Marketing to Appeal to Women
What is different today than the first year of International Women's Day in 1909 is that women are earning, spending and influencing at a greater rate than ever before. They account for $7 trillion in consumer and business spending in the U.S. and, over the next decade, will control two thirds of consumer wealth.
Furthermore, women make or influence 85% of all purchasing decisions and purchase more than 50% of traditional male products, including automobiles, home improvement products and consumer electronics. They also have most of the decision-making power when it comes to planning family vacations, according to the 2012 Women, Power & Money Study. But 91% of women say that advertisers don't understand them.
When it comes to electronics, women accounted for $55 billion of the $96 billion spent, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Women are involved in 89% of all consumer electronics purchasing decisions. However, only 1% of women surveyed think manufacturers have them in mind when creating products. Is it any wonder when you read about CES booth babes? "
There is a fine line between marketing to women and talking down to women and I don't think people have found what that is," says Laura Heller, senior director of the trade publication DSN Retailing Today. A growing number of companies are starting to target their products toward female buyers, or at the very least, promote them in a more gender-neutral fashion. Retailers and manufacturers who get this are seeing impressive results. It is not about changing the color of products to pink. Rather, it is critical to understand the consumers' needs and complaints and come up with solutions.
