This document outlines 10 principles for effectively marketing to women. It begins by noting that women now make up over half the workforce, account for over 85% of consumer purchases, and are quick adopters of new technologies. However, women feel that only 9% of brands understand and market to them well. The document then provides a diagnostic for organizations to assess where they fall on a spectrum of marketing to women. It proceeds to outline 10 principles for improving marketing efforts to women, including understanding differences between men and women, treating women as "knowledge customers," incentivizing brand advocates, embracing technology, and acknowledging changing gender roles. The overall aim is to improve marketing practices and better reach both women and men customers.

1. MARKETING TO WOMEN
MARKETING TO WOMEN: 10 Principles
Improve the Way your Organization
Markets to Women… and Improve
Marketing Practice Overall
Based on “Why Marketing to Women Doesn’t Work”
A book by Jenny Darroch
Professor of Marketing
The Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School
of Management
Claremont Graduate University
Claremont, CA 91711, USA
Founder and owner of Mollior.com
Email: Jenny@JennyDarroch.com
www.JennyDarroch.com
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2. MARKETING TO WOMEN
THE CURRENT CONTEXT
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3. MARKETING TO WOMEN
We Know Women Are Important*
Women + Income • Over half (58.1%) of all women
participate in the workforce (up from
1/3 in 1970)
• As education levels rise, so too does
income
Women + Purchasing • Account for over 85% of consumer
purchases
• Influence over 95% of the total goods
and services purchased
Women + Technology • Quick to adopt/heavy users of
technology – e.g., Internet,
smartphones, QR codes, and social
media sites (Facebook and Pinterest,
etc.)
* US Data
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4. MARKETING TO WOMEN
Yet We Also Know There is a “Revolution of Dissatisfaction”
Women want more – more education, more
income, and better ways to nurture
themselves and their families.
Women believe only 9% of brands are
effectively marketed to them
Women are saying “you don’t understand
me” and voting “no” with their checkbooks
It’s hardly a surprise that 80% of new
products fail
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5. MARKETING TO WOMEN
YOUR ORGANIZATION… AND WOMEN
Diagnostic: Where is your organization on
the “Marketing to Women Spectrum”?
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6. MARKETING TO WOMEN
Which Statements Describe Your Organization?
No Yes
“We already have a lot of women customers. We
constantly fine tune our approach to ensure that we are
not leaving any money on the table.”
E.g., Cosmetics,
household food
products,
women’s fashion
labels and retail
stores.
1 2
“We know that women are important customers in our
category. We want to know how to market more
effectively to them.”
E.g., Autos 1 2
“We know that women are important influencers in our
category. We want to know how to market more
effectively to them.”
E.g. Autos,
hunting and
fishing, golf,
children’s toys.
1 2
“Women already use our products. How can we make
women feel even more comfortable?”
E.g., Power tools,
hardware, guns,
Harley-Davidson,
NHL Hockey.
1 2
How can we grow by appealing to women, a group we
generally overlook?”
E.g., NASCAR/
motor sports.
1 2
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7. MARKETING TO WOMEN
MARKETING TO WOMEN
Part A: Identify the importance of women
customers to your organization
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8. MARKETING TO WOMEN
1. Know Your Customers?
Run the numbers. Compare
your customer profile to the
population at large and to
your competitors’
customers.
Do you over or under represent
women customers? Why is that?
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9. MARKETING TO WOMEN
2. Who Influences, Buys and Uses Your Products?
Run the numbers (again).
Do women decide what to
buy or do others decide for
them? Do women buy the
product for personal use or
for others to use?
Where is your focus:
influencers, buyers, or users?
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10. MARKETING TO WOMEN
3. Know Why She Buys
Products are solutions to
customers’ problems.
Do you know why
customers buy your
products?
Do men and women have
different needs?
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11. MARKETING TO WOMEN
MARKETING TO WOMEN
Part B: Women are important to your
organization… now how do you more
effectively market to women?
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12. MARKETING TO WOMEN
4. Acknowledge Differences Between Men and Women
There is abundant research
on the physiological and
social/cultural differences
between men and women.
What gender differences are
important for your brands?
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13. MARKETING TO WOMEN
5. Treat Women as Knowledge Customers
Research suggests that
women are:
• relationship focused
• team based
• use shared leadership
• believe knowledge
resides in many.
These are knowledge
management principles.
Do you treat women as
“knowledge customers”?
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14. MARKETING TO WOMEN
6. Incentivize Brand Advocates
Women feel that it is their
responsibility to help
others make “good”
purchase decisions.
Women also look to others
to help them make the
right purchase decision.
What do you do to encourage
and incentivize brand
advocacy?
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15. MARKETING TO WOMEN
7. Use Technology to Support Your Strategy
Women are more likely
than men to adopt
technologies that enable
engagement – with each
other and with the brand.
Does your technology strategy
facilitate engagement?
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16. MARKETING TO WOMEN
8. Avoid Gender Washing
As much as there are
differences between men
and women, so too are
there differences between
women.
Do you treat women as if they
are all the same or do you look
for differences?
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17. MARKETING TO WOMEN
9. Acknowledge Multiple and Blurring Boundaries
Women have multiple roles
and move between these
many roles depending on
context and time. The
boundaries between the
roles are both fluid and
ambiguous.
Do you acknowledge these
multiple roles when you
communicate with women?
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18. MARKETING TO WOMEN
10. Work with Gender Convergence
In many countries, women
take on roles that were
traditionally for men and
men take on roles that
were traditionally for
women. We say that this is
a move away from a
masculine culture toward a
feminine culture.
Do your embrace the feminine in
your approach to marketing?
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19. MARKETING TO WOMEN
MARKETING TO WOMEN: 10 Principles
“By doing a better job of marketing to
women, organizations will improve the
ways in which they market to men.”
For more information or to discuss any one of these 10
principles and how they might apply to your organization,
contact: Jenny@JennyDarroch.com
• See also: www.JennyDarroch.com
• Follow Jenny on Twitter: @JennyDarroch
• You will also find Jenny Darroch’s regular posts on
Huffington Post
• And if you haven’t done so already, connect with Jenny
Darroch via LinkedIn
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