Why She Buys by Bridget Brennan Read Free Book Online

women have buying power or influence over the product purchase. The word influence may sound soft, but make no mistake, it’s important. It means that when a woman and her spouse make a purchase jointly, as with a new car or home, the woman is the primary influencer; if she doesn’t approve of something, her husband (or her kids) probably won’t get it. It works the other way around, too—if a woman wants something, she’ll often find a way to persuade her husband or other family members to get it. This combination of purchasing power and influence is the reason women dominate the consumer economy.
    Having Women on Your Team
Is Not Enough
    I F you’re tasked with creating something that depends on a female audience for success, it would be foolish to exclude women from your team. But I see it happen all the time. Sure, women will be in the focus groups, they’ll be represented in the research reports, and sometimes they’ll be in midlevel or junior positions on a team, but too often they’ll be absent from the senior management teams calling the shots on the project, and that’s just myopic. If you were targeting the Chinese market with a new initiative, you’d certainly want the opinions of Chinese people on your team, and the situation is similar when it comes to men andwomen. If you don’t have strong female representation, you’re in danger of missing the important nuances that will connnect you with your target. At worst, you may inadvertently offend them.
    It’s crucial to understand that women find themselves between a rock and a hard place on this matter. Many are hesitant to point out and defend gender differences with male coworkers, because they are in effect reminding their colleagues that they’re different, and most women work hard to prove they’re not.
    The reluctance stems from the fact that qualities traditionally considered feminine, such as empathy and a focus on the well-being of others, are not really valued outside of the human resources department. And when they are, they’re usually part of a mission statement that gets lip service only. Women don’t want to be stereotyped at work or have gender biases used against them. Older women are particularly conscious that until recently they were excluded from jobs simply because of their sex. This means that both genders in the office need to be fully engaged in understanding the primary consumer. An inability to grasp and appreciate feminine qualities will keep both men and women from connecting with their target.
    Genuine knowledge of women’s brain structures, priorities, worldviews, and demographic patterns can provide you with genuine competitive advantages. It’s time to jump on the situation before your competitors figure out that this is what they need to be doing, too.

2
GETTING TO KNOW
THE LOCALS
    A Tour of the Genders
    D id you know that drowning victims are overwhelmingly male?
    It’s not because they don’t take enough swimming lessons. Experts believe it’s because boys and men have a tendency to overestimate their abilities, especially in dangerous situations. The same confidence that gave men the courage to chase ten-thousand-pound mastodons back in hunter-gatherer societies is the same instinct that gives them the confidence to swim in rough waters today, believing that nothing bad will happen to them. It is also the same kind of overconfidence that drives high-risk financial bets, as the 2008 crash of Wall Street attests. The male brain can find it exhilarating to meet danger head-on. After all, no guts, no glory.
    This gender difference about male confidence, which isclearly a generalization and doesn’t apply to every individual male (especially Michael Phelps and Greg Louganis), nonetheless provides context for some of the bold business decisions we read about in the news every day. It also underscores one reason smart companies may be underperforming in their markets. Simply put, many male executives