With all this talk about the characteristics of women in leadership, Gary Bourgeault has been inspired to discuss marketing to women. His upcoming posts will be something to review, because he has totally hit the nail on the head when he says, "...almost all who report and talk about these things treat women as if they were one huge demographic entity."
Gary mentions the "tremendous segmentation" in the market, and I believe he's got a very valid point here. A quick search on the term "marketing to women book" brought up a lot more than I, myself, expected. It leads me to wonder how many of these authors are taking the time to explore the various needs of women or if they are just lumping us into one big, tasty-sounding number. 80% of buying decisions made by women...sounds both intriguing and scary, doesn't it?
What do you think? Do companies marketing to women automatically assume that you are a) a career woman hell-bent on crashing through the glass ceiling or b) a mom trying to maneuver her way through the aisles of the local grocery store? I personally wear a lot of hats, as I'm sure each of you do. How many of the commercials you see on TV or hear on the radio, that are aimed at female consumers, really apply to your daily life?
Maybe I'm not your typical gal (okay, admittedly I don't play into many stereotypes), but some of the products and services that I see marketed toward women I find, well, offensive. Either I look at it and decide it's a useless concept that doesn't really fit into any of my needs as a mom/worker/writer/homeowner/divorcee/reader/buyer (or any other role, really...there's some silly stuff out there for sale) or I just don't see the point of marketing it only to women when the product would actually be useful to anyone, male or female, who has yard work to do, children to raise, pets to feed, or a vehicle to maintain.
And what's up with the companies that think painting a tool pink makes it more attractive to women buyers? Is it just me or is that just a marketing ploy someone was cowed into thinking would appeal to us? If it's a quality tool, does the color matter? Or have we gals really created a buying market where it appears the color of that screwdriver handle really does matter? (And notice right off the bat that I'm not leading you down the road of the country song, "Girls Lie Too". Oh wait...I did. Couldn't resist.)
Just my thoughts. Let's see what Gary has to say soon.
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Just as there is no typical gal there is no typical guy. Generalization is a pet peeve of mine. I think marketing to women is something that has evolved as the roles of women in our society have evolved. That's a given.
I too wear many hats and change them more often than I change my mind! (shameless women-bashing generalization!)I think it is oh so wise for mareketers to try to figure out what women want. Their success will be two fold: a) targeted marketing and product development strategies and, b)the ability to sell the secret to all the men of the world!
Posted by: Marta Wells | February 9, 2006 11:51 AM | Permalink to Comment