Marketing to Women - Lifecycle Performance Pros

xxviii Introduction
with a whole spectrum of marketing disciplines, including strategy,
positioning, promotion, event marketing, and others.
I always liked working on “new business,” because each pitch was an
opportunity to study an unfamiliar category and consider some innovative
marketing ideas. During pitches for grocery products, personal
care, and retail accounts, we knew from the start our target audience
would be some segment of the women’s market. What I found interesting,
though, was the growing role of women buyers in the big-ticket categories
historically purchased by men. From cars to computers, from
home improvement to health care and high tech, women were rapidly
raising themselves onto the radar screen in unprecedented numbers.
In addition, more and more of the marketing executives at my client
and prospect companies were women. Yet, many of the marketing
principles we accepted and applied in our programs were rooted in an
outlook and set of assumptions that were slightly foreign to the norms
and practices of most women. And every year, a study would surface
saying women felt marketers were doing a lousy job reaching them
with messages they found appealing, let alone compelling. Something
was out of alignment, and it seemed to me there could be a mighty big
business opportunity in figuring out what it was and how to fix it.
That’s when I created my own informal Ph.D. program in gender-specific
marketing.
To me, the study of male and female gender cultures has become just
f lat-out fascinating. The original application of a lifetime of marketing
learning to a new way of thinking about consumers is thought provoking
and exciting. And, the resulting marketing implications offer some
amazingly fruitful and innovative ways to capture a competitive edge.
I truly do believe that marketing effectively to women is the most significant
and profitable opportunity in marketing today. By this time next
year, you could be harvesting the benefits of a business-building initiative
that boosts your share, customer loyalty, and marketing return on
investment by improving your communications to women. As we move
forward, you’ll access the tools that will allow you to make every element
of your marketing plan not only more female-friendly, but also
more financially productive.
With that in mind, let’s start by taking a look at the research and reality
that defines today’s market of female consumers. You may be surprised
at what you find—who’s got the money, where it’s coming from,
and, most important, who controls America’s checkbook.