So, Start Marketing Financial Services to Women!
Financial management firm Barclays Wealth raised some eyebrows when they found, “More than 80% of affluent women now derive their riches from personal earnings, particularly from their own businesses.” Instead of “marrying into money,” as the stereotype goes, women are generating their own affluence through independent income, business ownership and investments.
Wow, how did that happen?
Selling to Affluent Women? Look for the Boomers!
Boomer women are radically different from all prior generations of women, and they are the main reason that 50% of US millionaires are women. Boomers are a unique breed of women! Here are the four reasons they have changed the game:
- Advances in health, nutrition, fitness and medical treatments mean they will live longer and happier
- Boomers started the college graduation groundswell among women, with 27% of college graduate Boomers being women (compared to 14% of college graduates during World War II and before)
- At 55%, the majority of Boomer women work outside the home
- Boomer women have fought for and taken advantage of gender equality measures like family planning and property rights
Boomer women have life experience and expectations that no other generation of women ever considered before. And, they have more independent wealth as a result. They expect financial service brands to honor their achievements to win their business. Are you up to the challenge?
Have you seen any particularly effective (or terrible?) approaches to marketing to affluent women? What are your thoughts on Boomer women’s affluence and power? Share your comments and join the conversation!
An example of phenomenal marketing to female boomers are the AARP “You don’t know AARP” ads which features a vital sexy woman of an age in a dynamic work situation in an obvious power-position. In general those who think to market to boomers and then trickle down to women tend to fall into a few paltry buckets
“hippie” high end birkenstocks and reading glasses in garish patterns “geriatric” medicine and home health aids and “lady of leisure” as in Soft Surroundings dm catalog which believes women over 40 spend their days in sweaters and some iteration of dressy pajamas. There are a few brands venturing into the realm of an older affluent consumer like Patek Philippe whose tag line indicates luxury purchases are made (predominantly by men) to be left to children upon your demise (“You don’t own a Patek Philippe, you keep it for the next generation”) Marketing to older affluent consumers seems mostly to be relegated to men and couples (hello Viagra and Cialis) There is a real dearth of advertising by high end brands to women of the boomer generation- do they think we are all staying in our little seaside cottages knitting endless blankets?