Phil Hansen is operations and Marketing manager for BADA, the British Audio-Visual Dealers Association and CineNow caught up with Phil for more thoughts on Hi-Fi.
Hi-Fi, the last bastion of male chauvinism? Well maybe that’s a bit strong, but it is certainly a male dominated industry, with estimates putting the male female split of purchasers at something like 95% to 5%. And when you consider that it’s only something like 5% of the UK population who buy ‘real’ hi-fi that equates to around 1.2m males. Considering the UK hi-fi industry is worth in the region of £200m per year* then each purchaser spends an average of £165 each year. Not a lot is it?
It is essential that we explore the opportunities with consumer groups not usually associated with our industry if we are to grow and prosper in the face of declining sales in our traditional markets.
First of all some facts:
50.5% of the UK populations is female.
Almost 50% of the millionaires in the UK are female.
Women’s spending power is increasing faster than men’s.
Technology products have traditionally been designed by men for men, but the demographics of the technology savvy consumer are changing. According to Ofcom the use of the internet by 25-35 year old females is 20% higher than by males in the same age bracket.
It is for these reasons that we are seeing an increasing number of high profile brands adapting their product and marketing approach to cater for the female consumer. Apple, Intel, Nokia and Samsung are just a few of the technology producers who have acknowledged the importance of the female market in their product design and communications activities.
There’s potentially a huge and largely untapped market for the hi-fi industry to court here. But what we need to learn to do is to focus on the benefits rather than features and find a way of communicating in plain English without the techno-babble that males pretend to understand. A rough poll of my female friends shows they are as interested in music as men, appreciate good sound quality and would like to have the best home entertainment experience they can afford. What they didn’t want was bamboozling with technology – they want a product that’s simple to use, looks good and works well. Getting the product and marketing paraphernalia to conform to those requirements is down to the manufacturers. Selling it to them is up to the retailers. So, we need to take a step back from our tried and tested techniques that work well with our traditional male market and look at ways of appealing to the woman who wants a good quality home entertainment system. Perhaps we should be looking at our shop windows, in-store presentation, staff appearance, advertising materials and verbal approach?
The BADA Code
In today’s ‘rip-off’ culture buying from anyone who you don’t know can be dangerous – buying from a BADA member means that as a consumer you have an unprecedented level of support.
Any BADA retail member must meet and exceed industry recognised levels of service and expertise – members and their facilities are regularly checked to ensure that they can provide expert, impartial advice and support on all aspects of Hi-Fi & Home Cinema.
To Find Out More About BADA Click On The Video Below
All members provide
TOTAL CUSTOMER CARE:
Expert, impartial advice on all aspects of audio & video, given by trained staff
Products specially selected for quality, performance and value
Personal demonstrations – Listen before you buy!
A home delivery and installation option – for optimum performance
TOTAL PEACE OF MIND:
A 10-day exchange for hi-fi and home cinema separates
(Goods to be returned as supplied and excluding special orders)