It’s more difficult to develop brand loyalty among female consumers than their male counterparts; after all, 91% of women say advertisers don’t understand them. Here are six marketing strategies that can help you lay the foundation for brand loyalty with women shoppers.
Brand Loyalty Harder to Win with Female Consumers
Marketing effectively to female consumers is a necessity given the fact that women influence about 85% of all purchasing decisions. In fact, women purchase more than 50% of all traditional male products; leaving little room for doubt that brands that want to grow must improve their marketing to female consumers and lay the groundwork for brand loyalty.
It turns out that it may be harder for brands to gain loyalty from female consumers than it is to develop brand loyalty among male shoppers. For female consumers, the keys to brand loyalty may lie in the six characteristics women shoppers want most from their preferred brands:
1. Reliable (87%)
2. Trustworthy (82%)
3. Excellent customer service (81%)
4. Treat employees fairly (69%)
5. Brands made in America or bearing the “Made in USA” label (63%)
6. (Tie) Brands that are American made and brands with a customer rewards program (61%)
Few would argue that women have always had a considerable influence over household purchases; a level of influence that was augmented as women made their way into every area of the workforce during the 20th century and gained more independence and direct control over spending.
Brands that want to grow during the coming decades need to evolve as though they expend this trend to continue; consider these predictions from 30 Stats You Need to Know When Marketing to Women on thenextweb.com:
- By 2028, the average American woman may outearn the average American male
- 51% of private US wealth and 60% of all personal wealth is controlled by women
- 50% of all US stock is owned by women
And when it comes to the spending power of women:
- 85% of all consumer purchases are made by women
- 75% of women identify themselves as the primary shoppers for their households
The Good News: 91% of Female Consumers Say Advertisers Don’t Understand Them
Given the immense power women have to influence and control purchases, if 91% of advertising is missing the mark with women that may be good news for your brand. Let’s take a closer look at the six things that women say they want most before bestowing loyalty on a brand:
Marketing to Women: 6 Things Female Consumers Want from Brands
Women want brands to be reliable.
This speaks to consistency in product performance, service results and customer experience overall. Women become loyalty to brands that deliver on their promises.
Women want brands to be trustworthy.
Though related to reliability, trustworthiness goes deeper, and speaks to character as well as performance. To be trustworthy, a brand must not only not disappoint in performance, it must also respect its customer’s intelligence, time and privacy. And beyond this, a brand can enhance the perception that they are trustworthy by giving back to the community, engaging in green practices and ensuring quality of inputs (such as ingredients, vendors, manufacturers, research, technology, etc.)
Women want brands to provide excellent customer service.
Each of the top three characteristics that foster brand loyalty among women hearken back to the customer experience in some way. Brands that provide excellent customer service go beyond expectations in some way that differentiates from competitors and matters to their customers on a regular basis.
Women want brands to treat employees fairly.
It’s interesting that fair treatment of employees lands so high on this list. Brands that are known for treating employees well go beyond offering “competitive salaries” into the realm of creating employee cultures that are outside of the norm. Just as the customer experience must be differentiated to stimulate brand loyalty from female consumers, the employee culture must be differentiated in meaningful ways as well.
Women want to buy products and services that are made in the USA from American companies.
U.S. consumers are increasingly aware of how buying from not only American companies, but buying from local companies, helps to improve the national and local economy.
Women want brands to offer loyalty rewards.
It seems logical that to produce engagement with female consumers, brands should develop loyalty programs that offer a mix of long-term rewards alongside instant perks that reward shoppers for taking desired actions, whether that be:
- Increasing shopping frequency
- Increasing average sales ticket
- Purchasing upgrades or accessories
- Buying in to VIP or Club membership programs
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6 Ways for Your Brand to Win the Hearts and Minds of Female Shoppers
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