The Evolution of Marketing to Women: A Women-omics Post
Just what is the future of marketing to women? It isn’t just a slight building on the same for versions 2.5, 2.75 or 3.0. Instead, the study of how women buy needs to take a bit of a leap to truly evolve and serve today’s consumers with relevance. That jump involves lessening the focus on women, per se, but tightening the focus on the science and right brain trait-directed behaviors of all consumers.
Next generation gender insights should help marketers start to notice and leverage the common ground in the male and female buying behavior we are now seeing hints of. The way women have typically gone about their purchasing process is but the launching pad for how all of a brand’s toughest customers are now starting to go about it. In my first contribution to the Women-omics* blog, I take a look at three current trends that point to an altogether more right-brain directed consumer:
- New male consumer: he buys skincare and fashion, co-parents and co-manages the household.
- HR/diversity changes: The gender intelligence demanded in corporate settings should lead the way for the same in brand-consumer relationships.
- Frugality/simplicity movement: We are all in this together. Commonly left-brain directed concerns of status and positioning are no longer in fashion. Living a responsible/sustainable life to benefit our own families, the community and future generations has become the priority for women and men.
As I concluded in my Women-omics post:
Of course, marketing to women to the exclusion of men was never the plan – but raising up the topic for examination a decade or more ago certainly and positively re-focused traditionally male-oriented marketers. Yet, at this point in time, consumer and cultural trends beckon us toward a more common ground, less polarized gender perspective – which, in and of itself, might be considered a right brain-guided way of moving forward.
*The Women-omics blog was founded by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, co-author of Why Women Mean Business, as a forum for pulling together international gender discussions in the market, corporate and leadership arenas.
