In honor of International Women’s Day, here are some thoughts on how brands can engage women consumers, who still command outsize purchase influence across many product and service sectors. 

Brands, take heed:

#1: Differentiate your brand through unique experiences for female consumers.

Why? Because women are even more influenced by unique brand experiences than the general population. Research shows they’re more likely than men to say that a unique experience is very important in determining brand choice. They’re also more likely to say they would pay more for a product if it was associated with a unique brand experience. Check out our Best Experience Brands consumer study to learn more.

#2: Stand for something.

Women are more likely to say they want brands to do “something special” to get their attention. They are also more likely to say they’ll specifically choose brands (price and quality aside) that are connected to a cause they believe in—say, the environment, or healthy eating, or women’s health. This is hard to fake but really important

#3: Give women something to talk about.

Women are significantly more likely than men to be influenced by word of mouth referrals and recommendations, according to our research. They are also far more likely to say “I only advocate brands when I have had great personal experiences with them.” For more, download our 2012 New Realities research.

Yes, women are the minority when it comes to leadership positions, even in women-heavy industries like advertising and marketing (working on it!), but we still control an outsize share of consumer spending power and influence.

Brands, we want experiences.

If you haven’t already read the profile of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in The New Yorker, you should:  http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/07/11/110711fa_fact_auletta

Almost 600,000 people have already watched Sandberg’s fantastic TED talk, “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders.”

In her TED talk Sandberg tells women to own their own success and to project more confidence (advice that resonates as both very accurate and urgently needed).

The New Yorker profile really pushes at the external factors that affect women’s career growth, positively and negatively — things like availability of advocates to promote and encourage women leaders.