3 Reasons Why Marketing to Women Can Grow Your Business
Recently, I’ve had discussions with employees who believe there is a huge opportunity to delight their female customers, but they are struggling to get support internally (and oftentimes with their male colleagues). For them, it is as though they are speaking but the volume is on mute.
I often ask whether their colleagues realize the business impact that intentionally delighting women can do for their brands. I have seen that when we shift the conversation from a sensitive, emotional conversation to a practical, business-minded discussion, the team is more willing to take steps to unlock change.
Below are the three compelling reasons I’ve seen change the team’s mindset and get organizations moving towards delighting their female customers:
- Women have huge buying power– According to Marti Barletta in Marketing to Women, did you know women’s buying power is nearly 3x of all other minority groups combined? That women handle 85% of all checking accounts and 75% of family finances? And, women have 95% of the veto power with a household purchase? Women are a huge size-of-prize for most businesses, but products and communication are still not designed for this powerful and growing segment.
- Marketing to women “lifts all ships”-- Women want all of the same things as men, and more, so marketing to women halos to men.While both men and women want to make sure they are educated on their purchase and are getting a good value, women also heavily weigh the customer service, the ultimate benefit of the product or service, and the design of the product when making a purchasing decision. I love this example from Vifa, a Nordic portable speaker system, that emphasizes this point:
“When you enter a home, you sense the personal atmosphere of a place and the things that are in it. Women have a large say in this. The key to our designs has been to create something that appeals to women but doesn’t scare the men away. Just because something is small and neat, there’s no reason to compromise on its strength and power. Our products prove that you can have both.”
-Michael Sørensen, Vifa
3. Satisfied female clients are loyal AND spread the word–once a woman has found a product, service, or sales associate who has understood her, she is more likely to return for future needs. I recently completed work in regards to car buying, and I consistently heard that women will return to the same dealer and sales associate to buy her next automobile if she had a great experience the first time. And, because women are generally wired to see others succeed, she easily shares a purchasing success with those in her circle (and to help save her family and friends precious time). In the case of the automobile example, women not only referred their sales person, but also recommended their specific car make and model as well!
If you’re interested in more insights on how to effectively connect with women in your messaging, comment below and you will receive a complimentary guide to the 7 Insights for Effective Advertising to Women.
Your article speaks volumes to a science-minded person (like me). We can all admit it’s a bit outdated, but highly stereotypical that women are the “shoppers.” I love the way you back this with specific scenarios and even data (#1) – in this case it would be hard for the non-women within even bigger companies to deny women are a great target audience. Well done!
Great post, Amanda! This all makes so much sense and I relate to the point about women managing the family finances and purchasing decisions. In addition to regularly referring friends and family members to great products and businesses, I also seek input from other women when making purchasing decisions because I trust and value their perspective. Thanks for the awesome insights you’re sharing!