The shopping season is on us and I just realized that there is nothing out there in terms of brand marketing that appeals to our lady shoppers. No attractive messages, no right directions in pitch , nothing in terms of specialized products.
As a marketer and a woman , one would think by now I’d have perfected the art of how to stitch the two seamlessly and present it as a package . But Nah.. unfortunately that didn’t happen either. It has actually been a never-ending quest for me to probe & understand how to connect the two.
In this post, I present some of my observations and criticism of my clan ( including me– call it self evaluation) while attempting to retrieve the underlying reasoning for this advertising stalemate.
As per the latest CIA world Factbook , the overall world population of male, is just a single percentage point ahead of female.
At the same time, studies reveal that 85% of purchasing decisions are made by women. Ideally, this should translate to major marketing efforts being geared towards this audience power center.
Well..unfortunately that’s not exactly how it works!
90% of marketer choose to ignore this segment. Some just alienate them, while others throw biased campaigns that simply do not work.
Here’s a basic question: How can seasoned marketers be so naïve as to not capture this potent revenue resource? Is it complacency or failure to foresee ramifications?
A few years back, I had the chance to spend some time in Saudi Arabia – A country not exactly well known for its outlook and integrity towards their female population. Yet, be it at the grocery store, or choosing the right school for the kids or for bigger decisions like buying a house or a car, you could feel the powerful throb of women in control. Targeted brand campaigns to this hub of power? – Almost nonexistent. Agreed, that there are serious social issues that still remain to be addressed in that country ,but we are focused on just the market paradox today.
Take for example, the two Asians giants, China & India . While basking in the glory of their increasing influence on the world economy, they have conveniently chosen to ignore and disregard the fastest growing segment in their own den. Campaigns lending meaningful insights for the female audience are few & far between. Majority of Indian brand campaigns, apparently targeted towards women, are biased, primarily sexual, and cradles in the arms of mostly reluctant, non-engaged audience.
Here in my own backyard, we have not done a very flattering job either. CNN ran a story the other day, on how singles group made history with the first ‘cougar cruise’. It was a sold out event. Cougars are defined as older women pursuing younger men. What makes them a lucrative marketing audience? Well.. they come with no strings attached and plenty of money power. They also have certain living standards to adhere to and a younger crowd to please . How did the mature cruising industry fail to strategize the potential of this throbbing crowd? Mostly, because travel industry, in general, have been pretty sluggish in reaping the so called “women-centric” marketing benefits.
Maybe, it’s time to pitch right, think simple and scratch beyond the surface for the common traits that make up a woman. Our marketing gurus need to cover a few more basics than what they have done so far:
So.. for the first time I gave myself a hard look( just the woman me and left out the marketer) and tried to answer this question “ How can a brand communicate to me most effectively”. Here are some of the answers I have come up with:
· Cover more than just the basics. Up-sell me. Give me tons of choices
I think non-linear. My brain structure allows me to probe a wide swath of pros & cons before making decisions. While buying a car, I think of instances where my friend’s friend might want a ride and I need to show off that leather seat, or how to fit the little hamster cage so that the junior travelers stay engaged during a long haul.. You get my point.
· Never ever pitch Pink to me
( unless it’s related to the pink ribbon shop.) You categorize me with your bias. I feel ostracized.
· Even if I appear aloof & reluctant, I love attention
Give me your best personalized customer service but never, and I repeat, never, try to pressurize me.
· I love brands
It appeals to my class. Offer me the choice of brands and then step back and let me decide.
· Use the right prop to pitch
Kids & pets when used in wrong pitches can spin things out of control for you. Do your homework.
· Give me the option to “bring a friend along”
I would love my best friend to buy that dress or come along in that vacation or get that same model of mobile device, albeit, different color.. So, give me the right deal to double it up..I help you by doubling your audience , you help me back. It’s called cashing in on behavioral trends. Have you ever seen two male friends shopping together for the same brand? If yes, they are a rare breed ; Kidnap them and pack them off to an island; Invite all brand managers to poke their brain for a year.
· Be genuine
Irrespective of our formal degree, we all have a PhD in spotting fake attempts to impress. Your message should be simple, transparent and original.
Those were my lists.. How about yours’? Did I nail it down or do you think I digressed..?
Write back & let me know..
Till then,
Women rule!
-Bibi Mukherjee
13 Comments
12/10/2009 at 10:41 pm
Great stuff Bibi! I’m with you on the Pink pitch, too. Now if only the big jewelry chains would stop pitching to MEN to buy for WOMEN, we’ll have made progress.
12/10/2009 at 11:06 pm
Thanks Lara for being on the same page! It’s hard for them I understand.. since there no ramifications in the immediate future that they can foresee.. but god save branding if this continues for a few more years..
12/11/2009 at 4:03 am
Marketers (other than some retail and child care companies) have overlooked women as primary decision makers for sure. Some of that is due to precise targeting of non-demographic segments (i.e. values, psychographics, behaviors, etc.) which focus more on characteristics other than gender. Still, one would expect a deep segment knowledge to lead to more aligned messaging than it does. Good observations Bibi.
12/11/2009 at 7:56 pm
Thanks John. As I said, it was kind of a self evaluation. I am part of the same clan that has not been able to think out of the box. We just focus on prevalent or visible non- demographic segments, which unfortunately are male centric ( due to various reasons). High time we marketers shift gears.
12/11/2009 at 4:37 am
You make some valid points. What is particularly interesting is that the increase in the number of women who are in marketing positions at large and middle-sized companies doesn’t seem to be changing the way companies market to women. Either they have no choice but to perpetuate the male-centric view of what they think women will like, or they themselves really like pink (and bling)!
12/11/2009 at 7:58 pm
well said Paula. You nailed it. I was exactly trying to convey that. I am part of that gang too ( woman marketer not able to think out of the box)
12/11/2009 at 7:43 pm
wow,, capture the women do for marketer problem solving !!!
12/11/2009 at 10:44 pm
Women are harder to market to and that is why firms have yet to get it right. Seems like they are savvier purchasers, sensitive to stereotype marketing, and possibly less brand faithful as you have pointed out in your list. Also, the problem may not be Women purchasers, but Men purchasers -Men will run from the slightest female oriented presentation effectively dumping the brand. So brands with more gender-neutrality possibly feel the need to skew their marketing towards men. Since marketing is driven largely by combined analytics, ex: we all know if last year’s ad had a 15% ROI we want to follow suite as best as we can in order to move this year’s inventory. Business oriented marketeers of any gender understand this and act accordingly.
12/12/2009 at 12:56 am
Hunter – the manle purchasers are exactly the issue for me. I work in the spa industry and feel very limited by the need to be inclusive of men even when the vast majority of our consumers are women. Our marketing decisions are made by our male owner, who knows better than anyone that men will run far away from your brand the second you stray from your unisex image. Pink is strictly prohibited (except in October for an exceptional cause). Walking the gender line feels both limiting and unavoidable. I’m anxious to hear what is working for others.
12/26/2009 at 1:37 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bibi Mukherjee: Here’s a post on how we #marketers have failed miserably with our top #performing #segment. http://wp.me/pHPvW-1E #btv…
12/26/2009 at 10:00 pm
I’m no branding expert — but as a woman, I found myself nodding my head as I read your points. I’d just add this: don’t try to be cutesy, and don’t patronize me. Women are smart and savvy, and want to be treated that way!
re: the spa situation, just as I wouldn’t buy a gender-neutral perfume, for instance, I wouldn’t be drawn to a gender-neutral spa. I want my spa to treat me like a woman…pampering, etc. And I’d bet men want to be treated differently. Create two marketing messages, one for each gender. Something like offering Tuesdays as men-only day (men may be more comfortable going when they know they won’t be “hanging” with the girls too!) and Fridays as women-only. Create separate waiting areas for men/women. Lots of opportunities I think to more directly target *both* groups, and make them much happier than a unisex message. IMHO.
Terri Z
12/27/2009 at 10:46 am
Terri,
Thanks for the great insight. I completely agree. That’s precisely my point. Target & segment the messages. I feel that’s completely lacking when it comes to branding for women.
-Bibi
03/30/2010 at 8:43 am
I browse some posts from your blog, also have added your feed during the last months and I realized a constant improvement of style.
Wonderfull job.