I Don’t Have Time To Not Be “Cherished/Valued” And Neither Does Any Other Woman

Our last blog discussed the importance of women feeling cherished/valued by brands. It’s so important, in fact, that we developed Cherish Testing to ensure our clients’ brands are averaging over 90% against all cherish markers. It’s the difference between making a sale and not.

Case in point! I honestly don’t have time to not be cherished by a brand and neither does any other woman. The monstrous chunk of profitability that online sales has stolen from brick and mortar retail should have been a wakeup call, but I can tell you first hand, not all retailers are bright eyed and bushy tailed. I’m not going to name names because this blog isn’t about shaming brands or influencing consumers, it’s about shining a light on the issue. I wasn’t cherished on my retail journey; heck, I wasn’t even acknowledged, and I just don’t understand it.

A few weeks ago, I found myself days out from a wedding; new outfit secured but finding the right pair of shoes was causing me more stress than I would like to admit. I had actually found two pairs of shoes online that I thought would do the trick, but they were a no-go for fit. (Gone are the days that I would sacrifice comfort/fit to the point of losing the feeling in my toes for a week after an evening of dancing.) Having struck out twice online and time “a ticking”, I knew what I had to do – head to the mall. Yup, I left the comfort of my home early one weekday morning to avoid the crowds and up my chances of landing a decent parking spot. I found myself drawn to a shoe store that I hadn’t purchased from in many years because the styles the store carried were a little (a lot) out of my comfort zone. But on this day, I was surprisingly intrigued, so I walked in, rather than walk by as I had done so many times before.

I picked up a several shoes that were on display, hoping they would feel “right enough” to try on – yes, it’s a thing. As I made my way through the bevvy of shoes, a staff member, who was working on the store’s merchandising, awkwardly maneuvered her way around me to ensure she didn’t hit me with the ladder she was carting around. But she did not acknowledge me, AT ALL!!! No eye contact. No good morning. And no, she didn’t ask if I needed any assistance. In fact, not one member of the staff, of which there were many, offered me assistance or acknowledged my presence. This was a weekday morning, so the store was quiet – no mob-like scene. (I actually witnessed a mob-like scene when Nine West shut its doors in Canada – it was frightening!) There were a few other women mulling about the store with me and no one seemed interested in their presence either.

The staff member and her ladder were the last straw. She practically hit me with a ladder and still didn’t acknowledge my existence. Why on earth would I give this retailer another chance? I was running out of options for shoes, yes, but I refuse to beg for assistance from staff that are blatantly ignoring me. Cherish Testing FAIL!!! I was so irritated by this experience that I’ll never consider visiting the physical store or its online shopping again. I don’t have time to not be cherished and neither does any other woman.

Cherish markers are intricate, but it starts with the basics, so get back to basics and if you want to learn more about Cherish markers, letschat@theinciteteam.com.