When making purchase decisions, women seek to add information, not take it away. Details add richness and depth, and are necessary to understanding the situation.
By contrast, men prefer to strip down a decision to its starkest details, for example, creating a “top three must-haves” list. And so was born the bulleted list, a communication tactic designed to appeal to men’s focus strategies. In an effort to “cut through the clutter,” the bulleted list hopes to:
- Highlight the most important information
- Reduce distracting details (like full sentences)
- Get to the point faster
When Marketing to Women, Give Context
Women aren’t jazzed by bulleted lists and aren’t impressed by their supposed benefits. Women want the deeper context, the story of why your brand is best for them.
So if you are accustomed to delivering your message via a bulleted list of key facts and product features– which may be an ideal format for men– you need to think about adding a complementary treatment for women, one that places the product within its environment, lifestyle and feelings. Consider ways of showing your brand in typical situations, full of realistic details that help women feel, “That’s just like me!”
For even more detail, read my previous article “Women Want it All. Can Your Brand Give it to Them?“