Marketing to Women - Lifecycle Performance Pros

146 PART THREE / Practical Applications
GenderTrends Genius: Edie Fraser
President of the Business Women’s Network (BWN), a premier source of
information, resources, contacts, and opportunities helping women on all
levels of business expand their professional horizons
Women’s Organizations: A Winning Proposition for Corporate
Sponsorships
The proliferation of women’s organizations—as many as 7,000 according
to our count at BWN—is offering unprecedented opportunities for corporate
marketers. Not only is it a great way to reach out to niche women’s markets,
it’s also a great way to build your corporate brand. Women are intensely
loyal to companies that seek them out, and associations are effective
places to recruit them as customers, shareholders, and even employees.
To learn how to leverage the power of associations in your marketing
efforts, see page 228.
and marketing response often result in different brands making the
first cut. And when you think about it from a marketing point of view,
the first cut is the unkindest cut of all, because it is where most of the
brands in the marketplace get tossed out.
The three deciding factors that determine whether a brand will make it on
to that short list are:
1. Top-of-mind awareness. She can’t consider your brand if she’s
never heard of it. Actually, it’s more than that: your brand has to come
up as a candidate more or less spontaneously, before she’s even
started to do any serious research.
2. Relevant differentiation. Your brand has to stand out from other
similar brands in some way that’s relevant to her needs or preferences.
3. Brand likability. This is the Sally Field factor: “She likes you, she
really likes you!” (Or at the very least, she’s got nothing against you.)
You can address all of these deciding objectives together through programs
delivered via word of mouth, milestone marketing, and/or brand/
image communications.