Women Are From Venus

Micro segmentation is the need in cellular now. And women are an important micro-segment to focus on.

John Gray in his best seller on inter-personal communication "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" states "men and women differ in all areas of their lives. Not only do men and women communicate differently but they think, feel, perceive, react, respond, love, need, and appreciate differently".

The emergence of women as a major consumer segment cannot be over looked or taken lightly. As women strive to gain more economic independence, it has become more important to focus on this segment and follow differentiated marketing strategy. World-wide, women are believed to already constitute 25-30 percent of all the mobile phone users.

So far, we have seen an emphasis of marketing strategies for macro or super segments like business and consumer. In order to reach deeper layers within the macro-consumer segment, we have to look at each of the micro segments or units within the family. The buying preferences of each of them—men, women, old people, or children—are now getting to be quite different. In order to "focus", we now need to micro-segmentize. To closely study the needs of a micro-segment like "women", which may require differentiation even in terms of product requirements like mobile phones. Even within the women segment, it may vary with the socio-economic background, viz., urban or rural, earning power, age group, etc. There are other reasons too which may be taken into account:

• Mobile phone is a tool for personal progress through effective communication, and effective communicators generally women are! This is proven even for rural women as we have seen in the case of Grameenphone of Bangladesh.
• Personal security is becoming increasingly important and can be the deciding factor. So is true for working mothers who need to be in touch with their children.
• Lifestyle marketing is highly effective as women are now extremely status conscious, closely monitor the fashion trends, and influence the final brand/model selection.
• As cellphone prices drop and the service becomes more affordable, middle class is accepting it as another consumer product on its shopping list.

It is not uncommon to see that if there is only one cellphone in the family, it is generally left with the lady of the house, if and when she is mobile.

We rarely see any specific marketing campaign directed at the women segment. Most follow "unisex" advertizing just portraying mobile phones as being advantageous to all. However, we need to position differently for different micro-segments like women.

In February, when "Cosmopolitan" magazine organized a three-day exclusive women-cosmo show at Delhi, one could see some unique ideas and products being directed at this segment to highlight its needs, be it home, workplace, beauty, fashion, fitness, or food. It would be interesting to quantify the results learnt from the experience. The women magazines now well established in the Indian market-place can certainly play a significant role to address this segment. Also most companies developing a strategy for women tend to position on lifestyles rather than business advantages, while generally there is a need for highlighting both.

Let’s focus on the real influencer!

By Niraj K.Gupta, Voice and Data, August1998.