Men and Women do not use the internet the same way

While you never know if the anonymous user clicking on your banner is male or female, you can bet that THEY know, and it’s not something they are likely to forget!

Woe to the internet marketing campaign that fails to address the needs and desires of the female shopper. Women consumers are more active spenders then men and make many of the shopping decisions for a family home. If you fail to address your campaign to these important decision makers you’ve just lost half (if not more) of the battle!

Silly as it may seem men and women use the internet in what may appear as almost cliched roles, that one might break down most simply as hunters versus gatherers. Doubtless, that’s the most extreme simplification, especially when you consider the inherent flexibility of the internet,(After all, surfers can access information in countless numbers of ways, many of which can be specifically tailored to the individual, so who is to say of any behavior at any given time is the provence of the hunter or the gatherer?) but intriguingly, statistics point to these traditional understandings.

Women are also more likely to use the internet as a communication and socialization tool then men. This is not to say men generally eschew email or don’t tweet, but rather that women have a tendency to nurture online social contacts and networks in a more in-depth and dedicated fashion.

(This is something important to keep in mind when crafting an overall campaign strategy, particularly if women are your target customers. The recent boom in social networking online has been accompanied by a new trend in marketing which allows a more specific targeting approach when it come to marketing. The opportunities of social network marketing are immense and unparalleled in their abilities to get your message to the exact type of consumer you are looking for. At the same time marketers can compose multiple approaches for the same campaign and control the target audience down to the individual user. There has never been a more salient tool for addressing female consumers with intentionally woman-targeted marketing for general, non-gender specific targets.)

Men are more likely to collect bookmarks and make snap decisions when it comes to where to click next. Women tend to take their time, looking at a variety of options and making comparisons most male shoppers disregard as a waste of time. Men are more likely to browse a few options but home in on one before drilling down on details.

Women are also more likely to be repeat customers, enjoying the convenience of the known and the relative ease of familiar experiences. Men however are always scouting about for the next new challenge to their hunting (searching) prowess, making them significantly less likely to return to somewhere they have been before.

Recent studies of women consumers show that they are more persuaded by their feelings and emotions than they are by information. While guys may feel enriched and empowered by long lists of custom features and technical specifics female consumers are more likely to react positively more toward elements of style and nuances of presentation and photography.

It’s very important to remember that women also fall into another traditional role when it comes to shopping online, they are much more likely than Men to use the internet for a family gift purchase. While men are reliable as last-minute Christmas shoppers and valentines bouquet buyers women have a much greater tendency to be online shopping for a gift all year-round.

When designing an internet marketing strategy keep both sexes of surfer in mind to maximize your marketing potential. Otherwise you may be wasting your clients money and missing many valuable opportunities!