Here's the difference in a nutshell:
Women like to buy in before they buy. Men do too. Men, however, will more likely buy into the value of the product before they buy. Women are more likely to buy into the seller. This is a key difference between marketing to men and marketing to women.
Here's the story:
The other day at Lowe’s, I was pricing out sliding glass doors for the four-season room on the back of my house. One of the door panels had become damaged during a recent hailstorm when a limb broke and crashed into the window. When I arrived in the door department, the sales person was helping a couple with some questions they had. This gave me plenty of time to observe different buying styles in action.
The sales associate was doing a great job answering their questions. Together, he and the husband were talking about the energy efficiency of high-performance glazing. Was it better to go with dual glazing or double-paned glass with low emissivity coating? The husband ran his hands over the vinyl cladding around the outside of the door and asked about the practicality of top-mounted insect screens. There was a lot of verbal interaction as the husband sized up the product and relative value of the product in relation to the price listed.
The wife stood quietly nearby. She was not disinterested, mind you. She was just sizing up the product in a different way. She was watching the sales associate. She was deciding whether to buy into him and what he was saying. So, she asked another type of question, “What do you think about the sliding glass doors that have the curable vinyl cladding on the outside and the warmth of wood on the inside?” Note that she asked, “What do you think?” Asking a specific question about the product was just the vehicle for her to find out more about the sales associate’s ideas, thoughts, and information. In short, about him.
When she spoke, she looked him straight in his eyes. While he referenced the sliding glass door by looking at it when he answered her, she barely gave the door a glance. She had already evaluated the product. Plus, she could tell from her husband’s questions and responses that he was already considering the purchase. She wanted to know if she could trust the sales associate. Her body language and type of question was indicative of someone who is considering buying into a person. Pam’s statement of people buy us, and then they buy what we have to offer rang true. This was so obvious in the buying styles of this husband and wife. The husband was considering the value of the product. The wife was considering the trustability of the salesperson.
They also did my work for me. When the salesperson asked if he could help me, I said, “No thanks. I just need a couple of prices so I can comparison shop.” Then I turned to the couple and said, “Thank you! You guys were great!” They looked at each other, puzzled. They had no way of knowing that they’d just given me the perfect example of the difference in marketing to men and women.
What do you think? What's been your experience? Do you think women buy in more then men?
Susan L. Reid
Inner Samurai Business Expert
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