Marketing to Women

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In America today, women purchase or influence the purchase of 80 percent of all consumer goods; this includes more than 50 percent of electronics, computers, and automobiles, and almost 50 percent of stocks and bonds. It's no surprise that companies big and small are refining their advertising campaigns to more closely fit the needs of women consumers. But when it comes to spending money, what exactly do women want? Advertising executives and Mel Gibson ponder this very question.

Faith Popcorn, women's advertising guru and author of three best-selling novels on the topic including the recent EVEolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women, gave To the Contrary some answers. As a marketing consultant and trendwatcher, Popcorn has been approached by numerous companies for advice on how to target women through marketing campaigns. Popcorn says that men and women are as "shopologically" different as they are biologically-they respond differently to advertising and marketing techniques.

Jiffy Lube enlisted Popcorn's help to make getting an oil change a more pleasurable experience for women; softer paint colors, Starbucks coffee, and music-listening stations now can be found in certain shops of the national franchise.

Other companies of all sorts are redesigning their marketing strategies to appeal to the female consumer. Home Depot is targeting women by holding woodworking classes for women only, hoping that female customers will return to make purchases in the testosterone-charged environment. Home Depot's competitor Lowe's Home Improvement has already attracted women through its female-friendly campaigns. Marketing experts such as Popcorn predict that more and more companies follow suit.