Is there an unintentional gender bias in your business?
100 years ago the suffragettes campaigned for women’s voices to be heard through securing their right to vote. All the women movements since, including the most recent ‘#me too’ campaign, are fundamentally challenging the same key issue; women do not feel heard or understood by society. This was as true then as it is today with most marketing messages failing to engage with how women actually perceive and experience their world.
Understanding this will expose opportunities for positive change that would equally benefit everyone irrespective of their gender. Opportunities that are missed when the motivation behind the push for female equality is misunderstood. This is not some terrifying power grab – it’s simply a question of accepting that the world looks very different through the eyes of a woman.
Men and women should in theory make harmonious partners – yin and yang in perfect balance. Sadly, in practice it’s not a level playing field which results in excessive male influence inhibiting a genuine balance of opinion. As a result we all miss out on chances for growth and development that would make our society a better place.
For the most part mass marketing makes the mistake of assuming shared viewpoints irrespective of gender. Men do not know what it is like to think like a woman and to be fair why should they? That’s where Aviatrix comes in with expert market research that uncovers how women think differently. Some recent examples include:
A dirty toilet in a pub is a deal breaker for staying for another drink
An ad depicting a car speeding through a perfect mountain setting is as irrelevant to a female buyer as an image of a toy car
Menstruation is a natural and wonderful part of being female that women don’t want or need to deny to make men feel more comfortable
Having healthy food choices on a cafe or restaurant menu is essential to get female customers through the door even when they don’t chose to order them
The Harry met Sally diner scene is not a one-off example of a woman being awkward about their food order – most women prefer to order bespoke
A dirty bus is indicative of compromised safety and will result in a different travel choice whilst a clean bus means the bus company cares and is looking out for you
The above examples may not be all that surprising or indeed different from how a man thinks but the significant difference is the priority placed on these views. Women prioritise their list of wants and needs very differently from men; no man wants to use a dirty pub toilet but he’s less likely to go home early because of it.
With 25 years of experience in the market research industry we have demonstrated time and again that women are our natural research partners. They are the most experienced shoppers on the planet, they tend to think about the needs of the whole family and they love contributing simply because they want to make the world a better place.
Aviatrix can help your business to adapt and grow by isolating the voices of your female customers so you can clearly understand what they want from your products and services. Given that our internal research shows that women make approximately 80% of household purchasing decisions just imagine the huge impact that exposing female thinking could have on your bottom line.
Trixtalk is our online female research community that has established itself over the last fifteen months as a credible and agile research platform. The community is made up of a cross section of 2000 highly engaged women who are ready and willing to share their views on anything and everything. What would you ask them?
Clients including Walkabout, Rileys, Luscombe, HIPP, legal firms, accountants, architects and startups have all benefited from responsive, quality, qualitative insight that has enabled them to address the unconscious gender imbalance that exists around every boardroom table.