Welcome to the Kleber & Associates blog! Here’s the latest on Marketing Home Products Online to Today’s Chief Purchasing Officers of the Home: Women
In June 2007, K&A conducted research on the economic power women have acquired in recent years, focusing on how home and commercial building products’ companies had realigned their attention to female markets. During our research, we found that an increasing number of women control the family purse strings and make the major household purchase decisions. In fact, we concluded that women made more than 80 percent of all household buying decisions. As such, we deemed this female buying group the Chief Purchasing Officers, or CPOs, of the Home.
MediaPost recently took a closer look at this demographic, and its findings mirrored our former research. In an article titled “5 Ways to Engage Women (And Moms) Online,” women were found to be responsible for approximately 85 percent of all consumer purchases. Many were also found to be affluent. The “Marketing to Women Datafile” reported one in five women earned more than twice their significant other’s salary, and in 2005, Gallup reported that one quarter of U.S. women lived in a household earning more than $75,000 per year, as reported by MediaPost.
Our K&A research further found that when it comes to their purchasing habits, women are extremely internet-savvy and use the Web to frequently research product, service and brand information and to make both small- and large-scale household purchases. These women find the Internet to be extremely useful when researching or learning about new products, purchases they may be interested in making or for general information collecting.
Armed with this insight, it should come as no surprise that as marketers in the home and commercial building products channel, we must reach out to this influential female buying group . . . and we must do so online.
Below are a few online marketing strategies, as reported by MediaPost, which will aid in effectively marketing home products to today’s influential women.
1. Acknowledge that many women are busy with multiple responsibilities.
In short, keep your Web site navigation intuitive and simple; create a clean and simple design.
2. Appreciate that women are individuals.
Throw away the stereotypes and focus on individual needs, desires and customizable options.
3. Benefit from the value women place on authenticity.
Women value authentic brands and look beyond products and services to a brand’s social responsibility, sustainability practices, and community support and charitable giving.
4. Understand that affluent women often expect more.
Feature clean, organized and high-end design.
5. Recognize that women appreciate visual design.
Put time, effort and money into your Web site. Women take in all of the details and look at Web sites as a critical representation of your company, products and services. Invest wisely.
