Based on a study done by Insights In Marketing, LLC’s i-on-Women team, “Only 9 percent of women feel as though marketers are effectively marketing to them.” With women having tremendous personal purchasing power and being highly influential over the purchases made by the men and children around them, this shows that there is a big opportunity for marketers to adjust their game and do a better job in selling to females. At stake is billions in future revenue. With that in mind, here are a few tips to consider when marketing to women today.
Upgrade the Image
One of the biggest issues many women have with advertisements is that advertisers are a bit behind in regards to the self-image of women. Surprisingly, we still see too many outmoded generalizations, like the hard-mopping housewife and the zany out-of-her-mind soccer mom. In real life, women come with all different kinds of quirks and things that make them unique, and having the same uninteresting characters being sold to them is not only very boring, but makes for poor sales as well.
Many women say they appreciate a clever ad more than a “girly” one. Women want to see funny, unique advertisements that highlight how unique and different actual women are. However, this doesn’t mean that advertising to women shouldn’t be devoid of aesthetics.
A study by BlogHer found that 93 percent of their female participants wanted their technology products to be beautifully designed. On the flip-side, 63 percent of those participants said that the product benefits were more important than the aesthetics, signifying the fact that functionality and quality were important and that women cannot just be sold pretty things.
Be Real
Modern marketers should not be afraid to demonstrate that women are human and flawed, facing challenges and struggles. This doesn’t mean depressing — it means showing that despite issues, women are persevering and triumphing over the things that life is throwing at them. This resonates with women today, because this reflects their current reality. Being authentic goes a long way when marketing to women according to Insights In Marketing.
Avoid, however, the very 80’s notion that women are “just as good as” or are competing directly with men in the boardroom by acting as males. Women fall into their own “category” and do not need to be compared with men in order to decipher them, instead, treat them as what they are – important members of the world who do business on their own terms, which are observably different from the way men do things. (Which is a good thing!)
Engage through Social Media
According to an article from Huffingtonpost.com, “…women make up 64 percent of Facebook users, 58 percent of Twitter users, and a whopping 82 percent of Pinterest users.” Also, according to Statista, 51.40% of women visit retail stores online, compared to only 48.60% of men that do. Businesses that want to have a large amount of women customers need to have a good social media presence, and connect with their customers, building brand loyalty and humanizing your brand with that demographic.
Sociologists attest (and anyone who has eyes and ears can observe for themselves) that women tend to be highly social and talkative. Social circles and networks of relations are important, and this lends itself perfectly to reaching them through social media.
Build bonds by:
- Answering questions
- Holding webinars
- Inviting women to focus groups
- Curating content (a la Pinterest)
- Running contests
- Acknowledging their femininity
- Connecting women with other like-minded women (form discussion groups and forums)
Women who engage with a company online through social channels are more likely to buy from that brand — as long as the relationship delivers real value and is not just one big selling session.
In the end, realize that despite all the PC talk about equality and “everyone is the same” and such nonsense, women are a distinct entity that need to be marketed to in specific ways in order to best reach them. This is proven by the need for articles such as this one, and by the many statistics showing that we marketers are not doing a very good job in many cases.
Follow the tips above and turn women into your most valuable brand advocates.
Willie Pena enjoys writing about marketing to women, marketing research and branding for small businesses. Connect with him on Google+, LinkedIn.
The post How Marketers Can Better Connect With Women Today appeared first on New Media and Marketing.
