By Sam Ellison and Emma Jones, Founding Partners at Redshoe Brand Design
Women are society’s big spenders, accounting for 51% of the population and influencing 85% of all consumer purchases.
And yet marketing to women is seen by many as a niche activity. There are still brands out there that believe that by adding a splash of pink to their campaigns they can tick the box for appealing to female consumers – and don’t realise how horribly patronising this can be. According to Harbinger’s Women & Word of Mouth survey 91% of women actually feel that marketers simply do not understand them.
Even worse, some brands are actually charging women more than men for identical products that have been graced with a rosy hue – pink razors being an example of this which we particularly despair of.
The irony is that women tend to be the most demanding and discerning consumers around. So whilst companies are trying to tap into this enormous target audience, many are actually more likely to be turning women off as why would they want to buy from companies that just don’t ‘get’ them?
So how can brands, big and small, engage with women without patronising them? Here are our five top tips:
Know your audience
The starting point is understanding who you are talking to. It’s getting easier and easier to collect customer information, from transactions to social media and web browsing. Mine that data to get a picture of your female customers, but go deeper than simply comparing women to men as lumping them into one homogenous group will get you nowhere (and the same goes for men too).
It’s important to understand the different lifestyles, lifestages and motivators that create different target audience segments among your customers. Also bear in mind the different roles that women play across a day or a week.
Abandon stereotypes.
Armed with your customer insight (above), start creating campaigns that reflect and celebrate these differences, while avoiding female stereotypes. Women aren’t looking for perfection – they are seeking honesty and realism. So, use imagery and a tone that is relevant to their lives. This doesn’t mean doing away with all forms of aspiration, however. We all dream, but we want the chance for our dreams to come true. Hence, with one lingerie brand we worked with, we changed the models in their communications from a ‘stick thin with big boobs’ stereotype to beautiful, real women who looked great in their underwear – and watched the sales come in.
Relationships are important
People make decisions based on emotions (heart) first and then rationalise them logically (head). Therefore appealing to emotions is an incredibly powerful branding tool and relationship builder. Women in particular respond to stories that draw them in, providing them with connections and experiences that they can relate to on a personal level. But make sure brand stories are authentic of you want to gain female trust.
Think intuitive design.
Women join the dots fast. They are astute consumers who appreciate good design and quickly assimilate messages and brand intent. This means you can, and should, be braver with your design. A powerful image can create a magical emotional connection, giving an instant view of how your product can enhance her life. This is far more convincing than a list of product features and creates real stand out on shelf, or online. Huggies packaging demonstrates its ability to protect baby and keep him/her safe in one beautiful picture.
Embrace social media.
Women are savvy shoppers, on average researching 10 sources of information before buying a product (versus two for men). They also spend 40% more time on social networks than men so make use of the various platforms to speak to women about your brand/company. Tesco set a perfect example on how this can be done with its social media campaign. It proved that having a conversation with its target market is far more beneficial than just focusing on monologue. The feedback gained through Facebook conversations helped, not only in the product development stage, but also in terms of creating sales.
Be inclusive
Marketing to women isn’t just about female orientated products. It can also be about ensuring that women’s thinking and needs are included within campaigns to ensure they are being ‘spoken to’ in brand communications and design. For example, our client, Turtle Wax, recognised that most car care products were designed for men, yet women accounted for 40% of sales. We therefore used extensive analysis and insights into the thinking, needs and behaviours of all consumers, both men and women, to revamp its entire product range to both genders, bringing a new level of sophisitication and emotion to a very functional product category – and doubling the potential marketplace as a result.
