Women influence your sales beyond their purchases – and we’re (wo)manifesting it!

Published on: September 3, 2022

Brands’ perception of a woman’s purchase path should not end at the buying stage. Since women do so much due diligence upfront, there are some resultant “side-effects”. Twin post-shopping considerations – sharing the bucks and loyalty over the long term – have a remarkable impact on her customer value to the marketer.

Referrals: Sharing the bucks

Word of mouth plays a major role in the decisions women make than it does for men. Women are not just more likely than men to ask for opinions from their colleagues, friends, and relatives but are also more likely to volunteer good and bad purchase decisions with the same circle of influence. Since they have done their homework diligently, they are more confident in sharing their suggestions with others. This means that what a woman does in the initial stages of the purchase path potentially has an enormous impact on those in her circle.

Allegiance: Loyalty over the long term

Women also demonstrate more personal loyalty once they have established an emotional connection with a brand. An instinctive reason that sways her decision is a biting guilt if she were to award her business to somebody else after weaving an emotional bond with a brand or product that has served her well. So, even when competitors are offering a slightly better product or service, this bond will keep her from defecting until and unless the competition offers something totally overwhelming.

Familiarity builds association

If the relationship dynamics require regular contact (say, a financial consultant), assuming all goes well, women would be incrementally comfortable depending on the consultant’s advice without nearly as much caution in each transaction. As she gets familiar with a salesperson’s competency and builds trust that they are acting in her best interest without other motives, she becomes more receptive (than a male customer) to the consultant’s advice and suggestions.

Whereas men combat being influenced by others, thinking it as jeopardizing their autonomy and pegging them ‘one-down’, women willingly seek advice and invite suggestions to learn from someone with more expertise. This familiarity streamlines the decision process for future associations and purchases; she trusts the person advising and assisting her, aware of their domain expertise and freeing herself from doing all the extensive research on her ownsome. The duty of carrying out the due diligence is shifted onto the advisor – who brings her the Perfect Answer, rather than her having to find it herself. It means fewer hoops to jump through and lesser loops to rewind.

So, for the initial commitment/decision, women will invest more time and undertake a rather comprehensive process than men as they set out to grade both product and its seller. The tables turn when it comes to future buying decisions as the emphasis is reversed – women relying on personal trust and men continuing to do more of the product assessment on their own.

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