September 2009

    
   
   

WHERE COMMUNICATIONS INFLUENCE DECISIONS
   

The Point:
 

Women as Deciders-in-Chief

    
 

Recent research underscores significant differences in how women reach decisions and how they react to information along the way. That’s particularly notable in light of additional research that reveals the increasing prevalence of women as the primary decision-makers in their households.

 

An insightful new book from Gloria Moss, Gender, Design and Marketing: How Gender Drives Our Perception of Design and Marketing (Gower, April 2009), probes the unique decision-making style of women and draws some provocative conclusions about the impact of design. It’s timely food for thought, as a recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that the frequency of women making decisions about big-ticket purchases for the home, and about household finances, is on the rise.

How women are different from men:

Role of others—Women are more likely to use other people’s opinions to help them make their own decisions, and much more likely to seek help. In business, women prefer to arrive at decisions by working with or through people in supporting roles, even when they have direct decision-making authority. Men more often wield their decision-making power unilaterally.

Communications style—Women prefer collaborative discussion over lecture, and value both directness and depth of detail.

Desired outcomes—Women have greater interest in relationships than in specific tasks; they build relationships in order to get the task done, as opposed to men, who tend to see relationship-building as a by-product of doing the task. In addition, women tend to consider how their decision will affect the team; men focus more on how their decision will affect the competitive environment.

Design preferences—Both men and women are drawn to images of their own gender, but there are other very specific nuances that are essential for any design team to understand when targeting women. Women, for example, prefer faces facing them; men respond more to faces in profile. Women are drawn to rounder shapes, detailed surfaces, and brighter colors—all of which is in contrast to men, who prefer linear, sleek, technical-looking design.

Practical implications for marketers:

1.

Keep it conversational. Take a narrative approach, weaving in emotive language. Make the message personal, detailed, and collegial. Talk about why other people chose your product or service, and how it meets their needs.

2.

Visually appeal to the softer side. Take the design preferences seriously, softening angular shapes and adding richness to visual detail and color palettes. Include female images facing head-on. Use brighter color and more of it.

3.

Create a sense of community. Make sure prospects or customers can reach real people in your company when they want help (or feel like they’re reaching people through personified digital experiences). Consider facilitating social media applications where women can share ideas and see the opinions of others.

As with all forms of marketing and communications design, thoughtful changes based on customers’ needs—even subtle ones—can have significant effects. Sensitivity to women’s preferences for receiving and interacting with information as they make decisions can lead to more favorable, lasting relationships.