From swags to riches: bring on those ladies
I read recently that there's a new breed of women set to turn us on our tails. SWAGS — Sassy, Wise and Grown Up — representing the 35 to 45 age, really settled and happy in their lifestyle and, as such, knowing exactly what they want.
Research conducted by department store John Lewis reports that these women mostly enjoy time with their kids or "me time", so this got me thinking — do SWAGS really want more?
So to the best bit of consumer research I'd ever asked for. Greene King Pub Partners PR manager, my PA, our recruitment and training manager and many more of Greene King's own SWAGS were only too eager to give some honest feedback on what they were looking for.
Large elegant wine glasses and good wine at a reasonable price topped the asks, along with clean toilets with toilet paper! Light flavoursome salads were orders of the day along with calorific chocolate covered desserts. Good coffee was an absolute necessity and why couldn't they have weekly glossy magazines as well as the daily papers on offer to read in pubs?
From this very informal research I wonder if our industry is meeting the needs of these women. Maybe, as according to the research, they were the most content of their sex and don't need more, but in all honesty — are we missing a trick?
To find out the team at Greene King underwent a small experiment, could a pub visit make these ladies even happier?
On a visit to one of our pub sites near Bury St Edmunds, each SWAG was asked when ordering:
Did they want their drink in a larger-than-life glass or a standard wine glass — 100% said yes to the larger glass.
When ordering, all wines were shown as the same price and all ordered by taste and grape, choosing one of the more expensive — these women know their wine and what they like, so quality appears to be key.
How many picked up the glossy magazines innocently strewn around? — every party had a look and the subsequent conversation flowed within the groups.
And after their visit to the ladies — which had the added luxuries solely required by the female market, eg, perfume, hand cream and tissues as well as a toilet roll! — every party commented on the extras and standards!
So in conclusion, our own research showed pubs can make SWAGS even happier than they already appear to be. Add some simple extra elements to a pub's offer and you've got SWAGS as key customers.
This also applies to the SWAGS running Greene King pubs, whether as part of a couple or as single operators, women know what women want and their influence on the business shows. So we not only want more SWAGS as customers, we want more SWAGS behind the bar. Come on ladies…
David Elliott is managing director of Greene King Pub Partners.
