Editor's Note: We were delighted by the style and content of Alf Nucifora's syndicated column, and have received permission to reprint a few of his writings in Agent News. The featured article below has many points that are applicable to the real estate industry. If you have ever been guilty of underestimating or overlooking a woman as a decision- maker in any part of the real estate transaction, such as showing the home to the woman and presenting the contract to the man, you can benefit from the hard-hitting statistics and examples in Alf's column. And you know the old axiom, "Hell hath no fury." Here's Alf.

In a recent article in "Forbes ASAP" by business author/consultant Tom Peters caught my eye. The gist of the article was that women represent the next great business opportunity. Never was Peters more right. My own experiences over the years have convinced me that, with the exception of obvious categories like cosmetics and fashion, most marketers blithely ignore the female buyer either through ignorance, chauvinism or both.

We see it everywhere: condescending, patronizing and in many cases discriminatory behavior that is simply unacceptable and out of place in an environment where women are taking command in the home, in the workplace and in the store.

I clearly remember the marketing committee of a prominent retail tire chain whose members, predominantly middle-aged white males, fundamentally believed that replacement tires landed on women's cars through a process of immaculate conception.

The indignities and the stupidity continue to prevail -- from the waiter who always presents the check to the man, to the automotive retailers who demand that the final decision rest with the man. Talk radio, a burgeoning format, targets itself primarily to white males ages 25 to 54. But smart, cutting edge marketers are waking up. Saturn was the first to appreciate the influence of the single, female buyer and has targeted its advertising message to that audience in a compelling and memorable fashion. The new breed of auto hypermarket such as Carmax and Autonation are clearly recognizing the female buyer with their no-hassle, plainly defined sales and marketing practices.

Smarter hotel chains are recognizing that approximately 50 percent of business travelers are now female and have adjusted their product offerings and service delivery accordingly. Who knows, soon the female buyer may even be able to negotiate a home mortgage or sign an expensive car lease without incurring the quizzical look of the loan manager. The stats say it all:

Peters references the fact that 8 million women now own enterprises in America employing 18.5 million workers. Twenty-two percent of working wives out-earn their husbands, and women compose almost half the population of those with a net worth of $50,000 or more. Women are unquestionably the dominant force in new business and home-based business start-ups. Eighty-plus percent of women in the 25- to 44-age group work full-time or part-time jobs. In most retail sectors, the female is a heavy decision influence, and in the retail mall she is unquestionably the dominant buyer.

What this means is the onslaught of more women with more money and more influence yet less time to make buying decisions. We're also seeing lessening patience for behavior and practices that treat them with benign neglect or worse still, disdain.

Get with the program, guys:
In Peters' call-to-arms, he suggests that marketers who want to measure up should ask the following six questions:

1. What share of your sales is made to women?

2. How, specifically, do women's tastes influence your product development, sales, logistics and service? And what do you do to acknowledge that influence?

3. What percentage of your senior management in product development, sales, service and marketing is women?

4. Are you benchmarking against companies that are the best in serving women, regardless of their industry or business sector?

5. How big is the "women's opportunity" in your specific market, and have you quantified that opportunity accurately?

6. Do you have an explicit "women's strategy" that addresses the market opportunity and provides the platform to exploit it in an imaginative fashion? As Peters says, "women are invisible" to most male marketers. But that's going to change, and that's why the women's marketplace is opportunity No. 1. Small businesses should not make the mistake of their larger corporate relatives. Be the first on the block to appreciate the power and the value of the female customer.

Published: February 24, 1998

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