Rootscamp 2008: Women Are the Target Market – Not the Niche Market

Today I am working the internet crowd off line at an "un-conference" called Rootscamp 2008 in Washington DC where those in the progressive blogosphere, internet and advocacy fields come together to discuss current problems and solutions in our arena. For my part, I am going to present a panel called:"Why Women Should Be Your Target Audience & How To Reach Them" with Julie Blitzer from Advomatic.

Here is a sneak preview of the topics I'll be covering - feel free to leave your thoughts and comments:

Women Are the Target Market - Not the Niche Market

Women control slightly more than half of all personal wealth in the U.S; women make 83% of family purchasing decisions; and unmarried women delivered a stunning 70 to 29 percent margin to Barack Obama during this past election.

These reasons alone should make anyone realize that gender based differences in marketing campaigns have huge implications for a campaign's ultimate success. And yes - you can still believe in gender equality while also tailoring your strategy to engage men and women differently.

If you haven't read The She Spot by Lisa Witter & Lisa Chen then you are missing out on some great statistics, case studies and ideas for how to market to women, which is where I found a lot of great key points to share with the group such as these points on: Why Target Women?

• Their earning potential and clout is growing
• They give - to more than twice as many charitable organizations as men do
• They're great at spreading news by word of mouth, which makes them natural marketers
• Their vote tips elections. More women than men have voted since 1920.
• They volunteer more than men; moms with kids at home have even higher volunteer rates

Witter and Chen also reject the narrow "pink" approach to gender marketing and show readers how to leverage the fact that nearly all issues are women's issues. They anticipate that every issue can be successful when you "add women" because women are predisposed to:

• Connect with other people through dialogue and community sharing
• Be better communicators and better at big picture thinking
• Create community instead of hierarchy

Additionally, I'll be covering: why the Internet matters.

A Pew Internet survey says that 74% of adult women use the internet, but it is the way they use it that makes the difference in online issue campaigns. Susan C. Herring gives a good explanation: "the Internet is said to be inherently democratic, leveling traditional distinctions of social status, and creating opportunities for less powerful individuals and groups to participate on a par with members of more powerful groups. Specifically, the Internet has been claimed to lead to greater gender equality, with women, as the socially, politically, and economically less powerful gender, especially likely to reap its benefits."

Consumer Parity - The Third Wave?

Michelle Miller wrote an excellent post a few days ago that essentially summarized how consumerism can related to activism. In her piece she writes:

This is the Third Wave - women are calling for recognition in the form of consumer parity. They want to be acknowledged as an individual consumers with individual needs, rather than anonymous members of the female demographic.

What's causing this Third Wave of feminism to spread at an epidemic rate? The emergence of the newest form of communication technology - the Internet.

Technology has made women the mainstream customer base of today and tomorrow. And it's not going away.

The power of the female customer will not only influence how you market this year and next; it will define your business and marketing strategies for at least the first few decades of the 21st century.

That is, if you want to have a business that not only survives, but thrives.

That's all I can share for now - but please feel free to leave your thoughts, comments or share additional resources relevant to this topic.