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Selling Coffee on Venus and Mars© Brian Martell 2002 Nuance is what distinguishes coffee between cultures, the way it is brewed or consumed making the difference. The fact remains that it is the world’s largest beverage after water and transcends all cultures. What makes coffee so successful in its proliferation is that it can be personified as hermaphroditic, appealing to both masculine and feminine traits as perceived by the beholder. Consider the feminine side of coffee: Social yet not intoxicating, consumed in the presence of genteel company with diplomatic discourse and sometimes enhanced with exotic flavourings. From the masculine side, it would be hard to imagine the Marlboro Man fixing breakfast on the range with anything but perked coffee. Indeed, any gumshoe dreamed up by Truman Capote sustained their lives through a liquid diet of Bourbon (from both Kentucky and Brazil). Essentially, coffee appeals to the two sexes in very different ways. The caffeine rush experienced when going that cup too far can metaphorically and literally compared to testosterone. Likewise, the expression should be “coffee and sympathy” to accurately reflect feminine social settings. Even in our own North American context, the efforts made to bring equality to the sexes have not diminished our basic defining points making us men and women. Knowing these different perceptions opens new possibilities on how to effectively market coffee, including the OCS and Vending industries. Of course there are common denominators about coffee that appeal to both men and women; but how much more successful would our presentations be if we knew how to gain the interest of our prospects on a more fundamental level? The decision makers who hold the fate of getting (or not) the sale have a whole host of issues to consider when taking on any new supplier. If they have a vested personal interest in that decision (i.e. they personally will be consuming the product) then there is an added element to the sale. Rarely does it happen that the person giving the final go ahead on any new OCS provider hates the coffee or service them self. Therefore, marketing to the manager has to appeal to all the “head” issues that are easily quantifiable; beyond that, in a battle of equals, the provider who successfully identifies with the heart of the manager will win the day (and the account). Currently, decision makers are more likely to be women than men when it comes to deciding the OCS provider. Consequently, those issues that appeal to women will be an important part of the 4 P’s in any OCS provider’s marketing mix. As an example, the look of the packaging plays an important role in appealing to the more discerning aesthetic values possessed by women. Further, the types and methods of POP (Point of Purchase) material used in accounts should take into consideration that they, at the very least, would not be offensive to either of the sexes. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as running two separate sales programmes dependant upon whom in the office is doing the buying. What should be recognized is that buyers respond to different sales cues. The front line sales person who has great success probably modifies the presentation intuitively through the verbal and nonverbal communication received from the buyers. It’s the responsibility of the owners/marketing managers to provide the tools to those reps, which facilitate the process of selling on all levels (for a good read on this, refer to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). While it could be said that the hand that controls the coffee pot is the hand that rules the office, the majority of the staff have to be satisfied as well. Thus any focus on selling to the gender at the detriment of the fundamentals of good service and great coffee will yield disastrous results. © Brian Martell 2002 Questions or comments? Reach Brian at Brian@heritage-coffee.com |
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