Women Are From Venus

alt="https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/vnd/media/post_attachments/c0ddf3c911031ef8e6775efb00dab660e7bfb0123fa6cfbf4c663ddbf0e3ee3e.gif (49497 bytes)" align="right">John

Gray in his best seller on inter-personal communication "Men Are from Mars, Women Are

from Venus" states "men and women differ in all areas of their lives. Not only

do men and women communicate differently but they think, feel, perceive, react, respond,

love, need, and appreciate differently".

The emergence of women as a major

consumer segment cannot be over looked or taken lightly. As women strive to gain more

economic independence, it has become more important to focus on this segment and follow

differentiated marketing strategy. World-wide, women are believed to already constitute

25-30 percent of all the mobile phone users.

Need For Micro

Segmentation

So far, we have seen an emphasis

of marketing strategies for macro or super segments like business and consumer. In order

to reach deeper layers within the macro-consumer segment, we have to look at each of the

micro segments or units within the family. The buying preferences of each of

them–men, women, old people, or children–are now getting to be quite different.

In order to "focus", we now need to micro-segmentize. To closely study the needs

of a micro-segment like "women", which may require differentiation even in terms

of product requirements like mobile phones. Even within the women segment, it may vary

with the socio-economic background, viz., urban or rural, earning power, age group, etc.

There are other reasons too which may be taken into account:

• Mobile phone is a tool for
  
  personal progress through effective communication, and effective communicators generally
  
  women are! This is proven even for rural women as we have seen in the case of Grameenphone
  
  of Bangladesh.

• Personal security is becoming
  
  increasingly important and can be the deciding factor. So is true for working mothers who
  
  need to be in touch with their children.

• Lifestyle marketing is highly
  
  effective as women are now extremely status conscious, closely monitor the fashion trends,
  
  and influence the final brand/model selection.

• As cellphone prices drop and
  
  the service becomes more affordable, middle class is accepting it as another consumer
  
  product on its shopping list.

It is not uncommon to see that if

there is only one cellphone in the family, it is generally left with the lady of the

house, if and when she is mobile.

Positioning For Women

We rarely see any specific

marketing campaign directed at the women segment. Most follow "unisex"

advertizing just portraying mobile phones as being advantageous to all. However, we need

to position differently for different micro-segments like women.

In February, when

"Cosmopolitan" magazine organized a three-day exclusive women-cosmo show at

Delhi, one could see some unique ideas and products being directed at this segment to

highlight its needs, be it home, workplace, beauty, fashion, fitness, or food. It would be

interesting to quantify the results learnt from the experience. The women magazines now

well established in the Indian market-place can certainly play a significant role to

address this segment. Also most companies developing a strategy for women tend to position

on lifestyles rather than business advantages, while generally there is a need for

highlighting both.

Let’s focus on the real

influencer!