Marketing to Women Online

Why I Don't Like Women's Magazines

I don't like women's magazines.  Give me a copy of Fast Company or Newsweek or even Men's Health instead.  (want insight into guys?  Check out Men's Health for some interesting reading).   

I haven't quite been able to place my finger on why I don't enjoy women's magazines.  But while doing some post-Thanksgiving "I'm too fat to move or my pants button will explode and blind my Boston Terrier) web surfing, I ran across a really interesting blog Feminine Genius with an interesting take on women's magazines:

While one page extols the freedoms available to the over-50 woman, the other lists all the tried and true beauty products that are absolutely necessary for aging skin. All that new free time seems to be absorbed in applying various creams to our faces and necks.

When I close the magazine, instead of feeling empowered, I feel diminished

Wow - I feel diminished.  Maybe that's why I don't like reading women's magazines. And this woman echos the sentiments of many baby boomers - perhaps one of the most powerful yet misunderstood demographics out there.

I also prefer to turn to the Internet for my reading/education/entertainment.   Give me a bunch of fascinating blog posts over Vogue any day.    I like having control over my content.  My time is too precious to waste on articles that hold no interest for me.   

Marketers - take note -if you want to reach women - you  must have a strong Internet presence.     Sure, many of your customers are still reading Cosmopolitan, but there are a large number of educated, affluent women who are walking right past the new stands to their laptops.   Thanks to search engines and bookmarked websites and RSS feeds - she's creating her own online magazine filled with material she wants to see.  Will you be a part of her magazine?

Thanksgiving Traditions

One of the things I love best about the holidays is family traditions.   Almost every family I know has some beloved tradition full of fond memories.   For some it may be a favorite recipe passed down through the generations, or an annual gathering at grandma’s house.

My family has a tradition, too.  We gather together in the bathroom and shoot tequila.  I know, it may sound like kind of a strange tradition – but it has sentimental roots.  A whole horde of people and family had come down one year to share Thanksgiving with me in Virginia.   My sister flew in from LA where she and her husband had just decided to get a divorce.  When I asked her what she wanted to do for the holiday weekend she replied – “sit on the floor in the bathroom and drink tequila”.    

The Power of Personalization

Can you lose a sale in two words?   Yes, you can.   What two words could be so horrible they’d lose a sale from a willing, qualified prospect?

“Dear Sir”

That’s all it took.   I was not happy with my current lawn irrigation company and was actively looking for another company to replace them.   And – there in my mailbox one morning was a letter from another irrigation company.  I opened it eagerly because I thought – hah!  They’re marketing in this neighborhood, I’ve heard of them, maybe they’re even offering a special!    I was a marketer’s dream – familiar with the brand, in a high state of need, and ready to act now.   Then that letter spoke two words to me…

“Dear Sir”

That was it – I was gone.  I didn’t even read the rest of the letter.  I balled it up and into the trash it went.   Shoot…..into the trash it went.   Damn small trash can opening….into the trash it went.  There.

My neighborhood is littered with single people, retired people, and families, many with stay at home moms and a few single moms.    For any of these families where the woman was the decision maker, or there was no male at all – that letter probably ended up in the same place mine did.  Why?  Those opening words told me one thing – this is a company run by good-old boys. (there are a Lot of them where I live) They want to deal with “the man of the house”.  They don’t want to waste their time with “little ladies” like me.  Now, that may have been a completely false impression – but all that matters in this case is customer perception.    

Are You Speaking Your Customer's Language?

Are you like me?  When you work with a client and they tell you they're bringing in a "brand manager" does your stomach start to tense - do your eyes roll up into your head - do you want to mumble something about your cat having a contagious skin rash (when you do not even own a cat) pick up your laptop and run out of the room never to return?

Why this extreme reaction?   Because, and I can only speak from my own experience, brand mangers come in and spout fancy new terms they want to plaster all over the website and marketing material.   

"We want to be known as the human capital management solutions resource"   

"When you think integrated component technology applications - think Brand XYZ."

"We're going to name the new suite of services Technology Synergy products."   

(quick disclaimer - not all brand mangers do this - some of my best friends are brand managers and they're wonderful smart people)

Here's the problem. 

Sex Sells - Truth or Fiction

Sex Sells.  We've all heard it so often it's turned into a cliche.  Advertising is full of sexual imagery and innuendo.  If so many advertisers use sex to sell, it must be effective right?

Does sex sell?  Yes - says a recent study conducted by market research company MediaAnalyzer.   But here's the catch.   The study finds that using sexual imagery in print ads increases purchase intent in men. HOWEVER - it seems to have the opposite effect on women. Using sex in a print ad decreases ad effectiveness for women.  It also found using sex in your advertising actually decreases brand awareness for both sexes.

Before you do anything else  - you've got to go to John Moore's Brand Autopsy blog to check out Attention Tracking pictures that show how men and women view the same ad differently. 

Here's another interesting finding from the report: 

While most men like the ads with sexual themes and do not think they have negative effects on society, women feel the opposite way.  Most women believe there is too much sex in advertising (58%) and more than 40% of all women feel that sexual ads signify and promote a general deterioration of moral and social values, and pose a threat to the proper upbringing of children.

Now - before you go saying those women must be a bunch of conservative or religious prudes - I would caution you not to stereotype.  I know many independent, forward-thinking, freedom loving women who are very progressive, but still hold similar views.