IDN4: The Female Market Proves Elusive

It is no secret that women have considerable buying power even if their wages are less than those of their male counterparts. This makes the female market the key to success for most firms.

Research continues to demonstrate that 80% of the household dollar is spent by women. The products do not need to be female gender-specific since women control spending for their family’s household needs, as well as for their own personal needs.

A long standing example of this is the men’s underwear market where upwards of 70% of men’s underwear is bought by women. When marketing to households it is important to understand how the dollar is spent, by whom and on what.

There is also a belief that women control low-end household spending and the purchase of day-to-day household needs. This is a very narrow view of the importance of women’s spending.

Studies continue to show the female market segment as controlling purchases of everything from household goods through to investments and expensive consumer durables such as automobiles.

There is a tendency to see the female market segment as a one-size-fits-all group, a monolith with subtle differences based on lifestyle stage related to family structure and hormonal changes!

The female market is as diverse as the male market, with many different personalities, lifestyles and psychographic profiles. One-size-fits-all is not a stereotype that applies to this market.

Research in the United States has indicated that the impact of women on the overall marketplace is increasing, rather than decreasing. According to a study by BusinessWeek and Gallup, women will control $1 trillion by the year 2010 representing nearly two-thirds of the nation’s wealth.

Canadian research has indicated that women are not particularly impressed by firms seeking their dollars. A study conducted by the Thomas Yaccato Group indicated that one-quarter of women surveyed could not identify a company that they felt met their needs as consumers. Women also felt that they were not taken as seriously as men were as consumers.

There has been a tendency to dumb down female-oriented marketing to gender-specific traits and clichés. One only has to recall the automobile industry’s initial approach when including vanity mirrors on sun visors in automobiles. This approach would not have been a problem except for one thing – the vanity mirrors were never on driver’s side of the car reinforcing the woman-as-passenger and male-as-driver image.

Women’s marketing has come a long way but it is still based primarily on inane tactics designed to sell soap, cosmetics and baby wipes. Only recently has the investment industry realized that they need to cater to women as savvy and discriminating investors with a product line designed to meet their unique needs and interests.

So what is the missing ingredient in marketing to women? Why do they feel less valued than male consumers and what can businesses do about it?

Customers want to feel important and valued. This means that they should be treated with respect, regarded as serious buyers who are intelligent and discriminating in their choices and catered to. Customer service matters.

Is there a magic formula for selling to women? If there is it would be to avoid cute “pink” anecdotes designed to deliver warm fuzzies when positioning a product. It would include treating women informed, educated, intelligent and capable customers.

Women are influenced by their relationship between the company and the brand. If they feel loyal to the company they will be more likely to its products.

Women are more conservative and deliberate buyers. They tend to do their homework, particularly for big-ticket items like houses and automobiles, or for complex purchases like investments or insurance.

Feed this need by providing information in a clear, concise and complete way. Using smoke and mirrors to make a sales pitch is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Finally, be prepared to listen to the customer. Women want to be sure that you truly understand their needs and their family’s needs before they want to buy your firm’s solution. A big part of selling is listening to the customer and listening shows respect.

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Karen Blotnicky is a marketing professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and President of The Marketing Clinic in Bedford, Nova Scotia. She can be reached at karen@themarketingclinic.ca