Insights

How to please a woman

Women don't always want products painted pink with added sparkly bits. They don't want a fashion accessory. In fact they want the same toys as the boys, but more logically designed, to be more appealing and useful.

Here, Erica Eden, Senior Industrial Designer at Smart Design and a core founding member of The Femme Den, reveals a five point plan that can help manufacturers ensure their products are pitched perfectly for the canny female buyer.

The Femme Den has developed five guidelines to help designers connect with women. These guiding principles remind us to keep subtle gender differences in consideration throughout the design process.

1. Give her benefits not features

In response to a survey conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), only 1 per cent of women felt that consumer electronics manufacturers have them in mind. We suspect that so many women do not connect to consumer electronics because of unnecessary focus on feature sets that don't relate to the way real women live. Women want technology to simplify their chaotic lives. They want to see real benefits and how products fit in with their lifestyle. They are less concerned with a pervasive focus on feature sets, specs, and gadgetry. So by making the real-life benefits of technology clear, companies are in a better position to reach the 80 per cent of consumers that actually buy consumer electronics.

2. The whole experience

When women are shopping, they are not only buying for themselves but often for the whole family. Andrea Learned, author of "Don't Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy," identified that in addition to judging a product at face value women tend to contextualise the product. Females consider such issues as 'who will use the product?', 'will it fit in my home?' and 'will it be safe for my kids?'. She is responsible for buying for others and keeps an eye out for qualifying products.

Women don't just buy a product; they look for a relationship with the brand. This is in contrast to the way men shop, since they tend to be more goal-oriented and search for specific items. Men generally buy for themselves, placing high importance on whether a product is the newest, best and fastest he can find. Kelly Mooney, President of Resource Interactive supports this insight, verified through conclusive research, that men are enticed first by product and then by lifestyle - whereas women are enticed first by lifestyle and then by product.

The brand experience becomes more powerful when considering the entire purchasing process as a delivery system for the brand. We believe that merchandising strategies that help the buyer contextualise products are essential - especially when looking to capture the women's market. The physical context, like a store's atmosphere for example, can either entice a woman to go into the shop or put her off. Stores, such as electronic shops that are filled with loud music, a barrage of information and focus on the 'bigger and better' are unappealing to women.

Women want to hear a cohesive story they can buy into, which includes messaging from the website, advertising, product, packaging, retail environment and especially customer service.

3. Consider her body

Women's bodies are different, but it is not as simple as size and strength. Women are built differently at a mechanical level, and therefore function in a different way to men. More and more women are participating in activities, which historically, have been considered male dominated interests, such as home improvement and sports. However, the products used in these areas are still being designed for the male body.

Female do-it-yourself enthusiasts have difficultly using power tools because they are designed for male hands, which are often larger. Female soccer players have a higher risk of knee injuries than their male counterparts because equipment is not designed for their unique bone and muscle structure. And where exactly is the chest strap on a hiking pack supposed to go? An understanding of physical ergonomics is on the critical path to connecting with your female market.

4. Consider her lifecycle

Women have babies. While this is an obvious statement, it is often overlooked in the design of products for women aged 18-40. Having children is one of the most influential experiences in a woman's life, and it occurs during a period when she is most likely to have the means and inclination to purchase products.

As soon as a woman discovers she's pregnant, her interaction with products begins to change. Throughout her pregnancy she constantly re-prioritises her own needs in relation to the needs of her family and her growing belly. And very often, her desires take a back seat as she makes decisions based on what's best for the bump.

Being pregnant is one thing, but being a parent is another story. Parents become virtually disabled for the first few years of their child's life. First, they have to make do with only one arm since he or she uses the other to carry the child or hold onto a small hand. Second, they are distracted since much of their focus is on the activities of a nearby child. While we may see many products intended to appeal to parents, they rarely consider the entire range of emotional and physical needs of this primary care-giver.

5. Consider how it makes her feel

Women's roles are changing and they are no longer culturally one-dimensional. Some roles fit the traditional framework of being feminine, but some do not, and targeting the stereotype of a 'soccer mom' can be over-simplistic if it leads to an exclusively 'feminine' design solution. The same woman who wants to be feminine may also need to fill a traditional man's role later in the day when she is fixing the sink, or on weekends when she's rock climbing.

All women are different and are in a different mindset when tackling different tasks. Many products intended for women are based on an over-feminised stereotype. As a result, many product companies try to appeal to women by 'shrinking and pinking' male-oriented products. Little is designed for women that doesn't fit this one-dimensional mould.

www.femmeden.com

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