It is time to design advertising campaigns that actually appeal to the buying needs and habits of women.
All business owners and advertising professionals should consider whether their approach is truly inclusive of women and the way we think. This does not just apply to large enterprises, this is about your small business and how you speak to your customers.
Controversial as it may be, men and women don’t communicate in the same way and they don’t make purchasing decisions for the same reasons either. Generally speaking, one wants a transaction to take place and the other is interested in making a connection and creating a relationship.
We want to feel heard and understood. We want you to communicate what this product is going to do for us and how this product going to make our life easier.
According to Marketing To Women’s author Martha Barletta, 91% of women say advertisers don’t understand them. NINETY ONE PERCENT!
Men dominate most industries, and the advertising industry is no exception. Despite roughly half of advertising staff being women, men monopolise the highly sought after creative positions.
Women, as consumers, are clearly not a homogenous group that behave and act in a predictable way. Being patronising, smug or insincere will not get you more sales. Women will spend more with a brand that ‘gets it’ without trying too hard.
It’s important to think of each potential female buyer as an individual, and focus on her needs. What stage of life is she at? How can your product make her life easier?
So, one lesson is that traditional sales-based advertising will be less effective, subtler ways of communicating, such as word-of-mouth and social media marketing work much better.
Businesses getting it right know that their success lies in their messaging and the way they communicate to their customers. They are engaging with agencies like The Social Butterfly who speak directly to their customers – not down to them.
It’s time to re-examine the one size fits all advertising approach and meet our customers and clients where they’re at, rather than telling them what we think they should want to hear.