are they living?”

These home tours gave Lincoln a unique perspective on the wants and needs of their customers, allowing them to craft tailored experiences in marketing and retail stores.

Now, I’m not suggesting that every brand start knocking on their customer’s doors and have a tour of their home, although you would learn a lot about your customers if you could! What I am suggesting is that you bring this mentality into your dealership. Get to know your customer, personally, when they are interacting with you.

Building Real Relationships

We must build real relationships with our customers before we ask for the sale. Customers buy from who they trust. Unfortunately, customers don’t usually ‘trust’ dealerships to have their best interest at heart. I have developed a formula that helps dealerships do just that, create real relationships with their customers.

The Connection Formula- CREATE was developed with the female customer in mind. After a lot of research of what The Decision Maker; The Woman wants in her shopping experience, I realized this formula is as effective with women as it is with men. Here is a simple tool your sales team can use when connecting with your customers and getting to know them at a personal level while earning their trust and their sale.

Compassion & Empathy

Showing compassion & empathy is the most overlooked, yet most powerful skill a salesperson can have in their tool belt. Having and showing compassion for their customers and their stories will help you to take a step back and listen to what they need or want at that moment.

Reveal Vulnerabilities

You are human too, right? When you can, connect with your customers over common ground. Reveal something about yourself that makes you believable and trustworthy. For example; your customer gets to talking to you about their son who is playing in a soccer tournament and how much time it takes to get him back and forth from practice. You happen to have a son that also plays soccer (or any other sport) can reveal that you to have the same frustrations. By doing this, you have created a connection outside of purchasing a vehicle.

Engage Genuinely

Nothing is worse than a ‘fake’ interaction with a Sales Associate. Customers know who you are and will not engage with you. Find something out about your customer, so you can genuinely engage with them.

Actively Listen

What is our favourite thing to talk about? Ourselves! Customers will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know to tailor his/her experience if you actively listen for it! Recent studies show that when we are having a conversation with someone else, we are already formulating our response 1/3 of the way through what the other person is saying. What does this mean? We don’t actually hear what people have to say to us; and if we don’t hear it, how can we use the information our customers are giving us to make an above average experience come to life?

If you actively listen, all those details that Lincoln found while doing home interviews will come to the surface in your interactions with your customers. Make the conversation less about you, and more about what personal details you can uncover about your customers.

Take Time

Relationships take time to develop. I know, time is money. If you take the time to get to know your customer, create a real relationship, build trust, and provide a tailored experience, you will spend less time on getting them to sign on the dotted line! Put the time up front in building a real relationship, and it will be paid back in spades. Not only will they buy from you, but they will also refer you!

Evolve

A relationship is ever evolving, as a customer’s life is a constant evolution, and you must continue to work on and develop the relationships with your customers. People go through life changes, and if you want a customer for life, you will need to continually evolve the relationship you have with them so you can keep a pulse on their ever-changing wants and needs.

The Change is not Easy, but Necessary

Breaking the stigma of automotive retail is the key to its future success. Customers want and need to feel understood by the Sales Associate, they need to trust their dealership, and the experience they receive must compete with the Starbucks of the world. It will be an uphill battle to break this current stigma. However, it can be done.

Robert Parker explains the challenge with this new way of thinking “it’s like teaching a pitcher to throw left-handed after they have thrown right-handed their whole life.” He continued to say “Dealerships are used to a certain way.” This new thought process “was about getting the customers settled and comfortable. It has to be a courtship.”

Get to know your customers on a personal level. Create a real relationship with them, and use the beautiful details you uncover to tailor the experience you provide them in your dealership.