Why Target's Gender Neutral Marketing Policy Is Bad

Okay. It has been a while since I have written for this blog, but I would like to provide an outsiders view about why Targets recent policy change on how they merchandise is bad.

On August 7, Target announced that it would stop using gender-based signing. I can bring up numerous instances why this is bad. It removes a core component to market segmentation, gender-based demographics. This means that they will not be selling according to how the products were designed.

Understanding the design process is critical in the moving of a product. The first major question a company will ask when designing for consumers is who is this product primarily intending to reach (age, region, gender, etc.). Gender neutral products, in my observation tend to have a shorter life-span. Now let me make a distinct note on the difference between gender-neutral and general audience products. Gender-neutral is designed to not be offensive to the purchasing audience. BUT, pick up the coin. It has two sides. The same thing that may repulse a shopper from one product would attract them to another. This create a competitive sales force in the market.

By removing the pressure to buy, that utility of the customer can have the product if they got it THEN and THERE if they bought it NOW, in essence renders the purpose of the product as less purposeful. The purpose of marketing is to capture those discretionary dollars the consumer has. This will cause a wider revenue but also a shallower one that is easier to dry or become stagnant.

The problem is Target has sacrificed business for altruism. But Target needs to recognize that they are a business, not a political statement. While I have restrictions that dictate what business I handle, I have to remember that I am still operating a business and if you're not in business to make money, why are you there in the first place? Business's first policy is to add value, and Target is, instead, taking that away. Target should shift it's focus to what made it great in the first place, creating a higher-touch shopping experience. Target grew on affordable luxury, but now its priding itself by pandering to the pauper. These complaining customers are the screaming minority and make little impact on the sales.

I hope target will be able to salvage themselves from this.

Communication: A Lesson From The Tower of Babel

There is one aspect in which I consistently find problems in today's society in general and business specifically: Communication.  

I remember taking note of this a couple years ago at one of the establishments that employed me. I brought it up to the assistant manager that if the store offered in-store training, why wasn't there a training module on communication. To this he simply replied, "It should be common-sense." Then he turned around and went on his way.

Common-sense? Maybe. Common-practice: No.

So what is Communication? The best definition I found was in Webster's Dictionary. Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. The breakdown is that one person gives info while the other receives it in a way that both people understand.

For example: The Tower of Babel.

Yes, a Bible story. In Genesis 11, it opens by saying that "...the whole Earth was of one language, and one speech" (Gen. 11:1; KJV). It then says that one person said to another to build bricks, stones, and mortar for a tower to go up to heaven and make us a name, or else we will be scattered around. So the people began to build and build and construct this tower. The Bible then says that the Lord came down to see the tower. After he sees it, he says, "...'Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.' "(Gen 11:6)

Now whether or not you believe in the Bible is your own prerogative. I go to the Bible because I find it the most timeless advice-giver and example-maker on how to live a life to its fullest. 

But here is the breakdown of the story of the Tower of Babel.

1. These people spoke the same way to each other. They had one language. They understood each other. They could converse easily and not question what the other person was saying. The were communicating well.
2. They shared a common goal: The Tower. They had a legacy they were striving for and a symbol they desired to build to the rest of the world. They recognized how great they could become and how they would merely scatter about and go their separate ways if they didn't
3. Even the Lord admits that with good communication, any vision can be accomplished. 

Today, we must work hard and communicate well. Communication problems are as old as the Tower of Babel. It is a human problem. We all have our own ambitions, goals, and visions. And, because we also have an ego, it makes it difficult to work with others sometimes. 

But laying aside biases, communication is ultimately talking together, working together, and understanding together. If we could work on this weakness of communication and become stronger communicators, what could we accomplish? What could we build? What could our legacy really look like?

Something to consider. Stay Curious.