Are you playing Russian roulette with your business? Well, you could be if you aren’t marketing to women. Not too long ago a study found that women control 83% of purchase decisions and are the chief purchasing officer in most households. This mammoth-sized market has become a 4.7 trillion dollar machine (and that does not account for teen spending). Women are a majority, not a niche market. Another study found that women are responsible for more than 89% of bank accounts, 80% of healthcare, and 51% of all electronic purchases.

There is, however, one big problem: communication to them. A lot of marketing is aimed at a male audience and does not account for the large market of women. Women are a much tougher crowd to convince to purchase. What can you do to make your business speak her language? I have assembled a FEW concepts to help over the next few blog entries.

To begin: If you are going to market to women, you must understand the differences between the men and women and how they shop. Men buy while women shop around a bit. For example, a man and woman go to purchase a particular item. The man is going to walk in, find it and buy it within 5 minutes. Women however, are much more complicated. A woman is going to seek information first to learn the ins and outs of the product or service. In a recent study, 70% of women do research on a particular product before they purchase. Women like to find out all the nitty gritty first. They do this because they want to make informed decisions about a product or service. She, for instance, might Google a review of a restaurant or ask a salesmen a few questions. Ever notice how women will read the instructions, while men tend to just try to put it together? Similar concept. Women want the info first before acting.

The next concept is that you must understand that a woman goes through what I call a “shopping process.” She first, will find the product or service she wants. She then will think about it and then will think about it some more. She goes through a collaborative process where she will ask questions like, “what do you think about this?” or “does this look good?” Make your store a place that allows for collaboration from friends with things like couches in the dressing area. Or your business could offer “consultants” to offer free advice. Here is an example: There is a great women’s clothing store that has style consultants that show women how to dress for their body shape, skin tone and much more. They establish a connection with her and reassure the woman that they look good in that dress they tried on. Imagine the difference in a place like that over shopping at Wal-mart. Also, make comparison-shopping easy. Show her that she is making the smartest decision with testimonials and benefits of purchasing from you. She needs to know her purchase is the right choice. Teach your salesmen or employees objections she may have and how to respond to them properly. Women are very detail-oriented. She next has to feel good about her purchase. She will consider factors like: how will this affect me or my family? Lastly, if she feels completely satisfied, then she makes a purchase.

Don’t play Russian roulette with your business and start marketing to women. More concepts to come soon!

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