Most rules of marketing are based on a male gender culture - and we don't even realize it. Such rules are based on focus strategies; such as only include one message in your advertising. But many of these "rules" simply won't work for women! There are three different focus strategies marketers must accommodate when marketing to women. These are:
- Details, Details
- Integrate versus extricate
- The Perfect Answer
Details, Details
Women notice and care about details more than men do. If you can touch it, taste it, hear it, see it or smell it, women are probably noticing it at some level, and it's figuring into their assessment of your product, service and communications. Researchers and salespeople get confused when they hear women talking about criteria that seem minor in the grand scheme of things (storage pockets and a security purse holder in the minivan, for example) and sometimes conclude that women have different needs than men. The way it really works is that women want all the same things as men- and then some.
Even beyond the five senses, women possess a more hidden sensory ability. They can read subtle variances in tone of voice, facial expression, gestures and body language, which gives them a sort of emotional X-ray vision. If you're face-to-face with a female customer, any insincerity is likely to be much more apparent to her than you may realize.
Integrate versus extricate
Women integrate. Men extricate. When men make a major decision, they strip away all the details and focus on the bare essentials. But women look to add information, not cut it away. They believe details not only add richness and depth but are necessary to an understanding of the situation. Women desire to know and integrate all the details into a rich whole before making a decision.
The Perfect Answer
The combination of valuing details and integrating result in women seeking what I call "The Perfect Answer." Women set the bar higher than men do, and if that means it takes longer to get over the bar, so be it. Women don't settle for "good enough."
I had a friend who drove two hours to get the cell phone color she desired - Ocean Blue. While the color of the phone was not the most important factor in her decision, it was the deciding factor. Having Ocean Blue or having some other color was the difference between having 100% of what you want vs. 90%. And to a woman, that matters.
Considering these different focus strategies, how does your marketing measure up?
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