So today in class we were assigned a deprivation assignment, the premise of which is to choose something from your daily life and give it up for a week. The whole notion of the assignment is to understand the implications of the product in a consumer's life.
So ladies and gentlemen, my class voted and this upcoming week I will be giving up....drum roll please...BRAS! Stay tuned, this should be an interesting study.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Lipping out
While sitting in class yesterday I noticed a fellow peer was dressed up for an interview. This girl does not usually dress quite this way, and looked very nice, however I noticed one thing about her outfit. Because her shirt was made of a lycra material, you could see that her bra did not fit her properly. By this, what I mean to say is that she had a "ridge" where her bra lipped out, creating a gap between her and her bra. This may go unnoticed by men, however, women tend to nit-pick about this very phenomenon.
What a simple solution it would have been for her to just get a bra that fit her correctly....problem solved. After class I was discussing this with my friend, and she, too, commented on how she had recently gone to a conference, dressed up, and had the same problem. She made reference to her cup size changing recently, saying that she knew that was the cause of the shirt mishap.
Two things stand out in my mind from these situations: 1) women don't seem to know how often to be fitted (every 6 months if you were wondering), as they continue to wear bras that do not fit and wonder why their clothes don't look quite right and 2) women seem to think that the reason you can see that shelf line is because of the shirt, not the bra. Both of these circumstances are opportunities where a salesperson did not assist the customer in TEACHING her about her bra. I wonder sometimes why women think that its an untold rule of thumb that we all know how to properly fit ourselves? But it's not. Most of us didn't have the "bra" conversation way back when.
Moral of the story: make sure that your customer knows not just the features and immediate benefits of the product, but what that product applies to outside of expected uses, and how that product fits into their lifestyle. Guaranteed your customer will appreciate you taking the extra step, and in turn trust in your company the next time that they need something.
What a simple solution it would have been for her to just get a bra that fit her correctly....problem solved. After class I was discussing this with my friend, and she, too, commented on how she had recently gone to a conference, dressed up, and had the same problem. She made reference to her cup size changing recently, saying that she knew that was the cause of the shirt mishap.
Two things stand out in my mind from these situations: 1) women don't seem to know how often to be fitted (every 6 months if you were wondering), as they continue to wear bras that do not fit and wonder why their clothes don't look quite right and 2) women seem to think that the reason you can see that shelf line is because of the shirt, not the bra. Both of these circumstances are opportunities where a salesperson did not assist the customer in TEACHING her about her bra. I wonder sometimes why women think that its an untold rule of thumb that we all know how to properly fit ourselves? But it's not. Most of us didn't have the "bra" conversation way back when.
Moral of the story: make sure that your customer knows not just the features and immediate benefits of the product, but what that product applies to outside of expected uses, and how that product fits into their lifestyle. Guaranteed your customer will appreciate you taking the extra step, and in turn trust in your company the next time that they need something.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Weekend Trend Alert!
One trend that I've noticed over the course of my three years working for a lingerie store is that no matter where you are in the country, the personality types that you see on Saturday and Sunday are consistent. I have now worked in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Tennessee and regardless of the state, you can count on Saturday traffic to be friendly, talkative, and overall desiring of an associates help.
Sunday, however, seems to be the day that everyone is much more guarded, refusing assistance and being much more irritable. At first I found this a strange phenomenon, but after discussions with other sales associates and friends, I think the proximity that Sunday has to Monday has a large part in the attitude change.
So what should you do to assist customers on Sunday when even a simple "hello" provokes their guards? Make sure to allow them the space to feel that they are not being bombarded by salespeople. Offering a friendly "Hello, my name is......I'll be right here if you need any help finding anything today" helps to establish your presence in case of need without pitching sales right when they walk in the door. I've found that after a few minutes of perusing, if you then reengage with him/her, he or she will be much more accepting of help, sales pitches, and promotional offers that you have to address.
Sunday, however, seems to be the day that everyone is much more guarded, refusing assistance and being much more irritable. At first I found this a strange phenomenon, but after discussions with other sales associates and friends, I think the proximity that Sunday has to Monday has a large part in the attitude change.
So what should you do to assist customers on Sunday when even a simple "hello" provokes their guards? Make sure to allow them the space to feel that they are not being bombarded by salespeople. Offering a friendly "Hello, my name is......I'll be right here if you need any help finding anything today" helps to establish your presence in case of need without pitching sales right when they walk in the door. I've found that after a few minutes of perusing, if you then reengage with him/her, he or she will be much more accepting of help, sales pitches, and promotional offers that you have to address.
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