Quote of the Month

The Difficult is that which can be done immediately; the impossible that which takes a little longer. ~ George Santayana

Effective Marketing; The hidden truth behind Male vs. Female Marketing

What is the greatest difference between marketing to men and women? With the women you have to explain everything. Women question everything and suggest alternatives. With the guys, it's the old Nike? saying, 'Just do it!'

That answer may seem harsh but it is also very true. Men are a different animal than women and the way they approach things is quite the opposite of how a woman sees things. Often we allow
ourselves to become emotionally attached to our projects while men, on the other hand, tend to look at their course of action with a blind eye to the emotional implications.

So how do you effectively market a product or service to both groups? To get a better handle on this concept let's look at the ever popular world of EZines. When ever I see an Ezine that just goes on and on, blabbering over and over, repeating the same facts in different ways I know that most likely it was created by or for a male. Men's decisions are based strongly on their perceptions of usefulness. In contrast women are more strongly influenced by ease of use. Women, with their busy schedules, juggling family and career, just don’t have time for all that fluff. They want the facts and the emotions all neatly presented.

Now I know you are saying to yourself this is just the opposite from what I just stated but if you look closely you will see a definite connect. While women tend to need to know the whys men need only the grit, they just need it over and over.

Studies have shown that female marketing professionals demonstrate higher research ethics judgments than their male counterparts. One of the reasons for this that is noted in the social psychological literature, is that the male counterpart tends to be self-confident and goal-oriented, while women lean towards being more communal and well-balanced (socially oriented).
It was discovered that while women tend to focus on maintaining group cohesion men remain effective at task-oriented behaviors (i.e. those focused on getting the job done).

A blend of the ideas from these studies suggests the premise regarding which factors should be most influential to male and female consumers in determining customer satisfaction
with service encounters. This is of great interest to marketing professionals and should also be to you as a business owner. The findings from three separate experiments provide support for the
hypothesis that women may be generally more sensitive to relational aspects of a service encounter and men to core aspects.

So to effectively market to both the answer seems to be to separate the marketing campaign into two gender oriented groups. Marketing products that would attract the female audience i.e. lipstick, would probably not bring the male audience pounding on your door. Where you might capture the man’s attention would be if your product offering were of masculine nature, i.e. a lawnmower. Remember there is always an exception to every rule; however generally this concept holds true. This rule can best be evidenced in advertisements for items like the family car.

The world of marketing is a highly competitive one and unless you focus your attention on the audience you are marketing to you will find yourself spinning your wheels. Most assuredly the first step
in creating a successful campaign is to do your homework. Decide just who your product or service is geared towards and then look at the market area to uncover if there truly is a need. You may
find that the idea you have has already been thoroughly exhausted in your market area or that it is an open arena. Either way you will need to do your homework.

Once you have uncovered the need, and established who your target market is, you can to begin to put together your campaign. Remember when marketing to women keep it short and full of the
facts of not only what your product or service can provide but how it will effectively make their lives easier or better. While with the male market you will need to incorporate the bells and
whistles of what you have to offer and not so much the reason they need it.

© Copyright 2005 Ginger Marks

Tip for Success

A weak expression of belief in your product or service is more harmful than good. Develop a definite powerful belief in what you have to offer if you hope to persuade people of their need for what you are offering.

Q & A

Question: What is DocUmeant?

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On the writing side we offer copy writing and editing services. From personal to business, technical to college we have the staff and the experience to complete your project on time and with the polished professional look you wish to portray.

*Note: We now also offer publishing assistance through DocUmeant Publishing since 2009, based out of NYC.