Book review: Inside her pretty little head

by Jane Cunningham and Philipp Roberts

Are women a significant part of your target market? Even you don't think of your market as being specifically female, the chances are that they are, with women being behind the majority of purchase of cars, computers and DIY products.

This book sheds interesting light on how women's thinking differs from men and why that's important if you want to sell to them.  It demonstrates the importance of recognising and working with gender differences without resorting to crude stereotyping ("Make it pink" thinking).

The authors, founders of marketing consultancy Pretty Little Head, identify what they term four Feminine Codes and discuss the implications that these have for brands and marketers when they want to appeal to a female market.

1. Altruism: the brand must be ethical and contribute some good to the world.  The authors add a fifth 'P' to the traditional marketing mix, that of 'Policy' where social responsibility becomes essential to the brand.
2. Aesthetic: for women, detail makes a difference.  The brand should sell a whole aesthetic and should make functional products and services pleasurable.
3. Ordering: women like to keep order and need to be presented with the right information in the right place at the right time to help keep the process of buying ordered; the web can really help to get this right.  Women also appreciate the smooth-running that happens from proactive service - don't make them ask if you can offer and don't wait for them to complain before putting things right.
4. Connecting:  the brand should act as a network amongst its fans and advocates.  This is about enabling conversation and giving the customer plenty to talk about.

The book discusses how these Codes can be applied in practice through a number of case studies, introducing ideas that would also create real differentiation for businesses that wanted to take their female customers seriously.  It also talks about the implications for selecting promotional channels and implementing camnpaigns.

An interesting read for anyone who thinks they might be missing a trick by not taking their female customers into full account.

Have you read this book?  Leave a comment to let us know what you think too.