A majority of consumers in the U.S. are women. Research indicates that online spending will increase 26% this year to $96 billion. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy and women influence 95% and make 85% of all consumer buying decisions; moreover, the majority of corporate purchasing agents and managers are women. Female entrepreneurs account for 70% of new business start-ups. If you are still unconvinced of the upside potential of marketing to women, consider these facts:
* Between 1970 and 1990, the number of women living alone doubled from 7.3 million to 15.3 million and this pattern has continued.
* At least 55% of those online each day are women.
* By the year 2010, women will control 60% of wealth in the U.S.
* College students were responsible for $210 billion in sales in 2002 and 58% of them were female.
* Women purchase more than 50% of the cars and own more than 46% of the homes in the U.S.
* More than half of all business travelers are women.
In Part II of her book, Barletta introduces and then explains what she calls the GenderTrends?Marketing Model, a systematic and simple tool to help her readers understand, reach, and increase their share of the world's largest market -- women. The model is designed to achieve three objectives:
1. "Structure the complexities of the gender differences into an organized view of female [in italics] gender culture."
2. "Show you how gender culture interacts with each of the 12 [in italics] marketing elements [end italics] in the marketing mix."
3. "Apply the resulting insights to the four stages of the consumer's [in italics] purchase path." FYI, the four are activation through market entry, nomination of purchase options to consider, investigation and decision with regard to nominees, and finally, succession (i.e. repeat business and, hopefully, evangelistic loyalty).
Few books fully deliver on the promises stated or implied in their subtitle. Barletta's book is the commendable exception. She offers a wealth of information and an abundance of wisdom which will help decision-makers in literally any organization (regardless of size or nature) to understand, reach, and increase their share of "the world's largest market segment." This book provides just about everything you need to do precisely that. What are you waiting for?
I have to say I'm disappointed with the minor male bashing in the book. Some of her male point of views are a bit extreme, for example: "Men, on the other hand, are more likely to hold the view that people are important, but no more important or interesting than current events or new ideas in computer animation, or something more material like cars or cameras." I value my relationships and found this a bit extreme. Do all women think this?
I took off one star for her point of view on men, but other than that this is a good book. If you are marketing to women, this book will give you insight on the subject.
According to marketing authority Martha Barletta, companies that fail to recognize the power of the woman buyer are leaving money on the table. In her book, Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach, and Increase Your Share of the Largest Market Segment, marketing expert Martha Barletta presents a compelling business case for why marketing professionals, men and women alike, should allocate real dollars and undivided attention to the largest untapped market in the world: women. She then explains why and how women reach different brand purchase decisions than men, and provides a detailed field guide for creating and executing a complete marketing plan that targets women.
