KEY POINTS:
Sales people, especially older men, need to shed their old-fashioned attitudes toward female customers and recognise their ever-increasing purchasing power, says a female marketing specialist.
Amanda Stevens, founder of Australian Splash Consulting Group, said the sexist attitudes of older men were generally to blame for the "many" organisations that were "stuck in the Dark Ages".
Splash, the only communications consultancy in Australia that markets specifically to women, will this month release a survey which canvassed the attitudes of 1200 New Zealand women toward the travel, health, IT, real estate and financial services industries.
Women were earning more, getting married and having babies later, and had far more ability and confidence than the previous generation to purchase big-ticket items by themselves, Stevens said.
Yet some New Zealand women surveyed said that when shopping for a car they were asked if their husband or father would come to talk finance, Stevens said.
One survey respondent said her financial planner told her she was getting to a certain age, and, based on her long term financial goals, she should think about marrying a rich man.
"It's inconceivable that in 2007 women would be treated in a sexist way or with contempt when they apply for a home loan, but some of [the sales people] come from a time when a woman could not walk into a bank alone and get a home loan," she said. "Without wanting to tar everyone with the same brush or stereotype, that attitude is predominant among older men."
Of the sectors surveyed, New Zealand women thought the travel industry best catered to the needs of women (27 per cent), although 47 per cent of respondents viewed it favourably overall.
The property industry scored worst with only 21 per cent viewing it favourably, and just 11 per cent saying they thought it catered to the needs of women. This should be a concern to the property industry, Stevens said, because the Splash survey showed that single women had more of their wealth tied up in property than men. Some 18 per cent of respondents said they anticipated buying property on their own.
The survey also showed that women perceived Kiwibank the most favourably of the financial institutions. While only 10 per cent of respondents were Kiwibank customers, 47 per cent rated it favourably overall.
Selling to women was probably more complicated than selling to men, Stevens said, because women took longer to make decisions, and factored a much more complex set of criteria into the decision than men did. However women generally represented significantly more value as consumers than men because they were more likely to be loyal to a brand.
Stevens' main tip to sales people is: be quiet.
"In major purchasing decisions, the point when women are ready to buy is when they feel the salesperson has understood them, and that means taking that extra time to ask the questions, and listen and understand what [the female customer wants]."
WHAT WOMEN THINK
IT
* 38 per cent rate it favourably overall
* 64 per cent say it cares only for its profits
* 19 per cent feel it caters to the needs of women
Pharmaceutical and healthcare
* 37 per cent rate it favourably overall
* 42 per cent say it cares only for its profits
* 38 per cent say it caters to the needs of women
Financial services industry
* 26 per cent rate it favourably overall
* 64 per cent say it cares only for its profits
* 12 per cent say it caters to the needs of women
Real estate
* 21 per cent rate it favourably overall
* 72 per cent say it cares only for its profits
* 21 per cent say it caters to the needs of women
