From a little email correspondence with an RWO reader comes the seed for this article:  How do marketers convince the executive management of companies in typically traditional industries of the “women’s market” opportunity, and how can the return on such an investment be measured?

With input from Maria Russell, founder of Women Aboard and a big industry advocate for getting women involved in boating, I will use the marine industry as my example. With no offense intended – an “old boy” network is what it is, what you read below should help those of you who develop marketing strategies for traditionally male-focused industries.

Scrutinize Your Customer’s Experience

The extra effort a salesperson commits to connecting with female customers is well worth it, as we found out way back when I wrote about hifi.com for ClickZ.  In that case, as members of the Cambridge Soundworks/Hifi.com marketing team watched female customers bee-line for the only woman salesperson on the floor, the proverbial lightbulb lit up in their heads.

Meanwhile in marine industry, female customers were still getting the cold shoulder from sales people, as Terry Dunigan, Boston Whaler’s Director of Marketing, noticed while doing a little testing herself at dealerships.  In fact, a few years ago at a national boat show, Terry was horrified to witness as one of Boston Whaler’s own salesmen stepped between a husband and wife and quickly turned his back on the woman to chat directly with the man.  Yikes!

That a brand’s lack of interest in marketing to women can reveal itself to extreme effect in the flash of a moment, and with grave results, is our lesson of the day.  Whether online or off, customer experience is of the utmost importance.

Some basics to keep in mind, especially within industries that have traditionally catered to men:

• Recognize women as legitimate decision makers on the sales floor and through online channels.
• Address women directly with your comments or answers to her questions. 
• Honor a woman’s more in-depth research process and provide additional information (brochures, comparison and industry ranking information, features and benefits matrix) without a hard sell.

Listen to Industry Women

With the help of Women Aboard, the networking organization for women in boating founded by our fair reader, Maria Russell, Boston Whaler surveyed 2000 women who were already boaters to get their suggestions for design changes for a specific 2002 model.  85% of the women who responded had more than ten years of boating, so what these women had to say was practical and included suggestions like: further develop the versatility of table and seating set-ups (more hinges!) and improve the ventilation of storage areas, among others.

The lesson for us:  Just ask women and they’ll tell you what you can do to better serve them.  This might mean online polling (one of ReachWomen’s favorite ways to listen) or even just reviewing the feedback that comes in regularly through your customer service channel.  Beyond helping identify product improvements, women customers can also be a great resource for process improvement, because they tend to notice friction and make suggestions for improving sales or customer service delivery. 

Respond to the Silent Influencer

Even administrative details like warranty registration can be skewed male in businesses that still use forms developed in the 1950s.  The marine industry - and likely many others that have been around for a long, long time - has trouble tracking the trends of their female customers because the husbands or male partners tend to put their name first on the warranty cards.  That means that the data is processed in a way that leaves out the people who likely have 50% or more influence over a boat’s purchase.  Isn’t that a scary thought?

With a little updating of long-used forms and processes, businesses should be able to find ways to gather bits of information that better define their customers. 

Keep Your Eye on the Long Term

Just earlier this year Boston Whaler introduced their 255 Conquest, the boat for which they sought women mariner’s opinions, so hard sales numbers are not yet available. And, in general, measuring the effectiveness of marketing to women efforts can often be a matter of observing incremental sales increases over time.  But, while the industries that continue to function in old boy network style may resist the idea of building brand loyalty and seek pure and instant gratification, they should take a look at non-competing traditional industries for inspiration.

Industries like consumer electronics and automobile sales have been dipping their toes into the marketing to women water for some time, and they have positive results to show for it.  Check out these numbers:

• Women purchase 65% of all new cars and 53% of used cars, and they influence 95% of all auto purchases. (Women Motorist)
• Up to one third of automotive do-it-yourselfers are women (Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association)
• Women spend over $20 billion on home electronics (Cambridge Soundworks/Hifi.com)

Jump Start Those "Boys"

While the "old boys" might have much to learn when it comes to reaching women, much of the research they need to conduct can be done in very time- and cost- efficient ways (i.e. grassroots).  Just listen, carefully, to the women who are already involved in your industry, and learn from the successes and failures of the more traditional businesses that have already launched marketing to women efforts.

The marine industry will have women like Maria Russell and Terry Dunigan to thank for guiding them into the brave new world of the female consumer market. Why not be the one your industry thanks?

Links:

The Women Aboard site:   http://www.womenaboard.com/

The Boston Whaler (recreational use) site: http://www.whaler.com/REC/

If the above sounds like a reminder to just keep your eyes and ears open.  It is.  Most businesses don't have to start from scratch with a marketing to women effort.  The clues are all around you.

As I mentioned in the last issue of RWO Talks, we have decided to archive that newsletter (with no regrets - there's great stuff in those issues!), and we are going to start sharing what we are hearing from women, as we hear it through a newsletter we call RW Listens.  The inaugural issue of RW Listens, which will hit in-boxes by the end of July, will report on two years of nationwide tours of listening to women on topics from menopause to mutual funds.  Please welcome ReachWomen co-founder and listening event specialist, Lisa Johnson, as the RW Listens editor. Read it and learn from her incredible skill in deriving the essence and identifying the nuances of women in conversation!

And, what we're up to in the coming months: Lisa will be delivering the American Management Association seminar we developed on marketing to women starting this September in NYC.  Check here for other locations and details: http://www.amanet.org/seminars/cmd2/5236.htm .  And, I'll be speaking, with extra support from Steve Sarner of Emode.com, at IQPC's Food & Beverage for Women conference in Chicago, Oct. 28-30, 2002.  Check out the conference program at: http://www.foodbevx.com/NA-1765-02

Take care until next time,

Andrea


P.S. Yes!  Write me with your ideas, comments, or questions at: andrea@reachwomen.com