August 2009 Issue #3
What women want
When it comes to purchasing, women wear the trousers. They control 83% of all consumer purchases and more than half of all corporate purchases, making their economic clout indisputable. In a decade, 70% of all retail customers will be female.
In the current economic downturn, where the household budget gains significance, women’s purchasing power is bigger and more relevant than ever.
Hello girls!
And if that’s not reason enough to target women, consider this: women are more loyal customers than men. Once you’ve convinced them to buy your product, they can be fans for life.
They’re also more likely to recommend products through word of mouth and social networking sites – making them a powerful, self-sustaining marketing engine.
So it’s no surprise that companies are currently waking up to these growth opportunities and proactively attempting to woo women.
Don't think pink
But all too often, companies think pink when targeting women. They superimpose flowers and frills onto an existing product.
Yet only 9% of women want ‘feminine-looking’ products - most are turned off by pink. This was a key message at this year’s International CES, the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow.
The pinkwash problem
Just look at the detrimental effect that pinkwashing had on Motorola. Their pink Razr was merely a differently coloured version of an existing phone.
After selling more than half a million handsets in the first few months, it rendered the entire Razr series out of fashion. It offered no value other than a short-lived fashion statement.
Think female-centred
Instead, women want design that addresses their needs in terms of function and form.
Crucial is that you identify and address women’s needs from the start of the design process – not at the end.
And whatever you do, don’t market it as a product 'specially for women’. This will send them running out of the shop in annoyance.
More to think about
How to get started
Pinkwashing without pink
Social media rules
Max effort, min impact
Despite a lengthy and dedicated effort to target female consumers, America’s second-largest office-supplies company failed to deliver value to women – who account for $44.5 billion of office supply sales every year in the US alone.
Right approach
OfficeMax’s approach was actually spot on. First the company conducted user research with a customer advisory panel comprising of 5,000 women. Then they developed Eve, a persona that represented the target segment’s needs and was ‘consulted’ in design decisions.
Wrong result
On the basis of this insight, OfficeMax created a new shop layout, online shop, catalogue, packaging, service offerings and email marketing – rightly recognising that women buy the whole experience.
Nevertheless, their ‘Life is beautiful. Work can be too’ television commercial, launched earlier this year, is a tribute to all things ‘girly’.
The flowery product packaging has been criticised by women bloggers for oozing ‘girl’ rather than ‘professional’.
And the biggest mistake of all: OfficeMax didn’t alter the usability or function of products. Women were offered the same products with different packaging.
Pinkwashing without pink
Tom Tom and Dell have both attempted to target women this year, but with limited success.
Missed opportunity
Tom Tom, a leading navigation solutions provider, launched Pearl White in June – a GPS especially designed for women.
But Pearl White doesn’t deliver much added value to women. Tom Tom have merely applied a flowery pattern to their ONE IQ Routes model and added a few “girly features” such as ‘Places to be seen’ and ‘Shop ‘til you drop’.
It’s a missed opportunity. Tom Tom could have applied its wayfinding expertise to create a product that suits the way women navigate.
Research has shown that women tend to navigate using landmarks: “Turn right at the town hall and continue past the park.” Men have a better sense of north, south, east and west. They are also more likely to describe distances.
Backlash to gimmick
Dell, meanwhile, created a website to promote its Inspiron Mini 10 netbook to women. The site was originally called Della and contained dieting advice and cooking recipes in an attempt to get women to use the netbook.
But women pronounced the site as ‘gimmicky’. The backlash prompted Dell to alter the site and remove the name.
Judging from the comments on the site, however, they’re still not on target. One woman writes: “Come on Dell! Treat us like intelligent consumers and not like trained monkeys. Give us useful advice. Show women how to start blogs, upload images and establish e-commerce business.”
Guide to female-centred design
1.
Simplify her life
Ensure your product simplifies women’s lives and delivers an obvious value proposition. Don’t offer her gizmos with endless features – that’s what men want.
2.
Talk to her honestly
Communicate through characters that she can identify with. Market via stories that are relevant to women. Give her more than just the facts – this is what men look for.
3.
Create a complete experience
Women buy the entire experience. So don’t just change your marketing. Rethink your entire value proposition, from the store layout to product packaging and user manual. And give her lots of information – she needs more convincing than men.
4.
Deliver value
Women prioritise long-term needs when buying, unlike men, who prioritise immediate needs. Give her long-term value and consider her life stage. Women’s focus changes more than men’s throughout their life cycle.
5.
Relate to her body
Women are built differently from men and therefore function differently. No surprise! So consider her ergonomic needs. And never ‘shrink’ your male products to XS. That approach is destined for failure.
Social media rules
Businesses are reaching out to female bloggers as a new marketing tactic aimed at women.
Powerful influence
A U.S. survey conducted in March revealed that 45% of women make a purchase after reading a recommendation on a blog. If a woman positively blogs about a product, her recommendation will carry more weight than an ad. Wal-Mart publicly admits it works with a team of mummy bloggers to reach the mummy segment.
Perfect platform
Social media sites are the perfect platform for targeting women because they match women’s buying filter. Here women can share experiences, listen to trusted sources they identify with and seek product information and recommendations.
Booming community
Online communities for women are amongst the largest and fastest growing online services today.
They attract more than 53% of the total U.S. online audience, according to December 2008 data from ComScore. BlogHer.com, which has more than 38000 members and hosts 18000 blogs, reaches 14 million women each month - a 73% increase from last year.