To Sell to a Woman, You Must Understand the Woman
The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.
Truer words have never been spoken, especially when we consider
the progress that women have made in society. Their hands no
longer stick to rocking the cradle, but they still rule the
world.
If you are to succeed in marketing a product or service, you
must remember that women control 85% of all purchases. Marketers
need to consider that there are certain innate differences
between men and women.
Keep these ideas in mind when targeting women in your marketing
strategies:
* Women spend a higher percentage of time thinking about others,
whether it be their children or their boyfriend. Women will
agonize over the perfect gift. Women buy toys and school clothes
for the kids. Where men do their Christmas shopping on Christmas
Eve, Women may start as early as September.
Why do women go to all this trouble? Because they love to buy
the right thing. Let them know that you have the right thing!
* Because women are doing the buying, for themselves as well as
others, you have to figure out what woman want. Mel Gibson had
to learn that lesson the hard way, but it isn’t too complicated.
One thing to consider is that women will usually purchase the
more attractive product if the quality is as high as a
competitor’s product. Women have a keen design sense and often
value form as much as function.
* A woman’s work day does not start at nine and end at five.
Many women finish the traditional work day with family, shopping
and household responsibilities still ahead of them. In women’s
complicated lives, they are often too busy to respond to
products that are overly complicated, or advertising that
requires too much time and attention. In short, simplify,
simplify, simplify.
* Be realistic in your advertising. Women are too smart to fall
for advertising that features a mother of three who looks like a
supermodel. They are too smart to watch teenage girls with
porcelain smooth skin complain about how bad their acne is.
Don’t try to fool them. They are onto you.
* If all else fails, ASK A WOMAN! If you want to know how to
make your product more visually appealing, ask a woman. If you
want to know if your advertising makes offensive
generalizations, ask a woman. Contrary to popular belief, women
do know what they want. If you want to know too, ask them.
