Insights for Marketing to Women

Marketing to Women Insights

Marketing to Women: Helpful Insights

By now we all know that women are the primary consumers in the U.S. today, making over 85 percent of the consumer purchase decisions and influencing over 95 percent of total goods and services purchased. Women’s consumer and business spending is fast approaching $8 trillion – more than the economy of Japan. When marketing to women, businesses need to keep the following in mind:

There is no “women’s market” — there’s your women’s market.

Marketers should not segment women strictly by age. Whether a woman is 28, 39, or 52, she’ll respond more to marketing messages that address her life stage, not her biological age. Unlike previous generations, today’s women are experiencing life in a less linear fashion; women are having babies in their 40s, starting new careers in their 50s, and re-entering the dating scene in their 60s. Marketers need to clearly understand the differentiation in marketing to the different life stages of women, and tailor their messages accordingly.

Pink is not a marketing strategy.

Today’s women are not looking for a watered-down version of a male offering that has been feminized with clichéd colors. Instead, they’re looking for solid information, ease of use, stellar customer service, and brands that are looking to build real relationships with them based on their interests, personal identities and problems that they need to solve.

Instead of relying on outdated assumptions and stereotypes, marketers must do the hard work to be relevant to women consumers – taking the time to learn what motivates them to order to present their brands in a meaningful way. A woman’s b.s. meter is always on – she knows when she’s being addressed in an authentic way…and when she’s not.

Recognize that women think different than men.

All human brains start as female brains, until the male brain is flooded with testosterone. But there they part paths. A woman’s brain has four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres as a man’s. All of those signals hurtle down the superhighway into her right brain – the home of emotional memory, intuition and experience. A woman not only reads – she attaches feelings to what she’s reading. A woman’s heart is in her brain – tell her a story that is filled with emotion, and explain why your brand is relevant to her.

Sounds simple, but many businesses develop and market products without ever asking their female customers what is most important to them and why. Companies such as Best Buy and Volvo have made gaining women’s input a key part of their marketing process, leading to product improvements that both men and women appreciate, along with marketing messages that resonate with both.

Don’t buy into a woman’s “Half Truth.”

A Half Truth is what a woman is willing to admit, while the Whole Truth is what she really believes, does and buys. For example:

“I am happy with my looks.” (Half Truth)

“If given a choice, I’d like to look better than I do.” (Whole Truth)

A woman’s half-truth can cost marketers billions of wasted dollars not just in concept development and market research, but in the marketplace where it really hurts. Marketers need to take the time to really understand the women they’re talking to – what motivates them and what makes them tick.

Marketing to Boomer Women: Don’t Ever Call Them Senior

Marketing to Boomer Women - Even Famous Ones

Would you call this Boomer Woman senior, aging or even (gasp!) elderly?

Who Is the Boomer Woman?

Many advertisers and marketers are just beginning to awaken to the fact that the deep pockets of female Baby Boomers is where it’s at. And though they would certainly like a piece of that market share, the reality is that disproportionately few of them understand this group of women.

Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. Boomer Women make up 19 percent of the total U.S. population. Consider these other facts:

Every fifth adult in the U.S. today is a female over 50.
Women comprise the majority of the 80 million Boomers now working their way through society and the consumer marketplace. They have established careers and money to spend on themselves, as well as the ability to influence the majority of their households’ purchasing decisions.
In the next decade, women will control two-thirds of the consumer wealth in the U.S.
Not only will Boomer women continue to earn income by working, they’ll also manage inheritance windfalls from their parents as well as their husbands, who they will outlive by 6-9 years on average.

The reality is that in today’s world, the economy definitely is largely influenced by Boomer Women.

Marketing to Boomer Women

Vibrant Nation has recently put out a book that provides an in-depth look on the subject: What Boomer Women 50+ Know, Think, Do & Buy. Following are some key findings from the book:

Boomer Women are at a fascinating time in their lives. These women are reshaping the world with adventure and luxury vacations, luxury cars, continuing education, volunteerism, politics and entrepreneurial endeavors. They’re enjoying the greatest financial stability of their lives, and they’re not afraid to spend.

Boomer Women want to hear from other Boomer Women. Peer influencers are going to have a much greater impact than a young female celebrity hawking their face cream. Many marketers are addressing that reality, with Ellen DeGeneres and others becoming the faces of brands targeting this age group.

These are not your grandmother’s 50s. Today’s Boomer Women are educated, active, and technologically-savvy. They’re online, using iPads, Flip cameras, Blackberries, Facebook and Skype. Not just passive observers, Boomer Women are quickly adopting the Internet usage patterns of younger generations and posting content themselves.

Boomer Women recognize their importance. Today’s Boomer Women feel ignored by marketers, and in turn, have decided to write them off. In a recent survey, the majority of respondents indicated that they are indignant and angry that many industries simply aren’t taking them seriously, and they’re proactively looking to give their business to those that will. They don’t demand that ads feature only women 50+, but they don’t like ads that never feature women 50+.

Trying not to look old does not mean looking young. Boomer Women are realistic – they don’t want to look like their 20-year old granddaughters, but they aspire to be the best 50 or 60 they can be. They like to hear that they can be “ageless” and look as great as they feel, rather than that they’re “still going strong” or look great “for their age.”

And, by the way, don’t call a Boomer Woman “senior” – she’ll be well into her 80s before she’s willing to take on that title.

marketing to boomer women