Understanding our Buyer Segments

As a first step to building an effective web communications strategy, it is essential that we have a clear understanding of the various segments that we cater to. We would need to break buyers into distinct groups, and understand what problems those groups have and how to solve them. An in-depth understanding of various segments will help us in creating different experiences and avoid the trap of providing one-size-fits-all solutions and communications. Here are some of the segments that I could think of. The key here is to think of distinct groups with distinct needs.

i. First time buyer
ii. Gifter
iii. Special occasion purchaser (Anniversary, Graduation, Birthday)
iv. Connoisseur
v. Accessorizer
vi. Corporate Buyer

1. What do you think are the various buyer segments for luxury watches? Can you flesh them out with real examples?

2. What are the problems faced by each of the buyer segments? Here are some examples. Can you identify problems for each of the segments identified by you:

-First time buyer:
i. Why should I buy a watch at all?
ii. Which brand really suits my pocket?
iii. Which brand suits my personality?
iv. What are the various terminologies used to describe watches: automatic, mechanical, chronograph, tachymeter, etc.
v. How do I know if I am buying a genuine watch, etc.
-Gifter:
i. Would a watch really be an appropriate gift?
ii. How do I ensure that the recipient understands the real value of the gift?
iii. What if the recipient doesn’t like the gift? How can ensure that the recipient knows he can change the gift without embarrassments both sides.

3. Should we just rely on our gut instincts to identify these segments? I personally have had no experience at all at dealing with real customers and therefore cannot imagine that I can perform this segmentation effectively. One option is to have an understanding from our front end staff. However, while this approach will be far more effective compared to simply relying on our gut instincts, this may not be fully effective either, firstly because our front-end staff may not have the conceptual understanding of buyer segments and, secondly, because - lets face it- we are not just talking of our existing buyers but also potential buyers. The latter happens to be more than 90% of the market. There may be far too many segments that we simply don’t have exposure to. Is market research the best way for this?

Goals - What should a web strategy accomplish for a retailer

I think it is important for any retailer to have an idea of what his/her web strategy should accomplish. While the overarching objectives are clear - building revenues and retaining customers- the actual metrics or measures remain difficult to identify and much more difficult to quantify. Ill-defined objectives lead the retailer to focus on metrics and measures that are, at best, irrelevant , and at worst, altogether misleading.

To identify and focus on the right goals, I think we should obtain successive levels of understanding of goals till we arrive at those that follow the two principles: the goals should have firm link to the overarching objectives and, they should facilitate easy measurement and quantification. As an example, if revenue building is an overarching goal, one of the ways is to build a community of watch lovers who will act as evangelists for our brand. While this goal has a direct link to the overarching objective, it is not easy to measure to quantify, so we will need to go one step deeper. The whole process would look like the following.

Revenue Building <-- Obtain referrals <--Build a community<-- nurture the community with various community building tools such creation of profiles, interests, etc<-- attract watch lovers to the community

The specific measure then would be the number of profiles created. Other measure could be:

No. of leads generated
Conversion of leads to sales
No. of contact details obtained, etc. etc.