by Peter Knight - Wednesday, 5th September 2007

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 those sites to which male readers shouldn’t be giving their credit card details anyway!).

So, if your marketing only appeals to men, you’re targeting a niche audience.

Women think and act differently from men (in case you hadn’t noticed) and this affects their reactions to advertising.

I’ve learned this from my wife, daughter and female colleagues. I’ve seen it in the marketing campaigns I run, I’ve heard it at conferences and read it in academic papers.

So I want to share the lessons I’ve learned with you. Some might sound like generalisations. But they’re all principles that will help you market your product or service to women.

First off: a woman’s rational thought will only lead her to a conclusion. It’s her emotions that drive her to action. As the purpose of your marketing is to initiate actions – to sell more of your stuff – you need to get more emotional in your sales pitch.

Women have relationships with brands and they like them to be reassuring, which typically means big.

So if you’re smaller than your competitors, take a leaf from Innocent’s book 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 pleasure, to be an experience – so create one. Tell her about the product benefits, back-up and support. Make her feel that the whole transaction, including the postsale 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.

Such caricatures make females think, “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 on their (real) terms.

I don’t know when I eventually learned that women don’t like to be lectured, patronised or dictated to – without doubt much later in life than was ideal. Don’t make my mistake.

Try talking to her using language that is more “catmatic” (a softer form of dogmatic).

Examples include “have you considered...” and “you might like to try...” That’ll win her over a lot more easily than the male version, “You must...”!

Men tend to judge purchases egocentrically: “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, sometimes putting their opinions and needs ahead of her own.

So make sure your messages talk about advantages for the collective, rather than individuals.

The best news about marketing to women is that unlike men (“I need it, I want it, I’ll buy it now”), ladies’ buying radars are permanently switched on.

They’re more attuned to all of your messages, so you get a great opportunity to build an ongoing dialogue.

Of course, there’s a flipside: make one mistake and only a few men will notice, whereas the majority of your female target audience will not only notice but react negatively. You see, women are much more loyal customers than men.

But they expect you to respect their commitment and to treat them consistently well.

Look at the challenge of marketing effectively to women as both a shortterm and long-term investment.

After all, while men keep good stuff a secret (on average recommending things to just two people), a delighted female customer will tell 20 people or more.

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 wielded by word of mouth.

Tags: women, sales, marketing,