With the tremendous influence of women in the consumer marketplace, brands that recognise the different female consumer segments and have the ability to engage, connect and provide them with solutions will be more likely to earn their business.
Today’s women have emerged as a more powerful consumer force than ever before. Women are constantly seeking time-saving solutions or products and services designed to suit their needs and, therefore, the opportunities to cater to this audience are enormous. Authenticity, social responsibility and environmentally friendly practices can be powerful marketing tools to connect with them. Knowing whom you are targeting and what they are looking for in the marketplace can be a tremendous source of advantage for brands.
According to The Female Economy study published in Harvard Business Review, women are the purchase decision makers for 85% of the household spend. They run the family social calendars and are responsible for the lion’s share of grocery shopping and meal preparation. The study also recognises six key female consumer segments – primarily defined by income, age, and stage of life. This is key information that brands need to be looking at when considering a campaign targeted at female audiences. Just because women are women does not mean that they all think the same or respond to the same stimulus.
While women are making decisions in the majority of purchases for their family unit, it requires a huge shift in thinking for many companies to successfully connect with this audience. The Office for National Statistics 2011 report has revealed stats of 17.9 million families living in the UK. Of these, 12 million consisted of a married couple with or without children. The bulletin has also presented an estimated 20% of households as consisting of four or more people, and 25% of families having dependent children. Yet, according to these stats, London/South East and South West spend 75% more on food than any other regions in the UK.
With the high percentage of women influencing the majority of household spending, brands who are looking at increasing their total market share should look at high growth areas. Hence, it is paramount for brands to carry out consistent activity regionally, to keep top of mind with consumers. “It takes approximately three interactions with a consumer to begin to change a habit”, says Sally Durcan, MD of Hotcow. This is because of the influx of new brands entering the market, the range of messages people see every day and the diversity of the population and how they shop.
In short, marketeers must consider the growing purchasing power of the female consumer today, whether they are spending or influencing spending amongst their peers. It is all about understanding how many they are, what they spend their money on, and where to focus your marketing efforts to connect with this audience. Women need to feel they’re being talked to not talked at. They appreciate value for money and the advice of their friends. In many ways, selling to women is more about having a conversation and finding a connection leading to a sale than it is about telling them how much they need the product or service advertised.
So how do you create meaningful experiences that makes this consumer feel understood?
Hotcow is expert in creating connection and building on going conversations with female audiences of all kinds. For more thoughts on this subject, check out our blog article: Why normal brands fail to connect with women.
Hotcow is a multi-award winning Experiential Marketing agency. We get brands in front of consumers in ways that persuade them to buy. We fully implement our ideas; nothing needs to be farmed out. For more information or free consultation, contact us.