Buyer be...woman

buyer be woman Let's start with a simple exercise. Go ahead, picture your 'typical' customer in your head. Seriously, close your eyes and visualize your customer: their age, level of education, the car they drive. Are they married? Single? Kids? See that person in your mind... take a second, because there'll be a test.  

Ready?  

The big question: Did she have her pocketbook with her?

"She!?" you ask?  

Yes. She. Her. Female. Ma'am. Lady. Woman. Miss. The fairer sex. Chances are, whether you realize it or not - "she" best describes your customer.

  Here's why: Women are the sole or primary decision makers for just about every kind of purchase. Tom Peters, the guru of management gurus, calls women the "instigators-in-chief of most consumer purchases." Need some numbers?

    •   85% of all consumer purchase decisions are made by women
    •   Vacations: 92%
    •   New homes: 91%
    •   Bank accounts: 89%
    •   Healthcare: 80% of the decisions and more than 2/3 of the spending
    •   New autos: 65%
    •   OTC pharmaceuticals: 93%

 That's just hitting the high points. The final numbers are even more staggering. American women account for more than half of the U.S. GDP - or around 5 trillion dollars. And that stacks up impressively in a global comparison.

    •   Earth's 3rd largest economy: American men.
    •   Earth's 2nd largest economy: All of Japan.
    •   Earth's largest economy: American women.

Care to reconsider your initial customer image?  

Here's the interesting thing: even though women keep our economy moving (yes, moms will keep shopping), research tells us they feel misunderstood by advertisers. In one survey, 91% of women said advertisers don't understand them.

  Knowing women make up your target market takes you one giant step forward. But not knowing how to build a relationship with them just keeps you walking in circles.  

So, ready to accept that women aren't just a niche market? Or a minor segment you can market to with some thin patronizing girl-speak? Then it's time to set your course from Mars to Venus, because men and women are different. Very different.

Judy Rosener, from America's Competitive Secret: Women Managers:  "Women speak and hear a language of connection and intimacy, and men speak and hear a language of status and independence. Men communicate to obtain information, establish their status, and show independence. Women communicate to create relationships, encourage interaction, and exchange feelings."

Trust. Comfort. Respect. Communication. These are the expectations of the women making consumer (and in many cases, corporate) spending decisions. Respect the power they hold with every purchase decision. (Women are much more likely to refer you or denounce you.) Authors Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold put it this way: "Women don't buy brands. They join them."

  Involve women in your product planning and marketing. Don't rely on your wife to be your focus group. And don't make the mistake of painting everything with pink fluff and smiling babies. Look for new and inventive ways to meet the needs, solve the problems, and enrich the experiences of your female shoppers. They really do hold the pursestrings. 