This month's HBR echoes much of what Lady Geek has been highlighting for the past 18 months-perfect timing for my upcoming Symbian talk. Firstly, that women represent the largest market opportunity in the world- in aggregate, the opportunity is bigger than China and India combined.
Secondly that despite this, most companies continue to market to men and fail to explore how they might meet women's needs. Or they target women as an afterthought through patronizing initiatives. Dell's Della being a perfect example. The NY Times said Dell needed to go to the 'school of marketing hard knocks.'
And namely, that those companies that can offer tailored products and services to women are in prime position to win, when the economy recovers.
Interviewing over 12,000 women about everything ranging from their jobs and education to their hopes and fears, BCG found that women are vastly underserved. Women feel few companies have responded to their need for products and services specifically designed for them. Too many businesses behave if women had no say over purchasing decisions. With the recovery in sight now, women will represent one of the largest opportunities and are an important force in spurring a recovery. One of the findings echoes Wave 1 of the Lady Geek Brand Survey;
I hate being stereotyped because of my gender and age, and I don't appreciate being treated like an infant."
Interestingly, the research highlights that women are happiest in their early and later years and the lowest point is early and mid forties. Women struggle to cope with both children and aging parents, so are most receptive to products that help them better control their lives and balance their priorities.
I could not agree more with their final point;
A focus on women as a target market-instead of a geographical target- will up a company's odds of success when the recovery begins.
Tom Peters has been extolling this for years: Women make [all] the financial decisions.Women control [all] the wealth. Women [substantially] outlive men.
Women start most of the new businesses. Women’s work force participation rates have soared worldwide. Women are closing in on “same pay for same job.” Women are penetrating senior ranks rapidly [even if the pace is slow for the corner office per se]. Women’s leadership strengths are exceptionally well
aligned with new organizational effectiveness imperatives. Women are better salespersons than men. Women buy [almost] everything—commercial as well as consumer goods.
“Women are the majority market” Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse
“Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women.”
Source: Headline, Economist.
HOWEVER, what if your target market is 90% men - for example the IT network hardware industry (Cisco etc)?????
Mark
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Thanks for your comments Mark.
The point is that IT companies audience is no longer exclusively men. Cisco is an interesting one as they are realising that even from a B2B audience, women as you point out, are more likely to start SMBs. From a B2C audience, Linksys realise that women control the living room and their new routers are ones that you might actually not want to hide in the attic. So even selling hardware, if it sits in the home or talks to a business owners, women are a growth and important audience.
Belinda Parmar
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