Attend to Genetic Influences in Selling

When selling to a family shopping together, do you have a sense the family’s preferences are so strong they’re attributable more to genes than experience? Researchers at Stanford University and University of Florida-Gainesville say you’re on to something.
     The reason? Adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. AGCT are the four bases in each strand of DNA, our genetics, and some consumer tendencies have a strong genetic component. If you find that tendency in one family member shopping with you, expect to find it in others:

• Whether to select a compromise option or go for the choices further out. Given the choice among the $10, $20, and $30 sizes, some people will select the $20. If the choice is presented as among $20, $30, and $40, they will tend to choose the $30. When having the $30 version would serve the needs of the consumer well, present the alternatives to favor that selection.
• Whether the shopper is prevention-focused or promotion-focused. Prevention-focused shoppers put top priority on purchases which help them avoid losing what they have now. Promotion-focused shoppers put top priority on items which help them gain more than they have now. Because this tendency is genetic, a person is usually either protection-focused or promotion-focused over the course of their lifetime as a shopper. And if one member of the family is prevention-focused, other members of the family are likely to be, too.
• Whether the shopper is a satisficer or a maximizer. When considering a purchase, people will gather information until they reach a point where the effort to gather more information isn’t worth it to them because of the weight of evidence they’ve already gathered. For satisficers, this balance point is substantially lower than it is for maximizers. When you’re selling to a family of maximizers, be ready to keep feeding more information and then anticipate a series of visits to the store or website.

     The researchers also found that likings for specific products have a genetic component, such that if one member of the family likes it, there’s a good chance others in the family will, too. This can be helpful in guiding gift selections. Those product categories include chocolate, mustard, hybrid cars, science fiction movies, and jazz.
     On the other hand, there was no evidence for a genetic component in liking tattoos. Even if Caitlin is itching to get some ink, it could be tough to sell Mom on the idea.

For your profitability: Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers

Click below for more:
Identify Influencers in Family Decision Making
Move the Customer to Accept Higher Prices
Sell Either Protection or Promotion