As Beyoncé once said, ”Who runs the world? Girls!”
In fact, in 2018 women controlled an estimated $18 trillion in global spending, and according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, women make 91% of the decisions regarding the purchase of a home. So with all these known indicators, it’s time to focus on the female home shopper.
Single females are buying more than single males
There has been a growing trend in the past 20 years of more single females purchasing houses than single men. Freddie Mac noted that the percentage of single women homebuyers has risen by 30% since 2010. This can be attributed to women having overall better credit worthiness than their male counterparts. Single females constituted nearly 20 percent of all home buyers in the past 12 months. Also, increased numbers of single women are taking the plunge into home buying.
Financial Security
Women have come around to the financial benefits of owning a home. Home ownership is an investment in themselves as well as their future. Net worth grows monthly as they claim more equity in their home with each mortgage payment.
Women are Earning College Degrees at a Higher Rate Than Men
Since 1978 women have eclipsed men when it comes to earning college degrees. Women earned more associate’s degrees than men in 1978, bachelor’s degrees in 1982, master’s degrees in 1987 and more doctorate degrees in 2006.
The disparity between men and women in college degrees earned has steadily increased in the past 20 years as more women are outpacing the men in completed degrees.
Wooing Women
Women are the favored target when it comes to home ownership and consumership these days, and the numbers bear that out. Target marketing toward this demographic will reap many benefits and long-lasting customers. Women are different from men in how they shop and process information and knowing these differences will help in marketing campaigns.
Women are not as impulsive as men when making a choice with their money. They tend to comparison shop and do their research to make the best informed decision when buying a home, something important to note if you want to captivate a woman’s attention on your website.
Social Media is Your Direct Line to the Female Buyer
Social media has become a force in the marketing world and more women than men use it. Of these media, 75% of women use Facebook, 43% use Instagram, and 42% use Pinterest. Our advice-create share-worthy content on your social channels filled with striking visuals and interesting content.
Friction Points
As with any marketing push, there will always be pain points and marketing to women is no different. Women tend to have a harder time visualizing an unbuilt home than men do, but once engaged, women generally tend to become emotionally engaged in arriving at their intended goal.
So what frustrates women in the home buying process, most report – lack of information or lack of details on what they want to purchase. This can lead to them buying something they didn’t really want but felt forced to because of their frustration or even worse, walking away and purchasing elsewhere. Addressing these pain points before they become an issue is proactive marketing and will prevent these issues from coming up in the first place.
Here are three methods to address and remove these pain points:
* Always make sure your final price is known to the buyer early in the process.
* It’s not so much about the close, it’s about education for your buyers. This will make the close easier for both of you.
* Assuage your buyer’s fears and always try to limit their risk.
How to Wow Women with Content
Visualization tools are key to wowing women and breaking down the barriers they face to understanding space. Something as simple as stating the room is 10’x12’ might work for a some, but it won’t answer the questions that a woman might be asking like,” what size bed fits in this space or can I fit my twins in this room with a dresser and a desk for them to their studies.” Interactive floor plan tools with furniture placement allow women to play around with different layouts and answer these questions on their own. It’s a win-win.
Best Relationship Advice: Ask, Then Listen
Ask, then listen is the best way to establish a relationship of trust and loyalty when marketing to women. Learn what they want and find out what they need with queries and then listen fully to get the complete picture. Then, follow through. Some home builders are taking this advice to heart and applying what they’ve learned to their business model.
Final Thoughts
There is no “one size fits all” mentality when it comes to marketing. Men and women are vastly different and have different mindsets and idiosyncrasies. Knowing these differences can have a huge impact on your marketing campaigns. For more information on visualization tools that will take your marketing to the next level, contact BDX today!
