Three Easy "Must-Do" Ideas to Effectively Market to Women!
"Femarketing" (our coined catch-phrase) no longer refers to a sub-category, but is a concentration on an emerging dominate market valued at over $5 Trillion...and growing. Gone are the days of powder puffs, froufrou, pink hearts and old-fashioned notions about femininity when it comes to marketing to women. Female marketing is big business.
Case in point, women brush their teeth much the same way men do. In fact, women use most products and services the same way men do. Smart businesses know they can no longer just paint their existing brand pink when marketing to women. Meaning over-using a misguided "for women" focus or a non-existent female benefit.
There are endless methods businesses can incorporate to engage women, and profit from this new marketplace. Here are three ideas your business should use to create real female-centric marketing that reaches the mammoth eighty percent of U.S. households where women are making the buying decisions:
Include women on your team
This doesn't mean simply hiring more women executives, HR managers or administrative assistants. Try building a team of investigators that will touch/feel/experience your brand in the real world; then make sure women are on that team! The feedback and contrasting viewpoints women bring to design and development is critical to the success of your brand. Women will help you identify and attend to important details that make a difference in how she perceives your business. Make sure her voice is heard before you attempt to sell to her.
Incorporate images of real every day women in your ad campaigns and marketing collateral.
"...Are they serious?" This is the question women ask when it comes to many ad campaigns. For example, women are turning the pages with barely a glance at premium liquor or the glossy 4-color car ads. Why? Because most of the time the gorgeous 22-yr old babe model provocatively dressed, doesn't look like her or any of her friends; but instead is some man's fantasy. Be careful that your marketing is not alienating – or worse yet, condescending! The success of the Dove soap campaign for Real Beauty is anchored in the ability of women to globally relate and identify with the images. Make sure she can clearly see herself in your marketing.
Create a platform for women to share and form spontaneous communities.
In today's new 'word-of-mouth' marketing, social media has become the Queen (and hub) of what women have loved doing for years. Connecting. Now the ability for women to share ideas, feelings, dreams, fears and more importantly, information is happening at light speed. Research shows social media among women almost doubled over last year. Providing her a way to talk about the pleasures she found around your product appeals to her sense of community, and helps her find points of commonality and affiliation. Make sure your brand connects her to your product as well as to other women.
