Practice Personality

Since Jennifer L. Aaker at UCLA published her research years ago describing five primary dimensions of brand personality, many other researchers have applied the five dimensions to better understand why consumers do what they do.
     I’ve adapted the framework as I’ve worked with retailers to project their brand better by maintaining a consistent personality. Prof. Aaker’s studies had included not only product brand names like Crest toothpaste, but also retailer branding like Avon, Holiday Inn, Kmart, Macy’s, Marriott, McDonald’s, Metropolitan Life, Prudential, and Sears.
     Here are the personality dimension names and traits that were statistically associated with each dimension in the early research:

• Sincerity: Down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful
• Excitement: Daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date
• Competence: Reliable, intelligent, successful
• Sophistication: Upper class, charming
• Ruggedness: Outdoorsy, tough

     Now, more recent research at University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign and Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research adds other hints about how to project the image you’ve chosen. Here’s my adaptation of those recommendations for the small to midsize retail business:

• Sincerity: Tell shoppers about your attention to families as customers and employees.
• Excitement: Give shoppers experiences that hadn’t expected, even if the surprises may startle them briefly.
• Competence: Brag about the expertise of your store staff while also demonstrating respect for the expertise of the shoppers.
• Sophistication: Use tactics associated with selling to women, such as harmonious flow in the merchandising and in the aisle’s shopping paths.
• Ruggedness: Aim for the sharp contrast and clear directions men prefer in their shopping, but recognize that since women do much of the shopping, you probably won’t want to eschew feminine touches altogether.

     The Illinois/Norwegian researchers also suggest you fit your store’s retailing personality to how your target market members want to see themselves. But realize that whatever you choose to be on each of the dimensions will always carry some good and bad points. For instance, stores with a sincere, competent, or less exciting personality are usually highly respected, but may have trouble keeping customers after a product recall or bad customer service. That’s because the target market members don’t like surprises when the surprises make it look like the retailer is inept.
     But with stores that have an exciting, less sincere, or less competent personality, customers are ready for a reaction like, “We make shopping more fun with the unexpected,” and, “We’re always learning so we can get better.”

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

Click below for more:
Project Your Store's Personality
Satisfy Each Customer’s Self-Concept
Incorporate Family Values into Your Retailing
Overcome Gender Stereotypes