Who should you focus on?

21 July 2008

She's hard to woo, but once won over will remain loyal to a particular brand. He, on the other hand, is easily swayed to switch products, but is fickle.

Through his research on consumer behaviour, Monash researcher Associate Professor Nelson Ndubisi has found that women - though hard to convince - are more loyal to a particular brand than men. While men are easier to win over as new customers, they are also more likely to switch to another brand.

By combing through the details of his work, companies spending millions to woo customers can better plan and execute their marketing campaigns for the best combination of results.

He said the results of the study are consistent with the view of men being more likely to take risks. Women, on the other hand, are harder to convince to switch brands."As such, men are more likely to be persuaded to try out a new brand"

"However, these new customers that are easier to win over can easily be lost, if efforts are not made to maintain their loyalty to the brand.

"Women, on the other hand, are harder to win over as customers as they usually take their time in considering adopting a new brand. They tend to be more cautious and think very carefully before making the decision to switch brands."

"But once won over, they're more likely to stick to a particular brand," said Dr Ndubisi.

He said the results would be useful in planning relationship marketing and customer loyalty programmes as they would impact the retention of customers.

"Customer loyalty can be created, reinforced and retained by marketing plans aimed at building trust, demonstrating committment to service, communication with customers in a timely, reliable and proactive fashion and handling conflict efficiently."

"This, coupled with a better understanding of their behavioural traits, will allow firm to better plan their marketing communications and customer retention programs," he said. - Jasbir Singh.

More information on Associate Professor Nelson Ndubisi