Should you design customer experiences for men and women differently? Sounds like a dangerous, litigious question, but it’s a real issue customer experience professionals should address.
Research has proven men generally act and respond differently than women do when they’re customers. For one, men tend to be more loyal customers than women.
So customer-facing employees may want to customize how they handle things when dealing with men and women.
Here are three factors involved in most customer interactions and how men and women tend to react.
Timing
Men tend to like specifics and having control over them. Women are a bit more flexible when it comes to timing.
With men: Give them specific options. For instance, “We can have it ready by 4 p.m. today. Would you like to go over specs then, or would you prefer tomorrow morning at 9?”
With women: Saying, “I will be ready Monday or Tuesday,” is probably OK, but tardiness is never acceptable. So remember to under-promise and over-deliver.
Problem-solving
Men tend to believe rules, regulations and thought-out processes solve problems. Women welcome creative or outside-the-box thinking.
For men: Refer men to the manuals and proven tools for solving problems. Show them the reasons behind the solution.
For women: Invite them to suggest a solution or offer them a few unique approaches and let them pick what will work.
The experience
Men consider shopping a chore or task. Women like to explore, find a good deal and feel good after the experience
For men: If you do any type of selling — cross-selling or upselling — beyond what they’ve requested, make it quick. Help them achieve their goals as quickly as possible.
For women: Offer to introduce them to options. Ask questions to uncover new or changing needs, and show them products and services to meet those needs.
