What Do Women Want?

Five things all businesses should know about marketing to women

By Mary Hemlepp   ·   Columnist: Public Relations   ·   Back to Resources

Is your business one of the nine out of 10 that's off the mark when trying to reach female customers?

Business guru and trend analyst Tom Peters reports that 91 percent of women say advertisers don't understand them, and 58 percent say they are annoyed by ads aimed at them. In his book "trends," Peters says women are the chief purchasing officers of their households and play a predominant role in business purchasing as well.

Researchers have talked to women throughout the country to learn what they want and how best to connect them with brands. The results may surprise you.

Women make 80 percent of all purchasing decisions. Even in those areas that typically have been considered male bastions such as purchasing cars and electronics, home improvement and investing, women are making or influencing the decisions. Our company's focus group findings show Kentucky women's responses are no different.

To make sure your marketing is capturing the attention of female customers, here are five important rules to remember:

1. Get women to talk to you and about you and then listen to what they've said. Mary Lou Quinlan, author of "Just Ask a Woman," says many brands become successful mainly through word of mouth because women trust the recommendations of their friends.

   Find a way to connect women to each other and they will connect with your brand. This is the first truth of "EVEolution," according to researcher and author Faith Popcorn.

   She says women connect through commonality. One local company that is connecting women in this manner is Entrée Vous, the "make and take" kitchen that allows you to prepare a month's worth of dinners in one session. A very popular phenomenon has evolved at Entrée Vous. Groups of friends come in and prepare their meals together, connecting them to each other and to the brand.

   Another way to connect women and provide a forum for them to communicate with you is through your website. Are you using yours as effectively as you could be?

2. Remember the power of the 40-plus market. For years marketers have focused their ad dollars on the youth market, but that's changing as Baby Boomers age. Here's another twist. Sixty percent of women between 40 and 69 are single. Get to know this market and remember they are not the same 40-plus market of years past. This is a more active and healthy generation of women, and they have money to spend. We Baby Boomers are not going quietly into old age, so the trite old ad campaigns aimed at women in this age range will fail.

3. It's all about convenience. In focus groups conducted for my clients, women have said repeatedly that convenience is important to them. If you can save a woman time, you've probably made a friend.

   Take shopping. Although conventional wisdom says women love to shop, this is not always accurate. Many don't have time to go to the mall, look for a parking place, drag kids around, try on clothes, stand in line to pay, get the kids and packages back to the car and fight traffic to get home. Let's face it, on-line shopping is popular because companies bring their products straight to the shopper.

   Another example of taking products to the market is in airports. Since more and more women are traveling for business, retailers have recognized the need to be where women are.

   How can you make your products and services more convenient?

4. Company values matter. Women admire companies that do good works, treat employees well and are open about their business practices.

   Never before has corporate social responsibility been so important, and women are watching you. Surveys show that women would rather do business with a company that has a social conscience.

5. Respect her brain and her wallet. Today's women are well educated and have earning power to match. It's not unusual for them to make as much or more than the man in their lives, and 10.6 million businesses are owned by women. As a group, their spending power is enormous.

Local retailer Buggies Unlimited, the world's largest supplier of golf cart accessories, has learned that women control the purse strings. They started noticing that most checks they received for catalog purchases were signed by women. Their response - make the catalog more female friendly by adding touches to their products that appeal to women, such as more vibrant colors and richer materials.

Women do a lot of research before making a major purchase, much more so than most men. Expect female shoppers to be armed with information and plenty of questions.

Finally, keep in mind that one third of American women are not married, which means they are the sole purchasing decision makers of millions of dollars worth of goods and services.

It's no secret that there are many differences between the sexes, and their buying habits are no exception. Being aware of those differences and recognizing that women are making most of the purchasing decisions will help your company reach women more effectively. Ultimately, that's what women want.

June 2006