How to Make Sure You Sell More

Make sure you target women. It's true for almost anything you
are selling. According to Women Mean Business: The Secret to
Selling to Women, eighty percent of all checks written in the US
are written by women and they purchase 80-% of all consumer
goods in the U.S. That's not a market segment you can afford to
ignore. Even for items traditionally thought of as male
dominated, such as consumer electronics, women have significant
influence.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found women actually
spent more on technology in 2003 than men, accounting for $55B
of the $96B spent on electronics gear. Auto industry research
shows that 65% of new vehicle purchases are substantially
influenced or directly made by women. A 2005 study by Lucid
Marketing found that your business will suffer if your business
web site doesn't measure up with women consumers.

How can this help you? Make sure you actively pursue women as
customers, even if you don't sell goods or services that you
think appeal to women. Make sure your site or facility appeals
to women as well as men. Women tend to feel uncomfortable around
unhelpful or pushy salespeople. This occurs often in segments
such as automotive or consumer electronics, where sales people
tend to try to dominate or "sell down" to women. This could give
you an advantage if you sell on the web, where this would not be
a concern.

According to the Lucid study, women value the following
attributes in an e-commerce website.

* Easy navigation

* Maximum product selection

* Product reviews / recommendations

* In-depth product information

* Competitive pricing

Make sure your site provides these things.

According to retail statistics, women tend to make purchase
decisions based more on lifestyle and aesthetics. Keep this in
mind when formulating your product mix and promotional strategy.
Women and men both desire flat panel TVs for example, but for
different reasons. Men tend to either want to impress their
friends or have them because they are 'cool'. Women want a flat
panel more because they intrude minimally on a room's design,
space and aesthetics.

Women also tend to be influenced by safety and security more
than male customers. Make use of this on your site and in your
store.

For all of you that sell in traditionally male dominated
segments, explode your sales by making sure you don't neglect
women. This strategy will open new horizons to your business and
allow you to generate more referrals from satisfied women
customers.