Women are the fastest growing demographic of consumers. More than 75 percent of women are the decision-makers when it comes to spending for their households. Not only do they buy for themselves, they also buy for their whole family, whether shopping by list or by impulse.
Their purchasing power isn’t in the millions or billions. According to The Boston Consulting Group, women wield $12 trillion dollars in purchasing power. They spend nearly 60 percent of their budgets on retail, according to TIME magazine. Given that reality, it would benefit marketers to make sure they are pitching to women properly.
Avoid cliches
Advertisers should refrain from using generalized or trite images when depicting female identity. Using stereotypical traits, props, settings or even a typical age or look can over time devolve into an exercise in caricature.
The meme of the domestic goddess still lingers as one of the most widespread images of women, along with the soccer mom and the doting wife. Such images are archaic and simplistic, often reducing women to one dimension without showing other facets of her life.
To ditch stereotypes, marketers must pepper campaigns with a diverse and genuine palette of women that resemble the real life variety: the kind of women found in boardrooms, classrooms, supermarkets, government centers or right next door.
Be authentic
Contemporary marketing should show imperfect women who face challenges, rather than the unblemished, never-stymied mirages. It is acceptable to show flaws and life struggles because real women relate to that and are more likely to connect with the ad’s message. Struggle is authentic; perfection is not. Raw and real images of women allow ads to become more personable and less sterile.
One caveat: showing real and genuine women need not mean creating a downtrodden ad tone. Themes of triumph, perseverance or just plain coping or surviving at the end of the day are all tones that resonate with today’s woman.
Most women like feeling good about what they’ve accomplished even if they haven’t mastered every task and every goal. Capturing this feeling of women being fulfilled and satisfied just as they are is something ads and promotions should strive for.
Build social ties with women
Women are social and talkative creatures who like to bond, sociologists attest. They build networks and are influenced and sustained by the close connections within their social circles. This relationship motif should be present not only in advertising, but it should manifest also in social media relationships.
Companies can build bonds with women in the social media landscape by answering questions, sharing posts, offering surveys, holding webinars, sending emails, inviting women to online focus groups or by requesting input and opinion.
Some companies, such as Pantene, have sought to include women in viral videos by requesting that women send in videos of themselves using Pantene products, showing their luxurious hair and discussing why the company’s conditioner or shampoo was perfect for them. Other companies have held contests to find women to serve as spokespeople or models for certain events or promotional campaigns.
By actually interacting with a broad range of real women on a consistent and informal basis via social media, marketers can gain insight into women’s real psychology and behavior. They can discern women’s genuine concerns, wants and needs, resulting in more realistic profiles of target audiences. Furthermore, geolocational data available through social media allows marketers to customize messages to specific audiences for greater impact.
Finally, the more women feel a connection with a company, the more likely they are to respond to media messages from that company.
Key into women’s passions
Many marketers still make the mistake of simply targeting why women need and want certain products or services. However, women are motivated by passions and principles, too. Effective marketing to women must include some tie- in to their real life motivational drives and emotions. Advertisers must link the material and commercial offerings to women’s inner consciences and behavior drivers.
Research different types of female personalites
Once marketers decide to break new ground and present women in their real glory, sometimes they ARE clueless about what a realistic depiction is. Fortunately, there are many studies and surveys dedicated to identifying different types of women. One study of note comes from Insights In Marketing, LLC and it divides women into 5 personality profiles that matter to marketers:
Profile 1. These women are the goal-setters, risk-takers and competitors. They work long and hard to achieve what they want. They like services and products that support their goal-oriented lives.
Profile 2. The next common type of woman is the “nurturer.” They spend their lives self-sacrificing and taking care of others. They are the great negotiators who seek peace and to bring everyone together. They are drawn to comfort products and products that make life easy and simple.
Profile 3. These women are exceptional organizers who can multi-task and make complex situations run efficiently. They loathe when any area of life is out of whack. When they encounter obstacles, they inquisitively seek out all the ways to overcome them, and then decide on the best plan. They buy things that help them sort and manage the chaos of life.
Profile 4. These women eschew the crowds and the product fads, pursuing their own individualistic spirits. They are thoughtful, introspective and cautious enough to research all the different drawbacks of a product. They want all the product facts and want product variety so they don’t feel like everyone else.
Profile 5. These women are open, social and outgoing. These women feel that real living exists when they try something new.
Once marketers understand the different personality types or profiles of women, they can incorporate them into promotions.
Not marketing specifically towards women yet? The above should change your tune!