How many of you consider yourselves soccer moms?  Probably not many, even though marketers and campaign managers seem to think all women with children fit into this mold. 

Women are much more complex than the generic term "soccer mom," and by focusing on that stereotype in your marketing campaigns you could be losing a lot of business.

The Soccer Mom Myth by Michele Miller and Holly Buchanan is loaded with information fascinating to me as both a woman and as a business owner who markets to women. 

(If you are concerned that marketing to women will alienate your male buyers, this will reassure you: By addressing a woman's more complex consumer needs, you will always make the buying experience better for men.)

The day I wrote How to Identify Your Ideal Customer is the day I discovered this book, and it is that article X100 in terms of defining your customer (personas), anticipating scenarios, and effective copywriting to answer her needs. 

Assume you own a travel company.  An example from the book shows how you address the needs of 4 "Soccer Moms" planning to go on a getaway cruise.  Each of the 4 is the same in terms of demographics - same income, same location, two children, etc.  Where they differ wildly is in psychographics (interests, attitudes, and opinions).  One is a conservative planner, another is spontaneous, one is very social and loves people, and the fourth is a hard-driving type A personality.  You can't market to all four women the same way, but you can provide features for all 4 women to get the most out of your travel website.

For instance, the conservative planner will research trips months in advance and will appreciate help with that.  Make it easy for her to compare cruises and rates.  The spontaneous woman will appreciate a "last minute deals" link to see what works best for her.  The social mom wants to know what activities are available and appreciates reading and hearing testimonials from others.  Type A mom wants to know that she is getting the best of the best and wants to improve herself with courses or activities while she is away.  Make that information available to her.

The book goes into much more detail and covers Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Persuasion Architecture, and touches on neurolinguistic programming (we all learn in different ways).  I recommend buying it so you can work through these chapters using your own website or marketing material.  There are plenty of examples to explain the points covered, and the writing itself is informative and fun (who ever thought a marketing book would be fun?)

Since I've just finished my new website it has given me a lot to think about in terms of making it friendlier for all types of women and this book will be dog-eared and worn in no time.  Let me know what you think of the book and how it has changed your method of marketing to women.

"There is a special place in hell for women who do not help other women." ~ Madeleine K. Albright