How Emotions Make the Sale
How do you sell perfume without
giving the customer a whiff?
And what about the magic of dolls
for little girls these days? Are sales dead in a world driven by digital gaming
and other cyber adventures?
Four retailers who spoke at a
conference in May at Wharton’s Jay
H. Baker Retailing Center came up
with same answer: Connect with the consumer on an emotional level, and the
sales will follow.
Three out of four emphatically
agreed that while there are unlimited ways to connect with the consumer, video
has become one of the most effective tools. “If a prospective buyer clicks on a
video on our website, the likelihood of an actual purchase goes up 50%,” said
Lindsay Rice, vice president of direct-to-consumer at The North Face, an
international purveyor of outdoor clothing and gear for men, women and
children.
Videos from The North Face deliver
precise consumer information — such as the height of a model so a consumer can
gauge how long a jacket looks on a 5’4” frame — as well as an emotional
experience, Rice noted. They depict jaw-dropping bike trails, picturesque
sunrises, harrowing descents and handsome athletes completely decked out in
North Face style. The pulsating music is designed to trigger an at-home, indoor
adrenaline rush. Action-packed videos play a “huge role” in creating a
youthful, can-do vibe for consumers in North Face stores and reinforcing the
corporate motto: “Never stop exploring,” Rice said.
Founded more than 40 years ago in
California, The North Face is a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., a company of 35
brands, including Wrangler, Lee, Kipling, Nautica, Reef and Timberland. “Every
day I get a report card,” noted Rice about the sales numbers that pour in from
websites, mobile devices and stores around the world.
In addition, Rice added that he is
responsible for “building connections with consumers” — from product planning
to design and location of company stores, hiring and training of sales people
who exude the corporate culture, and sponsoring actual expeditions that
showcase “living the brand.” A new challenge in the fiercely competitive
business of athletic wear is an alarming decline in interest among youth in
outdoor activities. That has added a new mission to Rice and his colleagues to
re-ignite that passion.
Gwyn Wiadro, vice president of
women’s apparel for Baltimore-based sports apparel manufacturer Under Armour,
noted that her firm also uses videos to focus consumers on the pride and
exhilaration of winning a competitive event, from basketball to boxing. In
them, athletes jump for joy and high-five their teammates. Like North Face, the
obvious message is: People who wear these brands are winners. “Our brand DNA is
‘fighting, bold, loud, hungry, no challenge is too great,’” said Wiadro.
Selling to women requires a more
body-conscious approach, she added. “Our pants … cover that muffin top. If
you’re going to spend $80 for them, please buy our seamless underwear as well.
For a female runner, the second most important piece of equipment — after her
shoes — is her bra.” Meanwhile, T-shirts for girls aim to instill the company’s
mantra in that target audience by sporting phrases such as “Beat Me? Dream On”
or “Winning is a Habit.”
However, for young boys — a market
dominated by Under Armour — the pitch is different. Under a licensing agreement
with Marvel, images of Iron Man, Spider-Man, Batman, the Incredible Hulk and
Captain America are in high demand. “Kids love their superheroes, and these
shirts become their prized possessions. In the eyes of my kids’ friends, I’m
the coolest mom in Baltimore because I work for [Under Armour],” she said.
Selling Perfume through
Storytelling
Anne Martin-Vachon, chief
merchandising officer for HSN, an interactive home shopping network that
broadcasts live 24 hours a day, showed conference attendees a video that sold
66,000 bottles of perfume at $50 a pop in six hours to customers who had no
idea how it smelled.
Called “My Life,” the perfume was
launched under the name of R&B singer Mary J. Blige. The video shows
flashy, brooding images of Blige — an entertainer, businesswoman and survivor
of tough times — with cuts from Blige’s own discography.
Instead of sales people,
Martin-Vachon described online marketers as “story tellers…. We never lose
sight of the fact that shopping is supposed to be fun.” Eighty-four percent of
the company’s customers are female, with an average income of $69,000, she
noted. “We want to connect with people in an emotional way. We want their trust
and their loyalty. If we build a relationship [with a consumer] and she doesn’t
buy today, she will buy another time.”
The fourth panelist at the
conference comes from a world where emotion looms large. Gale Jarvis, president
of Alexander Doll Co., a 90-year-old private manufacturer of quality dolls
known to families and collectors worldwide as Madame Alexander, said: “We know
our customers want escape. They want dreams and magic; not reality. It’s very
important that we understand that magic.”
The company, which has incorporated
a number of multicultural dolls into its lineup, does not miss an opportunity
to tug at the heartstrings. There are dolls dressed for every holiday and for
every Disney story, from Cinderella to Cruella de Vil. Dolls dressed in
national dress from countries around the world are largely for the collector
market. More than 15,000 Madame Alexander dolls are on eBay, a few with $1,500
price tags. And like Star Wars and Rocky Horror fans, adult Madame Alexander
devotees frequently attend conventions dressed like their dolls.
Jarvis came to the company from
Macy’s, where she was responsible for exclusive product launches of Cabbage
Patch Kids and storytelling bear Teddy Ruxpin. In her role at Alexander Doll,
Jarvis introduced the first Madame Alexander baby nursery at the FAO Schwarz
flagship store in New York. Here, children choose a four-pound baby doll from a
simulated hospital setting and discuss care with an employee dressed as a
nurse. Once chosen, the child completes adoption papers, wraps her newborn in a
blanket for the ride home, and parents part with $120.
“We want to own that emotional
connection between mother and daughter,” said Jarvis.
http://knowledgetoday.wharton.upenn.edu/2013/06/how-emotions-make-the-sale/
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