Article: 4 Ways to Successfully Market Tech to Women

For their feature 4 Ways to Successfully Market Tech to Women, Inc. tapped into the Femme Den and had a discussion with Smart Design’s Anna Shaw.

Too many tech companies are missing out on the lucrative female market because they still think women will buy any gadget as long as it’s pink. Here’s how to create and market tech products that women really want.

Last year, when Timex rolled out a new, smaller GPS sports watch, the watchmaker ran ads for the product in women’s magazines with the delicately handwritten tag line: “He never lets me catch up. But I do love trying.”

It was another tone-deaf marketing blunder from a company trying to sell its tech gadgets to women. In these efforts, technology companies too often resort to sexist slogans, painting it pink, or dumbing down features, say marketing experts.

Marketers and product designers know they must target women: Females control an estimated $20 trillion in annual consumer spending worldwide, according to the Boston Consulting Group. Women earn more higher-education degrees than men and start new businesses at a faster rate. Women’s earning power is growing faster than men’s. And women now make up more than half of Twitter users and Facebook subscribers.

Still, the tech industry remains male dominated. Its culture of lightning-speed product development means few tech companies take the time to truly understand women, their lifestyles, and their needs, says Anna Shaw, a director at Smart Design, a design and innovation company with a lab that focuses on female consumers.