Mission Critical - Marketing to Women
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Authors
Authors: Pradip Sinha & Prashant Banerjee,
Associate Consultant, Associate Consultant,
ICMR (IBS Center for Management Research).
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There are quite a number of ways through which companies can and have been reaching their women customers. In the process several interesting facts have surfaced. Women have the habit of talking to each other, which is often referred to as gossip and considered useless talk. But, experts call this the 'connecting phenomenon' which links one woman to another. It is this behavioral aspect of women that brings them much closer. This is probably because they are more risk averse than men while purchasing. And perhaps because of this behavior they posses three times more recommending power than men when it comes to recommending to their friends /relatives, or when they are looking for a particular product/service from the market. This connecting power is the reason for the huge success of the legendary 'undisputed' queen of connection, Oprah Winfrey. Companies should try to tap this connectivity among women to increase the awareness of their brands as SnackWell, the US-based food company, successfully did. The company knew the importance of this connection formula as they built this relationship by investing huge amounts in GirlsInc, the largest girls advocacy group in USA. |
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Further, the company celebrated Mothers Day to make it memorable for both the mothers and the daughters; they even conducted workshops on the mother-daughter relationship. Snack Well also started a TV program called
'Mothers and Daughters; a life time bond'. All these brought different categories of women from all sections of life and society, not to mention the mothers and daughters much closer.
Other examples of companies which have encashed on this connectivity power are Dettol, Parle and Palmolive. Dettol used Mothers Day (14th May) to advertise Dettol, which shows the power of a mother's love and care, on virtually all TV channels, thus building its brand personality and further associated with protection, care and love. It helped Dettol bring mothers closer to the brand.
Parle too leveraged the International Day of Families (15th May) to its advantage through television commercials, contests in the print media and appropriate sponsorship. Its association with Family Day made Parle's products dearer to Indian families, increasing its brand image significantly. Palmolive took advantage of the fact that the 2000 Miss Universe, Lara Dutta, was supported by them. Palmolive's association with Lara Dutta made the brand synonymous with beauty, and Palmolive made its way into the hearts of young aspiring girls and women, further highlighting its brand personality.