Valuing the Immeasurable in Marketing to Women
I am just re-reading Chip Conley’s book, Peak, and read this line: “…is the inability to easily measure something a valid excuse for dismissing its value?” This ability to measure, or not, is often part of the marketing to women discussion. Consider the following:
- Can we really measure word-of-mouth? As we know, women are heavily involved in it, but some “mouths” hold more weight than others on certain topics. No one will take a lawn mower brand referral from someone who pays a service to mow her lawn, right?
- Can we really measure cause marketing? Cause tie-ins and the sincerity or commitment to said cause varies widely among brands, and the significance of a brand’s decisions in this regard can also vary widely among women. Cancer research or global warming efforts, local or global - there are no easy-to-crunch numbers here.
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In a down economy especially, the rush to numbers is incredibly appealing because we can hold those reports in our hands and point to them! Still, the greater long term value with female consumers may come from those scary immeasurables.
Perhaps your brand should come up with its own language and parameters for deciding whether or not serving women well is worth the effort? “Measurables” don’t reflect the half of it.
