“Pleasing a woman should be as easy as making her your top priority.” ~ Anonymous
There’s nowhere this quote should come alive than in marketing to women. In this case women in Nigeria.
A look at majority of Nigerian TV adverts of the 70s, 80s and some from the 90s gives a glimpse into the marketing considerations of brands in those eras. – An unprecedented level of patriarchal patronage.
This may not be unconnected with the then positioning of women. Coupled with the expected gender roles, majority of Nigerian women at the time were less educated, poor and politically non-existent.
Now, the wheels are gradually turning for good. There are more educated Nigerian women. Majority of women entrepreneurs. Many more politically active women now trot our sphere, and the enlightenment quotient of the Nigerian woman is on a major rise, making it an error for any brand to try the marketing tactics of the past now and expect to win.
Why give consideration to female audience in marketing?
The Nigerian woman has perceptual and behavioural modes different from that of their male-counterpart, therefore marketing to her in the same mode as her male counterpart may not result in the same favourable outcome.
Secondly, Nigerian women are more advanced in knowledge, education and financial status. They possess a broader knowledge and view of the world now unlike it was in the past.
Therefore, any marketing effort that fails to take cognizance of these changes will fail to win them over.
How then can you market to the Nigerian female audience?
#1. Understand your women
We cannot say this enough. Learn about the exact demographics of your target female audience. Everything about them. Their age, life stage and all you require to totally understand them.
Understanding those helps you in designing strategies that would effectively market and convince them to make purchasing decisions favourable to you.
#2. Balance out equations
When you have a mixed target audience comprising of males and females, even things out by incorporating contents that communicates to both genders.
If it’s possible, use a mono marketing content that speaks to all target audience at once. If not, create marketing contents that specifically speaks to your varied audience, male and female.
#3. Don’t gender-generalize
Marketing to women does not mean you should lump all women together and shoot your contents at them. Hell no!
Just like in other audience types, women come in segments by status, interest, age, and other differences that separate each one of them from the other.
So, targeting them in a lump would be an error that will yield negative marketing results.
#4. Dig their likes, use them
Freebies, kids, cute men are just some strong magnets for the Nigerian female. When appropriate, use these audience attractions in your contents while marketing to them.
One word of caution, use them in an intelligent manner.
#5. Freebies are bae
According to a study conducted at the King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, female consumers are more likely to respond to freebies regardless of their income levels. Same can be said of the Nigerian woman.
The average Nigerian female consumer, regardless of her economic status likes and looks out to maximize opportunities to purchase goods that comes with a promise of freebies.
In order to make your marketing attractive to a Nigerian female audience, dangle freebies around your offers when necessary.
#6. Beautiful colours are the new pink
It is a marketing error to presume that women love a constricted number of colours and go ahead to use them for ads and other marketing content.
Just like the men, women are attracted to a variety of colours and would react to marketing contents that speaks to their emotion no matter the colour.
Just make it beautiful and attractive.
#7. Tap into their emotions
Women are emotional beings, they’re prone to expressing their emotions and falling for emotions than the men.
All a savvy business person needs is a deliberate tap into this and win them over.
One of the best ways of doing this is by infusing storytelling and fun into your marketing content, then watch them get stuck to your brand as ants to sugar.