Marketing to women is often clumsy and ineffective, and there is opportunity for success.

Some fast facts:

• Women make 80 percent of household purchasing decisions (Barber). Specifically 94 percent of home furnishings, 92 percent of vacations, 91 percent of homes, 60 percent of automobiles and 51 percent of electronics (Silverstein, Sayre).
• About $20 trillion in annual consumer spending is controlled by women (Silverstein, Sayre).
• In the US, the number of working women is about to surpass the number of working men (Silverstein, Sayre).
• About 90 million additional women will enter the workforce by 2013 (Silverstein, Sayre).
• 40 percent of US businesses are owned by women (Silverstein, Sayre).
• Women now earn more than half of all law degrees and doctorates (Cohen, Kornfeld).

Compare that with:

• Many companies continue to market mostly to men (Silverstein, Sayre).
• Advertising is decades behind in the portrayal of women. According to Jerry Judge of consultancy Womenkind said, “Most ads portray women as either sex objects or mom-like. I don’t think women appreciate that” (Vranica).
• Creative directors and creative departments have traditionally been predominately male (Vranica).
• Women hold only 15.6 percent of Fortune 500 corporate officer positions and 14.6 percent of Fortune 500 board seats (Frauenheim).
• 44 percent of women surveyed rarely or never feel powerful (Silverstein, Sayre).

So, what gives?

It’s hard to know exactly why the status quo is the way it is. It’s easy to see that change is smart.

Shift gears. Think of the opportunity. Many companies need to rethink and likely retool their approach not only to endure, but to flourish.

This is not just a shrink-it-and-pink-it philosophy. This is change that needs to happen at a variety of levels. A good start is to get women involved on every level: from customers to chief officers. Talk to you customers. Empower women in the company. Remember, enrollment in the “Zero Club” (no women in senior executive positions) is no badge of honor.

“The academic research and the experiences of companies such as IBM, DuPont and Georgia-Pacific indicate that businesses that embrace gender diversity at the highest levels reap financial rewards. Organizations that don’t use women leaders are more likely to lose their competitive edge,” said Robin Cohen and Linda Kornfeld in the Barron’s article “Women Leaders Boost Profit.”

We all know that not all women think and act the same way. Part of the problem in marketing to women today is falling into stereotypes. For the purpose of this article, we refer to women and principles that apply generally. But keep in mind that there are many differences among women, and it is wise to consult an expert with regard to your specific audience.

An Attempt Gone Wrong
To really understand what’s going on, let’s look at an example gone wrong.

In May of last year, Dell suffered a serious setback after they introduced a site geared toward women called Della (Silverstein, Sayre). While it wasn’t dipped in pink, it did include an image of three women each with a laptop that matched the color of their shirts. The site included tips for getting recipes and counting calories. Technical information was buried. Needless to say, it was considered patronizing and even laughable. Dell took steps to remedy the problem quickly by redesigning and altering the message after the big backlash, especially revealed via social media like Twitter. (Learn more about it here.)

What happened to Dell proves that marketing to women is not easy. There is no simple formula. So, how to move forward? Here are some tips for how to think about women and marketing.

READY PUT IT IN PRACTICE
What She Will Tell You

1. “I am busy.”
Women today are busier than ever. Even though we often have full time jobs as our spouses do, women still do a majority of the household chores (The Silverstein/Sayre study in the Harvard Business Review found one-third of men don’t help their spouse or partner with chores.) In the baby boomer generation, there is the “sandwich generation” of women who are still dealing with the needs of their adult children and their aging parents. It’s no wonder that women are often looking for time-saving products.

Tip: Focus on problem-solving, convenience, double duty and multi-tasking.

2. “I seek value.”
Said Fran Philip, chief merchandising officer for L.L. Bean, “She’s a price-conscious shopper, not because she isn’t well-off, but because she’s smart and looking for value.”

Take the popular clothing store H&M. They offer low-cost, on-trend clothing that changes frequently. As the article said, “Women value the ability to buy a new outfit without breaking the bank. Perhaps contributing to H&M’s success is the fact that nearly 80 percent of the company’s employees, 77 percent of store managers and 44 percent of country managers are women. So are seven of the 11 board members” (Silverstein, Sayre).

But it’s not just about price. Of course, women will invest in products presumed to be useful over time.

Tip: Focus on how your product adds value to a woman’s life.

3. “I prefer real over ideal.”
Show real women. Real stories. Real situations. Real solutions. Women will listen.

Look at Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty—it exceeded company expectations and surpassed the $1 billion mark in 2004 (Barletti).

Tip: Focus on quality not perfection.

4.  “I think people rather than product.”
It’s less about the features and how it works and more about what it does for her and the people around her. The security system in the house may have many features, but how do the features enhance the sense of security?  

Tip: Focus on benefits not features.

5.  “Altruism matters to me.”
Women are more likely to buy from a company that does good in the world. For example, women are more likely to buy a product advertised as environmentally friendly (Irwin).

According to Marti Barletta in her book Marketing to Women, “This isn’t necessarily in a mushy, nurturing way; it’s more that it makes her feel useful, appreciated and powerful.”

Tip: Focus the bigger picture.

So if you aren’t considering women, you need to. Women as a market provide a fabulous opportunity; when women find brand they really love, they become loyal and enthusiastic. What brand doesn’t need that?

PS: This isn’t just a women’s issue. In a recent survey of more than 7,000 men in seven countries by Dove in advance of their new Men + Care product line, they found “71 percent of men say they find it really difficult to relate to men in advertising” (Houpt).

Keep the Conversation Going—What Do You Think?

Do you have good and bad examples from your own marketing history?

How will you put this in practice?

What do you think of the trend of ads positioning men as needing to reclaim masculinity (eg: the Super Bowl ad “Man’s Last Stand” by Dodge Charger or “Wear the Pants” by Dockers)?

Bibliography

Nelson Barber, “Wine consumers information search: Gender differences and implications for the hospitality industry,” Tourism and Hospitality Research. Vol. 9, Iss. 3, pgs 250-269.

Marti Barletta, Marketing to Women: How to Increase Your Share of the World’s Largest Market, second edition. (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2006).

Robin Cohen and Linda Kornfeld, “Women Leaders Boost Profit,” Barron’s. New York, NY: Sept 4, 2006. Vol. 86, Iss. 36; pg. 37, 1 pg.

Ed Frauenheim, “Bias Study Sees Few Gains for Female Leaders,” Workforce Management. Costa Mesa: Sept 10, 2007. Vol. 86, Iss. 15; pgs. 12, 2 pgs.

Simon Houpt, “Blowing the Whistle on Men’s Marketing,” The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Feb 12, 2010. pg B6.

Tanya Irwin, “Study: People Willingly Spend More For Green,” MediaPost. January 20, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/yhtz9wj.

Fran Philip, “On Why Not Just Shrink It and Pink It,” in Boom: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—The Baby Boomer Woman, ed. Mary Brown and Carol Orsborn. (American Management Association, 2006).

Michael J. Silverstein and Kate Sayre, “The Female Economy,” Harvard Business Review, September 2009. pg 46-53.

Suzanne Vranica, “Ads Made for Women, by Women; New Company to Harness Power of Female Executives to Narrow Creative Gap,” The Wall Street Journal. (Eastern Edition). New York, NY: Nov 21, 2007. pg. B3.

Jenna Wortham, “What Do Women Want in a Laptop?” New York Times, BITS Blog, May 14, 2009. http://tinyurl.com/ylaae7u.