Women DOMINATE retail. According to statistics compiled by Tom Peters on his website, women make the final buying decisions on 83% of all consumer purchases in America. Home furnishings?--94% Houses?--91% Do-it-yourself?--80% (yes that means Home Depot overwhelmingly sells to women!!!) Bank accounts?--89% Women DOMINATE retail.
So is it any surprise that on top of all the social change we struggle with in funeral service, that our male dominated, manufacturing oriented (think how much influence the casket companies have in this business) industry has a hard time helping us connect with our most important consumers??? It's no surprise to me whatsoever!
I have a challenge for the casket companies. Men, bring your wives into the selection rooms you have designed and ask these women if they would ever shop in these environments. Then LISTEN to what they have to say and begin to design accordingly.
Done honestly, I guarantee it will open your eyes to a whole new world of possibilities and profitability.
Peters puts it this way in his list of 100 ways to succeed. #36:
Males: TAKE PLEDGE2005!
I PLEDGE ... THAT I WILL NEVER ENGAGE IN ANY SORT OF DISCUSSION OF PRODUCTS-SERVICES-EXPERIENCES THAT INCLUDE WOMEN AS CUSTOMERS-CLIENTS, UNLESS ONE THIRD OR MORE OF THOSE PRESENT AND IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY ARE WOMEN. IN SUCH SETTINGS, I PLEDGE ... THAT I WILL WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN'S VIEWS ARE HEARD FIRST & LAST AND ARE CLEARLY INCORPORATED IN A COMMANDING WAY IN ACTION PLANS. I PLEDGE ... THAT I WILL NOT SIGN OFF ON AN INITIATIVE AIMED PRIMARILY AT WOMEN UNLESS WOMEN ARE ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY IN AGREEMENT. I FURTHER PLEDGE ... THAT I WILL BECOME A "PIONEER" IN GETTING WOMEN-CENTRIC VIEWS CLEARLY INTO THE MAINSTREAM.
Any takers?
This is the kind of thinking we need to inject into our industry. Women DOMINATE household purchases. We ignore this at our collective peril.
Guys (Batesville, Aurora, York-Milso-Matthews, Wilbert, etc.), let me know which one of you takes the challenge seriously and does it first. I can't wait to tell my readers who you are and what you have learned.
You are soooo right. Our profession is way overloaded on the product side, so much so that we have almost completely lost sight of the emotional side, especially when it comes to the people sitting in the pews or chapel chairs. Just take a look at some FH websites. You'll see pictures of funeral homes, caskets, vaults, urns, trinkets, etc. You have to hunt to find a story about the people who died (except for the owners of the FH--their whole history is right up front). It's no wonder the consumer is voting with his feet. The future is in focusing on the life that was lived, not on us and our funeral homes and our need to sell stuff because a death occurred. It's a paradigm shift and the consumer is way ahead of us.
Posted by: Jim Bauschke | October 11, 2007 at 09:10 AM
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Women have been ignored to the peril of many a sales dollar lost.
However, the way your post is written is also a bit exclusive to women. Are there no women in decision-making positions in casket companies? Are there none in the industry who read this blog? I'd argue there are more of us than most people realize.
Posted by: Michelle | October 15, 2007 at 05:12 PM
Well Michelle, I have known a couple of women in second tier executive positions through the years. I don't think they were in key decision making roles, though I may be mistaken about that.
In any case, that's very far from the 1/3rd standard set by Tom Peters in his "pledge" above.
Thanks for the comment.
BT
Posted by: BT | October 15, 2007 at 05:38 PM