7 Tips to Get More Women Customers

Want more women customers? In this new media age, your brand has to socialize with women. You need to participate directly in conversations with her and provide meaningful dialogue. And, you need to do it in ways that increase your relevance and value in her eyes ... or, she'll ignore you.

To connect with women, your brand must develop a credible voice. This voice must be engaging, personal, humble, authentic and participatory.

So, how can your brand motivate women to have long-lasting relationships with it? Here are 7 tips that everyone on your marketing team should use as a blueprint for brand communications.

1. People First

Tap into women's orientation toward people as the most important and interesting element in her life. Let her hear and read stories about people and situations from people who'd she probably socialize with in-person.

2. Help Her Connect

Women naturally gravitate towards brands that help them converse and connect with other women. You can accomplish this through your website, blogs and social media.

3. Develop and Link Online & Offline Events

Unlike men, women don't desire autonomy. She likes the warmth and interaction of belonging. Think about creating fan groups via your web and social media. Then, develop events where the groups can get together in-person and intensify that feeling of belonging.

4. Help Others

Women are nurturers ... they want to help people. If your brand shows her that you help others, she'll bond with you and tell her friends. Make it real. Make it honest. Don't do it just for publicity ... she'll sense this insincerity and walk away from your brand.

5. Understand Her

You've probably read articles and research studies that indicate women think brands don't "respect" them. Unfortunately, these same articles and studies don't go on to explain what she means by "respect." What she's really seeking is "understanding!" She wants you to listen to her and respond to what she's saying. Are you providing her with this opportunity?

6. The "Girlfriend Factor"

Women enjoy being with their girlfriends. It keeps her healthy, happy and sane. Did you know that when women are faced with a stressful situation, they don't experience the "fright or flight" behavior of men? She'll huddle with her girlfriends, which decreases her stress levels. In this current economic environment, women are feeling a lot of pressure and stress. Is your brand providing her with an opportunity to huddle with girlfriends?

7. Make Her Laugh

Women have a different sense of humor than men. Men's humor grows out of men's culture . . . humor is another way to connect through put-downs and one-upmanship. For men, a punch line to a joke usually plays on how some poor guy gets his come-uppance.

Women's humor grows out of female gender culture. It operates on the dynamic of identifying with the person in the funny situation. She delights in recognizing the similarity she didn't realize before. "Yikes!" she'll exclaim, "That's happened to me!"

There's a reason that Ellen DeGeneres received the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Talk Show. Ellen's humor connects with women.

Want to talk about how to use these 7 tips to get more women customers? Just email me . . . fran@brandchamps.com.