Advertising to Women: How to Advertise to Moms and Girls
All human experience and
research shows, that women feel, think, communicate, decide and buy differently
to men. In the field of marketing, this knowledge is still not sufficiently
utilized. Both the purchasing power and the potential influence of women
continue to be massively underestimated. To be successful in selling to both
sexes, there is a need for a male and a female sales pitch that addresses
female mentality and not simply address female gender stereotypes. If that were
the case then all female products would be pink.
Have you ever wondered
why young girl’s products are all in pink and yellow? Because it is not through
a young girls needs or wants. It appeals to parents who subconsciously want to
enforce female gender roles on their daughters. They do not want to end up with
the “tom boy”. The same principal applies to young boys. Truth be told it is
worrying about just how many fathers try to encourage masculine traits, by
buying their boys muscle bound action figures, and encouraging them to watch a
bunch of sweaty guys chase a ball around a field. Do not be surprised when your
teenage boys start chasing muscle bound sweaty men around a gym.
There is now ample
evidence that men spend less time shopping. They rush purposefully down the
hallways to give the shelves a few eye-stops and then move on. As for the
length of stay, there is an agreed average:
4 minutes and 41 seconds: women with men
5 minutes and 2 seconds: women only
7 minutes and 19 seconds: women with children
8 minutes and 15 seconds: women with a female companion
Men look at cars and
examine the wide tires, the exhaust, the streamlined shape and then throw a
glance under the hood before pressing all the buttons. Women are more
interested in the color, the comfortable seats, air bags and the spacious
trunk. Many women talk to their car and give it a name. For them, the car is
something of a family member, for men however, it is a penis extension. Studies
have shown that when taking up jogging, a woman’s first port of call is jogging
clothing, a man’s first port of call is the footwear department.
This signals that your
sales pitch needs to be geared toward both the female mentality and their
shopping habits. If anything, you should really avoid any issues that bring up
gender, when creating a sales pitch. When selling to men, it is okay to appeal
to their masculine side, but this does not apply to women. A lot of gender
stereotyping has led to women appearing weak willed, weak minded or sexual
prey. Is that really what you want to appeal to when selling to women? On the
other hand, being too clinical won’t win you any prizes either. Think of how
Ann Summers do it. They make the woman appear as the superior race, adorned for
the worship of man. Notice how all the
female models (mannequins) are on pedestals, and then notice how all the men’s
products are below waist height. Look at the male models in your local clothes
store, they are looking at you or to the side. The female models in Ann Summers
are mostly looking up and away.
Your best bet is to study
the female shopping pattern and decision process in your industry and then
appeal to it. So with the jogging
example for instance, put the female jogging clothing in the window in spring
and early summer (when people start jogging off their winter fat). Add in a few
clothing offers with the purchase of jogging trainers, and you have sold to a
large portion of female joggers. With men, you would simply put a few trainers
in the window that have “special” properties, such as Rolls Royce inspired
suspension in the heels, or thermal dissipation technology.
