Women drive your business
Aviatrix was recently invited to become the ‘female conscience’ of a hospitality business. We have been asked to help a well-known chain of bars give a female customer focus to the rebranding of their company.
The management team has recognised that the power of female opinion helps brands. A ‘female conscience’ is a new concept, especially in a market place mostly managed and operated by men.
If you look at a list of well-known chains – Pizza Express, Yo Sushi!, Prezzo, All Bar One and Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) – you can see which has a female-orientated influence and which doesn’t. We’re not just talking about pictures of babies in watering cans and bowls of pot pourri… (see Friends when Janine moves into Joey’s flat).
Pizza Express, for instance, uses open kitchens, which allow you to rate cleanliness and correct cooking processes (no one could bring out a frozen ready-made pizza there). When ordering coffees at the end of your meal, you can now order a dolcetti – a smaller pudding portion that takes 2-3 bites to finish. Prezzo allows you to have a small portion of two dishes, while All Bar One now includes ‘wine flights’ on the wine list – a mini wine tasting menu that allows you to experiment. GBK gives you an option of a decent side salad with each of its burgers instead of a bun.
If brands had female-only panels and discussion groups exploring what women like and don’t like you would certainly find more hospitality outlets with clean and attractive loos, fun wallpapers and modern flooring, an extensive cocktail menu, smaller portions, child friendly options, attentive service, decent wine by the glass, healthy options that aren’t just salads, as well as a choice of both a dry and a sweet rose.
Inside Her Pretty Little Head by marketeers Jane Cunningham and Philippa Roberts, explores how women are better at looking at the whole picture and the detail of everything thanks to the way their brains are designed. Martha Barletta, in Marketing to Women, discusses the benefits of mining the female psyche through women-only focus groups and ‘girlfriend groups’ to help brands develop.
Women make 80% of purchasing decisions, including buying cars, healthcare, insurance and housing, so why don’t businesses cut to the chase and just consult women when rebranding or starting a new enterprise?
Female opinion shouldn’t be the only influence, but ‘focusing on females’ will benefit the majority of your customers.
Do you have a ‘female conscience’ in your business? If you don’t, send me an email helen@aviatrix.co.uk