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TAKE NOTE

What happened to soccer moms?

Marketing experts recently have tagged yet another demographic to target: Urbanola. The name is a cross between “urban” and “granola,” which helps to identify its members.

Market analysis describes these people as affluent, well-educated, health-conscious adults who live in large urban areas. More precisely, they are Americans 35 to 64 years old with an annual household income of $100,000-plus who take an active role in their health including diet and exercise. This group is estimated to be slightly more than three percent of the U.S. population over the age of 18.

When compared to the Simmons National Consumer Survey for 2004, which studied habits in shopping, lifestyle and home improvements, this group was found to be more than twice as likely than the average American to recently have spent at least $5,000 on home improvement.

The 'eyes' have it

Pocketsize paperbacks may be going the way of the eight-track and the typewriter. Either that or we’ll have to start designing clothing with larger pockets. Two of the biggest publishers of mass-market book titles, the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster, have started printing paperbacks in a bigger size that allows larger type and more space between lines.

Jack Romanos, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster, told The New York Times, “We’ve been losing the foundation of our customer base because their eyesight is getting worse, and the books are getting harder and harder to read.”

Soft sell for hard times

When the going gets tough, it may be time to soften up a bit. Larry Wilson, founder of the Wilson Learning Corp., says sales should not be an adversarial relationship. A soft approach works best.

Wilson offers four key ideas to help close the deal:
1. Relate: Create an open, trusting relationship with the client.
2. Discover: Learn the customer’s problems, goals and vision of the future.
3. Advocate: Work with the customer to come up with solutions.
4. Support: Realize that you must stick by the customer after the sale.
By acting as a counselor, Wilson says, you become a trusted problem solver.