Get Out.
No, really—get out!
Can your Experience Design say “This place is not for you” to certain visitors, based on:
- Age
- Habits/preferences
- Gender
YES.
Sometimes telling someone they’re not your Ideal Customer can be an important way of defining your firm.
Warning! Warning! I am NOT talking about discriminating against people who attempt to shop with your company! We’re discussing focused Experience Design here. Focused on who is, and yes, is not, your Ideal Customer.
How to do it:
Even little verbal cues, such as staff who overuse the word “like” when they aren’t describing something or someone they have affection for, can exclude.
If that’s what you want, you can drive people over 35 crazy in a hurry using “like” several times in each sentence. It’s the meaningless, less-offensive version of using the eff word six times per sentence. (Do you think they allow staff at the jewelry counter at Saks to say, “it’s, like, so beautiful on you”?)
How NOT to do it:
- Attitude
- Service
- Rude or foul language
Though I may not be your target market, there will be times when I will put up with the frou-frou, or the house music, or the overwhelming scent of patchouli, to broaden my own Experience or to shop for someone else. Though you may think my buzz-topped 20-something cousin has wandered in accidentally, he’s got his buyout check from the Internet marketing company he helped found in his pocket and bizarrely he’s decided it’s a good time to propose to his girlfriend. He wants a major rock to show her that he means business.
Never try to dissuade buyers with your sneers. These days, they may just have a blog. And a lot of friends.
Let me know in subtle ways, in case I’ve wandered in unawares, but don’t make me feel unwelcome if I decide to stay. Very often your most unlikely customer is there with an agenda and may be the best customer of the day.
WHO might want to do it:
Nightclubs do it. Tattoo parlors do it. Mercedes dealers do it.
Go ahead, say “No place I’d go does it.”
Fabric stores and auto parts stores do it. Lots of places you’d go do it.
Oh, yes, really, a lot of places are trying to tell somebody, “This place is not for you.”
Who else might want to do it?
Is it right for you?
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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5 September 2008, 7:51 am
hmmmmmm.
hmmmm
boy
oh
boy
This is a subject that gets my dander up. And I know you are right that places do it all the time. And I also know that every company sends a subtle and not so subtle message just through their branding that should allow a client to see how they have positioned themselves. But I personally get really P.O’d when a company tried to determine that I am not their ideal client. Unless we are talking about a bar and underaged drinking I can’t think of an execption. I have been on the recieving end of this and I’m telling you… those places lost out. You can’t ever REALLY know who a person is or WHO THEY KNOW.
Wendi Kelly’s last blog post…Giving Back to the Givers
5 September 2008, 8:09 am
Wendi,
I knew this had potential to ruffle feathers. I wrote it months ago but kept looking around, observing various places, talking to business owners, to see if I agreed with myself, and I do. “Receiving end” makes me wonder if they violated the rules about their behavior, which should still be welcoming to you.
Design-wise, I’d be shocked if you don’t find there are places you love that are sending you inclusion/ exclusion messages.
(My favorite home improvement center almost has an ejector seat for lost ladies as I enter the tool barn to drool, but I love them anyway; my sister who was once a mechanic has to work through this in auto shops; tell me Mr. Chartrand doesn’t feel misplaced—design-wise—shopping for knitting supplies!)
Thanks for feeling free to display the ruffled feathers here. I love a good discussion!
Regards,
Kelly
5 September 2008, 8:14 am
“Let me know in subtle ways, in case I’ve wandered in unawares, but don’t make me feel unwelcome if I decide to stay.”
That’s the best way to put it. I think it is not so much excluding one set of people as meeting the exclusive needs of another set of people. If your clothing store is aimed at punk rockers and your décor and customer experience reflects that, Mr. GQ will not want to be there. But most importantly, your target market *will* want to be there, and more desperately than if you chose a “middle of the road” type of atmosphere to please all types of people.
That being said, perhaps Mr. GQ wants to get a nose ring for his sister. He may not feel comfortable in the atmosphere, but that is where the staff are so important. They don’t have to make him feel like he “belongs” — he never will. But as you say, don’t sneer. Be friendly, helpful, courteous. Make it as easy as possible to buy what he wants or needs to buy, and let *him* make the decision about whether or not he should be there.
~Graham
Graham Strong’s last blog post…Find and Replace - Update!
5 September 2008, 8:33 am
Didn’t James write something about this with respect to blog design? I mean, it could be something as simple as font size, colour choices and so forth - things making it hard to read, or making the blog page look busy - things that would discourage some age groups (trying not to generalize, here though, because one of the best drivers I know, with the best eyesight, is twice my age…)
I’ve given this a bit of thought, as I’m wondering about a business idea for some of these folks…
Brett Legree’s last blog post…viking fridays - raiding party.
5 September 2008, 9:14 am
Interestingly, I got my tattoo done at a tattoo studio. Seriously, it’s done up like a nice salon. Right down the road, closer to where the street kids hang out, the same owner has a drop in tattoo parlour, that looks like a fairly typical tattoo parlour (although it’s a lot cleaner than the other ones in the same strip). So, he is brilliantly appealing to two target audiences. The kids stay out of the salon, and the adults stay out of the parlour.
BTW, I hated clothes shopping with my girls when they were teenagers. The bright fluorescent lights and the loud techno music would drive me batty.
Urban Panther’s last blog post…The chairdrobe defines my life
5 September 2008, 9:15 am
I swear Chapters Bookstore does this.
You’re allowed to browse and sit down and read books as long as you want.
But they play really obnoxious, loud music. It’s not New Age, Big Bands, Classic Rock or anything youth-oriented. It’s just obscure mediocre eccletic crap, that NOBODY likes.
It’s just so DAMNED ANNOYING, and you can’t drown it out. You just want to leave, screaming from the store.
I suspect they do this on purpose, to keep you in the store long enough to buy something, but then please sir, will you get the hell out.
Friar’s last blog post…Forbidden Laughter: Times I’ve Laughed when I Shouldn’t Have.
5 September 2008, 3:12 pm
Graham,
“… meeting the exclusive needs of another set of people.” Nicely put! Still, there is an element of giving your fans something to push against, defining “the enemy”… kinda like we were talking about in Wednesday’s post. As much as I believe in knowing “why,” I think “why not” can be a very useful question as well.
Brett,
Yes, I think he discussed age/design issues… someplace… though I just went through my bookmarks and couldn’t find it.
White type on black says “go away” to me, as does small type, busy-busy designs… but some of that is usability in general, not exactly exclusion. It happens to be that as we age we’re more sensitive to it, but nobody reads white on black as well as good ol’ black on white, no matter their claims.
Panther,
Tattoo “studio”? Ooh, never heard of such a thing. What a clever tattoo artist, to even acknowledge that there *is* another market besides the young and way-too-hip for his work!
Sadly, I hear you on the teen stores. We’re just hitting the age where I feel like a human wallet. I couldn’t give an opinion over the noise, which is just as well, because I can clearly see that within a couple of years my opinion will be of no consequence. *sigh*
Friar,
That is me in Old Navy and H&M. I want to leave, screaming. Old Navy I’ve given up on, and H&M… tempted to use earplugs to shop there.
Bookstores down here are so comfy I could settle in for a week—thank goodness, because I’m a hardcore nonfiction addict. My daughter thinks they see me coming and put on music I’ll love, at a volume where I notice but don’t have to look up… perfect. I settle into an armchair and I’m joyful.
Until later,
Kelly
5 September 2008, 4:43 pm
Kelly,
I agree about the text colour… though I must be getting old myself, because the black on white hurts my eyes a bit (the white, anyway…)
^ ^
. .
^
o
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post…viking fridays - raiding party.
5 September 2008, 7:25 pm
Brett,
You’re right behind me, my dear.
I’ve read that the very, very best readability online involves black type with a just-barely grey background, to lower the contrast a touch. If you think about it, newspapers aren’t bright white, so it makes sense.
When I was doing The Big Switch I tried it out, but it looked too artsy, so I stuck with black and white.
Until later,
Kelly
5 September 2008, 7:27 pm
Kelly,
Hey, we’re both “experienced”, no?
I figured that would be about right (thinking of a newspaper) - usually I just turn the brightness down a bit, or if there’s a lot of e-text to read, I use a reader program like Tofu or Machine Age Reader.
-Brett
5 September 2008, 7:39 pm
Brett,
LOL at “experienced.” Yeah, that’s it! I sort of touch on my “experience” in tomorrow’s Tip. Sometimes it causes a bit of confusion.
Still, it’s a good age. I thought I’d feel like an antique at 39, but I basically feel like a well-practiced 26-year-old.
Later…
5 September 2008, 8:11 pm
Kelly,
Yeah… I’m 29 with 9 years experience (almost 10!) - I think 40 is the new 29?
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post…viking fridays - stones.