Lookin’ good, Mom!

In the world of fashion, it can be tough to appeal to both moms and non-moms with the same brand. A major fashion retailer finds that to be the case with one of their brands and looks for a way, if any, to appeal to both groups. Currently their target audience does not include moms, and they are concerned that expanding their audience to include them might compromise the reputation of their brand.

OBJECTIVES

Three key objectives are set:

1. Determine the most viable market – Moms, Non-Moms, or Both?
Delve into both groups to determine which would be the most likely to respond to the client’s brand messages and remain loyal to the brand.

2. Understand how both groups view fashion.
Determine if there is enough commonality between the two groups to target them both, or if they are too different and that one must be selected over the other.

3. Identify insights to leverage when communicating to target.
After identifying one or both target groups, use research insights to help craft key messaging that resonates best with target and touch on the emotional selling points identified.

SERVICES

For this project, the primary service required is:

Research Services (link to more info below)

Quality research is the foundation on which successful marketing decisions are made.  The Research Services contract is tailored to the specific project objectives to create a comprehensive base of knowledge.

For this project, it is crucial to get inside the minds of both groups – moms and non-moms – to gain a clear understanding of how they view fashion and how that relates to their interaction with the brand. This requires face-to-face, in-depth research in which product users are expected to give deep, visceral feedback regarding both the brand as well as the product category as a whole. (See METHODOLOGIES listed below.)

In addition to Research Services, this project also requires:

Advisory Services (link to more info below)

Research is only as good as how well it is applied across a business’s customer experience. Through Education Services, the retailer takes the insights gained through research, and implements them organization-wide using tools like Sales Training Workshops, Single Session Seminars, Executive Training, On-going Topic-Specific Classes, Marketing and Selling to Women, Online Training Classes, Custom Multi-Day Retreats, and much more. The retailer also takes the insights discovered through research and imparts them to the on-floor retail sales staff through a series of sessions. In these sessions, sales associates are not only trained in general selling to women techniques, but also in how to sell to moms vs. non-moms (based on the research).

METHODOLOGIES

This project requires a combination of traditional research techniques and custom solutions:

• In-Depth Personal Interviews
  The research process begins with an in-depth, face-to-face interview with each participant to set a benchmark for their values and attitudes regarding styles, brands, etc.

• Shop-Along Trips
  The research team passively follows each participant on a 5-hour shopping trip during which they record responses to clothing and styles, likes and dislikes, wants, needs etc.

• Ethnographic Lifestyle Immersions
  To truly understand the mindset of target consumers and gain the deepest possible level of understanding of women’s fashion choices, preferences, and purchasing behaviors, the research team “immerses” themselves in each participant’s lifestyle. This includes thorough inventories of their closets to review styles, interviews with their friends about their clothing preferences, and more.

RESULTS

(Due to the confidential nature of research project, and client agreements in force, specific results cannot be shared. Outcomes have been synthesized based on an amalgam of results from similar projects.)

The research portion of this project produces valuable insights and gives the retailer a deeper, more valuable understanding of its target consumer. The target consumer is identified as a “cute mom” versus a “traditional mom”.

In addition, the process generates relevant consumer language to effectively speak to the client’s target audience about fashion.

The hybrid research technique, with the addition of the post-research educational aspect to train the sales staff, results in the improvement of all aspects of the shopping, marketing, and product experience and ultimately strengthens the brand.