64 replies to this topic

[BBCoach]

Several have hit on the major differences between the sexes and have offered up great advice (particularly Randy). However, if you'll keep in mind that an e-commerce site is nothing more than a glorified paper catalog you'll soon have a plethora of design directives. Try comparing Cabellas or BassPro versus Gourmet or Victoria Secrets for glaring differences and then meet somewhere in the middle.

Also, remember a very good generalization between men and women is that men read headlines and women are into the details. My primary site is a testosterone enriched/focused site, but since we began describing our products in greater detail (mostly to alleviate the simple general product questions) our female buyers have exploded to where I would say they approach 50% of our clients (up from about 5% five years ago). Totally unexpected surprise.

All good advice, but keep it simple and try to incorporate some everyday examples that have been successful for years.

[lyle]

First - if that's from a guy with not much time, can I see the input when you do have time!

Second - you ought to be advising people on their personal relationships with stuff like this. It explains why shopping with my wife is so frustrating - it's not her, it's her gender!

Thanks

Lyle

[Tim Leighton-Boyce]

Here's some interesting research about color preferences by age and gender, for instance. (Well, at least I thought it was interesting!)

I thought it was interesting too. Fascinating in fact.

The points about cultural differences should not be ignored. A great lesson can be learned when flying in and out of international airports: look at the colours of the cars in the car park. At a company where I used to work, this helped convince the American designers of shoes we distributed to understand why we wanted them to make different colours for the British and European markets.

[donp]

Wow!
Lots of good input here. I did do some more research on my original question by asking sales reps at the company (they sell upscale retirement community properties) about what they were seeing. Primary response was that the ladies were looking at more social issues, local shopping and services (hairdresser, etc), healthcare, clubs to join and the like. As opposed to the guys who prioritized on the costs, amenites (golfing, etc) and to a lesser extent, the local amenities.

Key to all this for us macho guys is to be aware there is a difference in perception between men and women, don't overlook doing some research here.

[page1ranking]

So, Donp - a LOT of great information has been provided here. Let's try to pull it all together. Allow me to add my two cents worth, also, built on experience in marketing both online and off as well as derived from Karon Thackston's coursework and forum participation.

While men want "Just the facts, ma'am" and crave details and specifications, women tend to want the experience spelled out for them. Let them "feel" the clothing through descriptive copywriting. Describe the crisp refreshment of a beverage. Explain how the product or service will bring them enjoyment or maybe even slight envy from their friends.

Also, women have evolved into quite the problem solvers. We go through our day looking for solutions to problems. We don't care where the solutions originate so long as everything works smoother as a result. So, to present a solution to a woman's problem would be key to selling her on a product or service.

That's my humble opinion as a marketer. Now let me try to give you a woman's perspective on how to sell me community property you mentioned in your original example:

If I may use an example, my biggest client is a developer - big time adult lifestyle communites, not focusing on houses (how big the kitchen is, etc, they sell properties, not houses) but more on the value of the lifestyle in this community. So what do I need to do to convince a woman that there is more value in my products and services in this area that would differ in what a man relates to? This target age is more baby-boomer than any other age group (I'm one, too).

Now, I'm on the very edge of the baby-boomer era and have started a family late in life, so I probably won't fit into the demographics of your target audience. Nonetheless, here is a female's perspective on what would appeal to me as a consumer while looking for community property. You'll have to make lifestyle adjustments, but you'll get the idea.

Like almost every woman I know, I am too busy. I have too many responsibilities to job, husband, children, house, church etc. I have overextended myself to meet the demands of life. If I were to move to a new community, I would want it to be centrally located to places I visit often so that I could save time in transit. My ideal location would be close to schools, a wide variety of churches, a quality grocery store, the dry cleaner and children's parks. It would be in a great school district with a great community which has block parties and other neighborhood activities. There would be a good supply of health professionals nearby with a major hospital with in 15 minutes drive time. However, I don't want to live amidst all the hub-bub of a metropolis. Therefore, I want a community filled with or surrounded by nature. Being close to a forest preserve or beach would be great. With today's cost of transportation, saving money by living close to necessities and recreation alike is a definite bonus.

To appeal to me, a website would need to show me the serenity of the community which you're selling. Use subtle, relaxing colors like light blue combined with lime green or mauve. Show me images of well-dressed neighbors congregating on someone's porch sipping lemonade while the children play in the nicely manicured yard. Soften or fade the edge of the images to white to remind us of a dreamlike memory of a wonderful childhood home or someplace we dream of moving.

Give me testimonials of other women who have purchased property in this community, but make sure they don't sound like sales pitches. They should be personal and should reveal to me how living here solved another female's problems, making her life and the life of her family more enjoyable.

I'd want to hear about what a great investment this property would be, too. Let me know that when the time comes to leave, I stand to make a considerable profit.

Well, that's about all I can add. Besides, I've just about convinced myself that I need to move to a new community so I'm off to check the real estate listings.

Hope some of this helps. It would be a great idea to approach baby-booming women to ask them what THEY would want in a community property.

Best of Luck!

[houndog]

Awesome. I can't believe I got to be the first stumbler for this post at stumbleupon. Thanks for the explanation and for the links, especially the Gloria Moss link. It's nice to know why I (a woman) gravitate to different styles, and why as a designer, I should at times push for my gut on a color scheme for a site targeted to females. Very interesting and valuable!

[tdgac]

Coming in days late, but hopefully with this information no longer dollars short. Thank you for this outstanding information!

As I read down through the woman's point of view I found myself nodding in agreement lol, so you're definitely on to something

[Randy]

It's usually one of the first questions I ask when someone queries me about how one makes good use of conversion testing tdgac.

Who are your Customers? Are they men or are they women?

Based solely upon those two questions I can then I spring the general idea of how men and women view sites very differently on them and get to enjoy watching the little lightbulb suddenly go on.

[hollybgirl]

BB Coach - I was struck by your comment about men reading headlines and women wanting details. My research has shown that women have more questions than men. There could be several reasons for this:

Women have more connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain - so they need logical as well as emotional questions addressed

Women often have more influencers - they need to gather information not only for themselves, but for their husband or family and kids. Women have to get all their questions answered as well.

Long term planning and fear of "buyers remorse" could also have something to do with it.

I'd love to know more about your site and how the more detailed product descriptions helped increase conversion for women.

[mcanerin]

I remember recently reading about differences of cultural preferences between countries and regions and website design. I just went looking for the link and could not find it, sorry. But I remember it was being clear and apparently well-researched, if that helps.

See if these descriptions sound familiar, in the context of this thread:

In general European sites tend towards pastels and softer designs - not as square as typical US designs.
Also, Latin American countries tend to prefer bold, vibrant colors and more square`` designs.

I just thought it was an interesting observation. Of course, there may be several different reasons for this (who the designers tend to be, cultural expectations, etc) but I had a `hmmm`moment when I put the two together...

Ian

[copywriter]

My research has shown that women have more questions than men.

Right... because they want more details If they don't find the details on your site, they'll ask. Well, many will ask. A good many of them will simply click away to another site that does offer the information they are looking for

[dragonlady7]

Part of my job now includes answering customer service telephone calls, so reading this thread turned on a little light in my head: all day long, between everything else I'm doing, I chatter on the phone with people who've called to ask about our products. And now that you mention it, I have noticed a difference in what the male and the female callers I talk to are looking for.

Many of the men have very specific, engineer-like questions, wanting to know more about the technical claims the products make. These men may or may not actually understand engineering, or have the knowledge of chemistry to really understand what they're asking, but they want me to explain it to them as technically as possible. They want to know that *I* know what I'm talking about. They're looking for, not a sales pitch, but a technically-competent(-sounding) explanation of the science of how the thing works. The way I've come to deal with them is by being very up on the industry buzzwords for what the thing is and does, but also be very ready with less-techy-sounding but knowledgeable-sounding plain-language synonyms.

The women often are looking for replacement parts-- in several cases, the machine was purchased by their now-deceased husband, or for some other reason the purchasing decision was made by the husband but the maintenance of the thing has fallen to them. (One said, "He bought it while I was pregnant and he got all protective. Wait, I didn't mean to make him sound like that." She was funny.) These women want assurances that this thing is actually going to help them and be worth the price it costs. (It's expensive, and the replacement parts are really expensive.) They'll give me all kinds of specifics about their particular circumstance, and ask me to personally recommend which product would most be helpful to them-- and they'll even ask me straight out whether a competitor's product would be more suitable. They expect me to be honest. I am honest with them. I also tell them that I have one myself, and talk about what it's done for me. I give them examples of customers I've spoken to before and what they've told me.
More of them, by the way, are likely to call in because a friend of theirs had the product and recommended it highly.

Sometimes there are callers who don't fit in the categories, and sometimes a male caller wants stories and reassurance like the typical females; sometimes a female has done her research and wants buzzword-speak too. This isn't hard-and-fast. You can get by in either case by being sympathetic-sounding but very confident in your speech. But yes, they do fall into categories, and two of the major subcategories divide pretty straight along gender lines.

Women, by the way, are more likely to tell me no and firmly hang up the phone if I won't haggle on the price or bend on some issue they want me to address.

I had never really considered it along these lines, though, until I read this thread a couple days ago, and thought 'hmmm...' and started paying attention!

[redsonia!]

I think this has become an extremely interesting and important thread. Can we pin it?

[mcanerin]

Agreed, topic pinned.

Ian

[hollybgirl]

Really interesting stuff dragonlady. I love hearing from folks who have actual customer interaction. I trust their opinion way more than the marketing executives

I've also found that women don't just want to be talked at- they want to have a dialogue, they want to be able to share their specific situation to make sure what they are getting is indeed right for them. I think that's one of the reasons product reviews help increase conversion. Have you read reviews by women? Often questions women have that aren't answered in the product description are answered in the reviews. They talk about their situations in the reviews. I think it builds confidence in buyers.

anyone else have any experience with this?