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marketingtowomen
marketingtowomen
Why there is no
‘women’s market’…
It’s a mistake for marketers to segment purely on gender, as they’re
unlikely to tap into the most important drivers of behaviour and
decision making. Instead, it is ‘smart marketing’ that will win the day,
says Nicky Steel.
T
here is no doubt that
women are a serious force
within the economy. In
2009 the highly respected
Harvard Business Review
went so far as to say that “women drive
the global economy” and there are
reams of statistics and facts to back
this up. One frequently cited statistic is
that women are responsible for 85% of
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strategicmarketing Issue 2 2012
all purchasing decisions in the USA.
For marketers and brand owners this
is clearly a rather appealing market
and the most obvious question to ask
is how do we get a piece of this action
for ourselves? How do we successfully
market to women?
Well, there are plenty of people with
views on this topic. One only needs
to search Amazon.com for books on
the topic of ‘marketing to women’ and
you get 11 498 results! One of these
authors is a legend in our industry,
Faith Popcorn, with her book Evolution:
The Eight Truths of Marketing to
Women. I perused with interest some
of the customer reviews and, while
there were many who did rate it highly,
there were a significant number of
customers who found it “offensive”
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
Very few females buy products just because they are for women
and “insulting”, and these were not
just men who didn’t have the sense of
humour to deal with the claimed ‘malebashing’.
So one has to ask: Is there really a
case for marketing purely to women?
And if so, how?
Over the past years I have been
involved in the development of many
market segmentation studies – from
premium alcohol brands to health
products, from credit solutions to
leisure and entertainment – all of
which have been based on primary
research conducted with consumers in
the respective categories.
As most readers will know, when
developing a segmentation model
one seeks to identify the greatest
driver of homogeneity in consumer
behaviour – which in turn influences
what consumers buy – and to group
people accordingly. In not one of over
20 markets that we have developed
segmentation models for, has gender
been the basis for segmentation,
at a total market level. There have
always been other more powerful
segmentation factors, for example life
stages, mindsets, needs, interests and
passion points.
I’d therefore like to suggest that it
is a mistake for marketers to segment
purely on gender, as you’re unlikely to
tap into the most important driver of
behaviour and decision making. Very
few women buy products just because
they are for women. And besides, how
does one make a ‘women’s product’?
By pinking and shrinking it? I don’t
think so …
Male and female differences
However, we all know that differences
between men and women do exist. If
we use our Amazon.com -ometer as
evidence again, a search for books
While Volvo did not create products specifically for women, it has
enhanced them with features that women value
It is a
mistake for
marketers
to segment
purely on
gender
on the ‘differences between men and
women’ produces 22 908 titles on
the subject! And these books suggest
that these differences exist in so
many facets of our lives … how we
listen, our approach to friendships,
relationships and sex, whether we
can read maps and whether we ask
for directions. So then, if successful
marketing is about establishing
connections with consumers by being
relevant, meeting their needs and
engaging with them on an emotional
as well as a rational level, can
understanding these differences not
be an important enabler?
They absolutely can. And there are
sufficient examples of businesses
that have created opportunities for
themselves by doing so. What I would
like to suggest, however, is that gender
is a micro-segmentation tool and not a
strategy in itself.
What do I mean by that? Well, if we
find that a total market is segmented
most significantly by life stage, we
could then further segment by gender
and focus in on the nuances of women
and men in a particular segment.
This enables us to present or
package our product in the most
relevant way. As an example, we could
discover that the choice of a motor car
is based on life stage and that parents
with families shared common needs
when choosing a car. If we look at the
Volvo brand as an example, it could
appeal to the family segment (fathers
and mothers) with its reputation for
safety and dependability.
Volvo understood the role that
women play in household purchases,
and so spent time understanding
what it was that would really add
value to women when it comes to a
car for their family. As a result, the
To page 26
Issue 2 2012
strategicmarketing
25
marketingtowomen
Marketing
to women
is simply
about a smart
marketing
strategy
load, the rear seats easier to fold,
and colour-coded the caps of the
various important parts under the
bonnet.
In this instance, Volvo has not created
a brand that is different for women,
it hasn’t made it feminine, nor even
changed the brand positioning. It has,
however, enhanced it with features that
women, and in fact many men, value.
McDonald’s big mistake
By contrast, an example of a brand that
made the mistake of not first making
a distinction between the different life
stages of its customers – and assumed
a ‘female market’ – was McDonald’s.
In the early 2000s it was talking to all
women as mothers and as a conduit to
26
their kids. Not only did this not appeal
to those who weren’t mothers, it was
condescending to those who were; i.e.
they were only good for bringing their
children in as customers.
So these women were taking their
purses elsewhere. McDonald’s then
went on a quest to ‘find the woman
inside the mom’ and saw sales increase
as the brand understood what women
wanted for themselves (premium
salads) and for their families (healthier
meals and revamped play areas).
1st for Women is an often-cited
example of a local brand that is getting
marketing to women right. At face value,
it might appear that it just dressed up
a short-term insurance product with a
pretty pink logo and gave it a feminine
name. But management started by
understanding the mindsets of different
consumers in the overall category.
There are definitely segments of
consumers who are very traditional and
will go for an insurance provider that
promises to be the safe choice, while
for others price is the greatest driver.
Then there is a segment of women
who are forward thinking, independent,
confident and sure of their ability to look
after themselves. Within this segment
1st for Women identified an opportunity
to focus on the emancipated female.
It then built its brand and offering on
these insights. (Editor’s note: for more
discussion on 1st for Women, see our
article on pg 20).
So, what I am saying is that marketing
to women is simply about a smart
marketing strategy. And to quote Tami
Anderson and Elizabeth Howland
(co-founders of andHow Marketing,
a US company which specialises in
connecting to women consumers):
“There is no ‘women’s market’. There’s
your women’s market.”
The good old principles of marketing,
namely truly understanding your target
market, being relevant and engaging on
all levels, still apply.
Nicky Steel is the chief
operating officer of
Yellowwood brand
strategy consultants. She
holds an honours degree
in Business Science
(Marketing) from UCT and
heads up the company’s
Cape Town office. She has spent many
years in traditional brand marketing.
strategicmarketing Issue 2 2012
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