chapter outlines

Chapter 1. Brain Training: How Not to Think Pink
With trillions of dollars on the line, companies are beginning to discover that the biggest obstacle to their success is “pink thinking” – what Johnson and Learned see as a very limited (and often stereotype driven) approach to the women’s market. This chapter outlines ten critical steps for moving beyond pink thinking and into more relevant marketing strategies.

Chapter 2. Now You See “Her”: The Visible Approach to Marketing to Women
Visible campaigns are clearly designed and presented “for women.” From a product like French Meadow Bakery’s Women’s Bread” to a seminar like “Smart Women Finish Rich,” the women-specific gender focus can be very effective. This chapter discusses how a visible approach, when well-executed, can streamline the way to women’s buying minds and deliver a true customized brand experience.

Chapter 3. Now You Don’t (See “Her”): The Transparent Approach to Marketing to Women
While using a visible marketing approach has its good points, transparently connecting with women is a more sophisticated method that requires in-depth knowledge of the market. Transparency in marketing means a brand, via its product or service, present innovative solutions to women-specific challenges and offer inspired choices reflecting women’s preferences. Using detailed case studies, this chapter describes how transparently marketing products and services takes more work, yes, but ultimately transparency attracts your market, builds brand loyalty and increases sales in a way that a visible campaign can’t.

Chapter 4. Inside a Woman’s Mind: The Scientific Underpinnings
Because research shows that men and women think and process information differently, marketers need to come up with different ways to market to women. Marketers simply have to get into the minds of female consumers and learn why they buy, what they buy, and how they buy. This chapter discusses how women’s holistic perspectives, communication styles and customer-experience expectations raise the bar for many companies, and then lays the groundwork for strategically planning around these scientific underpinnings.

Chapter 5. Shaping the Generations:Baby Boomers (and Matures) to Gen Yers
There are many ways to segment the women’s market, but if you start by examining the different experiences and life-shaping events of women born in different generations, just what shapes the collective perspective of your particular women’s market can be pinpointed. This chapter covers how tapping into the shared experiences and memories of large groups like Generation Y, Generation X, Baby Boom and Mature women can point to what drives the basic needs and wants of the members of these consumer groupings.

Chapter 6. Looking Beyond the Generations: The Buying Filters of Women’s Roles
Segmenting by generation may be the quickest way to look at the women’s market, but the common cross-generational traits and roles a woman plays in the course of her life may carry even more weight. In this chapter, Johnson and Learned cover single women, businesswomen and moms – all in terms of the mindset and the similar traits that will help marketers craft more effective messages to direct toward them.

Chapter 7. Cultural Influencers: The Buying Filters of Emerging Majorities
The typically considered minority ethnicities are rapidly becoming majorities that need to be addressed by marketers. Whether your consumer group of interest is Hispanic, Black or Asian-American, an “in-culture” marketing approach is the ultimate goal. The keys to reaching them should reflect their truths as ethnic women, as well as honor the beliefs, traditions and values that most differentiate them from women in the general marketplace. This chapter provides actionable information about how to tailor marketing campaigns for these fast growing segments.

Chapter 8. Learning Curves and Life Transitions: Relationship-Building Opportunities
Within any industry, individual consumers can greatly differ in their education and experience levels – and this can have a significant affect on their level of buying confidence. In addition, women often make the buying decisions surrounding life transitions, like divorce, childcare and elder care, for themselves or others in their family unit. This chapter covers the methods for delivering information and marketing messages to both confident and tentative consumers, and to women as they make purchasing decisions during times of life transitions.

Chapter 9. The Internet-Savvy Woman: Connecting with Her Online
Going online has become a way of life for American women. Whether gathering information, shopping, or emailing friends and family, women are using this technology in droves. This chapter profiles online women – how they got started using the Internet or email, and where they spend their time while online. This chapter also includes the best practices of reaching them, the keys to an integrated customer experience, and the essentials of online customer service.

Chapter 10. Online Research: Using E-Marketing to See Women Clearly
Because so many women are already online for research and shopping, and because that number will only increase in the coming years, the Internet is a great place to watch, listen and learn more about women as consumers. It especially provides an inexpensive, simple and fast way to collect preliminary data to serve as foundation for further, more intimate in-person research. This chapter describes passive research methods such as pattern observation and content analysis as well as active research tactics like quizzes, polls and email advisory boards.

Chapter 11. Enlisting Women as Your Marketing Partners: An Alliance for Brand Success
If we as marketers simply pose the right questions and listen carefully, we’re sure to gain insights from women that will help solve many of our product or service’s brand challenges. In this chapter, Johnson and Learned discuss how to involve women sooner and more fully in product development and marketing – and they demonstrate why it’s worth staying in touch with them for the long term as well.

Afterword. Investing in a Transparent Future
The future of marketing to women is not “pink.” Rather, the path to success with this enormous market involves a thorough understanding of their buying behavior, insightful and innovative segmentation and the enlisting of women as marketing partners. And that is transparent marketing. This chapter rounds out the book by demonstrating that the investment in marketing to women in this way is worth it.