For one thing, enlightened marketers know that women make 80 percent of household buying decisions. And in most cases, even when a husband goes to make a purchase, he often defers to his wife.
Whether it’s a suit or a computer, she usually prevails on choosing the color and the price.
So, if you want to be successful in attracting female customers, enhance your odds by making your company a great place for women to work.
That means making a commitment to giving back in your communities from where you derive income.
Why?
Many women enjoy working for companies focused on social responsibility and marketing, which can lead to big profits — see this article: Cause-Related Marketing Can Increase Sales by Double Digits
A seemingly timeless study released in 2010 provides a warning signal to companies finding it difficult to retain female talent.
A survey of women managers indicates they’re happier with their employers, if social responsibility is practiced.
Ironically, however, many females aren’t aware of it even when their companies are socially responsible.
Such were the findings in a survey of 380 women managers by the Simmons School of Management in Boston, which was underwritten by Hewlett-Packard.
The study indicated socially responsible companies benefited three ways:
Their female talent had a higher rate of job satisfaction, they were less inclined to think about resigning, and they were more likely to speak highly of their companies outside of work.
But again, many women were unaware of their employers’ corporate socially responsible initiatives.
Some of the survey’s conclusions:
- 75 percent preferred “making a positive impact on society” and “expressing and acting in line with my values.”
- Only 45 percent were of their employers’ social responsibility activities.
- Only 35 percent participate in such initiatives.
The study also provided some recommendations:
- Increase communications about social responsibility efforts.
- Discuss the level of commitment in terms of resources
- Mention the success of the programs
- Provide occasions for women to participate without the activities interfering with their jobs.
Good luck!
From the Coach’s Corner, here related retention tips:
Small Business – Easy Ways to Boost Your Employees’ Morale — Employee morale affects performance. Study after study shows a significant percentage of worker morale is mediocre, at best. That’s often the case even for companies that are able to pay competitive wages and benefits. As you might guess, it’s a bigger quandary for business owners that don’t have enough cash flow for raises.
Management: How to Help Employees to Grow Professionally — Managers owe it to the organization to help their employees grow professionally. It’s hard, time-consuming work. But the return on investment is terrific. The organization benefits from higher employee performance and lower turnover. Strong employee retention obviously saves the employer a lot of time and money.
Human Resources — Red Flags You’re Losing an Employee — In employee retention, you never have to be surprised again. There are common traits among employees who are likely to quit — even those who are secretive about their plans. Surprisingly, workers who are reading job listings in non-work hours, leave work promptly at the end of the work day or who start taking more vacations — aren’t necessarily going to quit.
13 Management Tips to Solve Employee Absenteeism — Absenteeism causes migraines for a lot of bosses. Obviously, your company will make healthier profits, if you don’t have an absenteeism problem. Check your attendance records. You’ll see Monday is the most-abused day of the week and January is the worst month for absenteeism.
“Diversity has been written into the DNA of American life; any institution that lacks a rainbow array has come to seem diminished, if not diseased.”
–Joe Klein
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