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Archived in Advertising agencies are notoriously male dominated, which is a problem when the majority of your customers are female. The fact is that rising female spending power is causing a shift in how products are designed and sold. And it will be those able to deliver marketing that’s appealing to women who’ll prosper. Those who continue to think we only live in a man’s world will fade away.
A few facts:
- 85% of US household purchase decisions are made by women (National Federation of Woman Business Owners)
- Women spend 10% more on the internet than men (Verdict Research)
- 91% of women say ‘advertisers don’t understand us’ (Martha Barletta, in ‘Marketing to Women’)
The web turns female
At ad:tech London, this week, a consultant from trend forecasters The Future Laboratory announced that the web turned female last year, meaning that there are now more female users than men.
So with female spending power, influence on buying decisions and prevalence on the web on the rise, marketers must consider whether their campaigns need to be adjusted.
How can marketing be made more appealing to women?
Does marketing need to be made more feminine?
Well, according to Martha Barletta, in ‘Marketing to Women’:
“Men and women don’t communicate the same way, and they don’t buy for the same reasons…He simply wants the transaction to take place. She’s interested in creating a relationship.”
Other experts on feminine marketing have suggested that women take longer to reach buying decisions than men. They tend to research more and are less influenced by advertising. This means marketing needs to find subtler approaches.
Word of mouth marketing
When discussing feminine marketing, Tarek Mady (chair of the Marketing Department at the American University in Dubai) said:
“Women are the most powerful brand builders and the most dangerous brand killers due to their tendencies towards information sharing…In Dubai they are six times more likely to use word of mouth than men because by nature, people talk about products they are satisfied with.”
Perhaps the rise of the female shopper means it’s time to focus even more closely on subtle approaches, such as word of mouth and viral campaigns, rather than traditional advertising.
When it comes to feminine marketing the trap is falling into dated stereotypes, delivering marketing that’s patronising and treating all women as a single segment. So creating campaigns that are more appealing to women certainly poses a challenge, but it’s one marketers can’t afford to ignore.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
