Her Business

Lynnaire Johnstone

After meeting Australasia's leading authority on marketing to women, I sat down with a magazine that targets women to see if Amanda Stevens was right: that our marketing to women, in general, is very poor.

Stevens was in New Zealand recently to present a workshop, The Science of Marketing to Women, to members of the Marketing Association. Her company, the Sydney based consultancy, Splash, has conducted comprehensive research into all aspects of the marketing to women and come up the SheMarketing Mazimisation Model, a 10 step approach to attracting, retaining and maximizing a loyal female customer base.

This is important to anyone in business because women now purchase or influence the purchase of 8- per cent of all consumer goods, including big ticket items. However, we do not respond to marketing messages in the same way as men, which marketers would do well to remember. Adverts promising great deals appeal to men, but women are less influenced by them. We operate at a more emotive level, we don't respond to stereotypes, insults or being pigeonholed, and we tend to be much more loyal to particular brands, says Stevens.

For us, it's the little things that count. She cites an example of a woman deciding not to proceed with a transaction because the plant in the seller's office was dead. We remember when we receive bad service, are slighted by a service person or ignored, which happens more often as we age. We complain to our friends and we never go back. The offending company loses not only our business, but the business of everyone within our sphere of influence.

"More clever and dynamic than Australia," is her description. That's because, she says, "We are similar market and need to be more focused if we are to pick up business. In Australia, the number of consumers is so vast that the whole pie is necessarily larger, which allows every competitor a slice."

Women, of course, have a natural advantage in marketing to women. Although men can do well, too, women know how we think, what turns us on and what is likely to entice us to buy. Women understand our extreme contradictions: going late night drinking and clubbing, then heading out for a 10km run the next morning: that you power dress for a business meeting, then go home, don an apron and do some baking.

Stevens' research shows that changing social trends are affecting what it takes to succeed in marketing to women, instead of having babies young, women in their 20s go traveling and put off their families until their 30s. This results in a need for sisterhood - their friends have a huge influence on purchase decisions and brand loyalty. In other words, when you market to a young women, you need to market to her friends.

This group earns good money, but has tripled their credit card debt in the last five years; and nearly a third spends 121 per cent of their income. Some still expect to be 'rescued' by a man, but they are also the fastest growing segment of the property investment market. Yet another contradiction, and the very thing that makes marketing to women such a complex science, says Stevens.

By contrast, their 30-something sisters now find themselves highly stressed thanks to their new family and, after years of self-indulgence, coming at the bottom of the shopping list. The pressure to be superwoman takes its toll and they are restful about losing their sense of self.

But once women reach their 50s, marketers watch out! This highly misunderstood segment should be ignored at a marketer's peril, says Stevens. Women often outlive their husbands and no longer have financial responsibility for their children. By 2020 these women will hold the wealth of two generations in their hands for an average 18 years: inheritances from their husbands. After years of putting everyone else first, they're becoming highly self indulgent with their new independence.

The friendly, down to earth Stevens enthusiastically shares her knowledge about marketing to women. And it is to be hoped that the standard of advertising and marketing will improve as a result of her visit here.

More information on marketing to women can be found at: www.shemarketing.co.nz

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