< back Women don’t just buy all the stuff in our homes – they buy most of the things we use in business too. And I’m including all the traditional male purchases of computers, cars and phones; not forgetting finance and insurance. Women even outnumber men online now, and they spend more money over the internet (apart from on those sites which male readers really shouldn’t be giving their credit card details to anyway!). So, if your marketing only appeals to men then you’re targeting a niche audience. And women think and act differently from men, (in case you hadn’t noticed)! A woman’s rational thought will only lead her to a conclusion whereas it’s her emotions that drive her to action. And as the purpose of your marketing is to initiate actions, to sell more of your stuff, then you need to get more emotional in your sales pitch – otherwise she won’t be buying today. Women have relationships with brands and they like them to be reassuring which typically means big. So if you’re smaller than your competitors then take a leaf from Innocent and act as if you’re giving Coca Cola a run for their money (which of course Innocent now are). Women like their shopping, for business as well as personally, to be an experience – so create one. Tell her about the back up and support you offer as well as the product benefits, and make her feel that the whole transaction, including the post sale period, will be an enjoyable one. Most importantly make sure that your messages reflect real life, not ideal life. Women hate the stereotypes that the media and advertisers in particular use: super mum, glamour babe, power executive, etc – the effect is actually “these people don’t understand me” or worse “these people really annoy me”. Which is why campaigns like those run by Dove have been so successful because they deal with women or their (real) terms. I don’t know when I eventually learned that women don’t like to be lectured to, talked down to, patronised or dictated to – without doubt much later in life than was ideal – so try talking to her using language that is much more “catmatic”, (a softer form of dogma), such as “have you considered…” or “you might like to try…” as opposed to the typically male version “you must…”! Men tend to see the benefit of a purchase personally – “if I buy this I’ll look good” whereas the family instinct is much more prevalent for women and her tribe includes her work colleagues as well. She typically weighs up options based on how others will react to her choices, including putting them ahead of her own in some cases, so make sure your messages talk about the collective as opposed to the individual advantages. The best news about marketing to women is how their buying radars are permanently switched on as opposed to the male “I need it, I want it, I’ll buy it now” school of thinking. Women are much more attuned to all of your messages, which is great as it gives you the opportunity to create and build an ongoing dialogue. Of course there’s a flipside which can work against you – make one mistake and only a few men will notice whereas you can be sure that the majority of your female target audience will have not only seen it but also will have reacted disproportionately negatively. You see women are much more loyal customers than men however they expect you to respect their commitment and to treat them consistently well. Marketers need to look at the challenge of marketing effectively to women as a long term as well as immediate investment. That’s because while men keep good stuff secretly to themselves, (on average recommending things to just 2 people) a delighted female customer will tell 20 people or more, indeed women often feel they have a debt to repay for a great experience and their payback takes the form of publicity. And we all know the power of the word of mouth. Marketing is more complicated to understand than a grand master’s chess tactics – but one thing is obvious from the start: capturing the king might appear to be the way forward but actually it’s the queen who is all powerful. Peter Knight is chairman of Phoenix. His best-selling book, ‘HEMP: Highly Effective Marketing Plans’ is available in 11 languages, including plain English. If you’re a real business and you’ve come up with a stunning marketing plan, or you want help to create one, Peter would love to hear from you. Contact pk@phoenixplc.com |