I recently received a preview copy of Katie Mares’s book, Earning Her Business: The Importance of Tailoring Your Brand Experience to the Female Consumer, and set aside some personal time this weekend to read it.

As a female entrepreneur, I was interested in learning Mares’s insights on the female consumer and whether she summed us up correctly and succinctly. 

Her preface starts with a personal story, one that many women can relate to: we, as women, have all experienced that moment of excitement walking into a car dealership to purchase a new car for ourselves (or our family), which quickly turns to dread when we are ignored or asked when our husband would be arriving.

Women talk and share experiences, and we have been doing this since the dawn of time. Men mistakenly call it gossip, and find it has no true value in business dealings. Gossip has always been an unflattering word because it denotes something bad, the telling of something personal or sensational about someone else. Yet our “gossiping” has evolved to sharing something personal about ourselves with others, and when we have a bad experience somewhere or through someone, darn right we are going to share it with our circle of friends. And when we have a truly exceptional experience, we will share that too.

Recently, a close female friend invited me to check out a gym based on another female friend’s recommendation, who worked out there and said it was exceptionally clean and welcoming to women. We brought another friend and as a trio went inside and had a tour of the facility, and then met the woman-owner who invited us to come back and take her evening class. This gym gained three more gym-goers that evening, and we three agreed that we would not have joined were it not for another friend who already went there and praised the establishment.

So I agree with Mares that women are “great communicators,” it is the “glue” that binds us together creating lasting relationships, and isn’t that what all brands seek: a way to communicate with their consumers and create a lasting relationship?

Mares calls women the Chief Purchasing Officers for their families. That women drive 80–90 percent of all consumer purchases. She has numerous statistics and quotes many knowledgeable people, as well as well-known business magazines and resources, thus I feel secure in the knowledge that she’s giving here: Mares knows her stuff and has obviously done the research to back up her words.

But did Mares fulfill her beginning pledge to give us the why and how of tailoring the brand experience for the female consumer?

I feel Mares gets a bit off-point when delving into biology and science. We all know women are physically and psychologically different from men and we don’t need another lesson is this. I give her a bit of credit in perhaps she used this as part of her why and did continue this theme throughout, strengthening her concept, but I must state that I can only feel that is what I want her reasoning to be.

Mares has many salient points, such as research, atmosphere, connection and the need to earn a consumer’s trust and loyalty, but I can’t help but wonder whether she’s adding to the gender stereotype by stating that women shop for experience alone with no nod toward price or quality?

Also, as a female consumer I was a bit miffed to read that “Women tend to go out for some ‘retail therapy’ when they are having a bad day or feeling out of sorts.” I would turn quicker to a glass of wine or a chat with friends when I’m feeling off than shopping.

I shop for necessity, as well as when I’m in a more upbeat mood. To go there when I’m feeling bad is a recipe for disaster for what happens when I can’t find something that fits right or looks good on me—my mood plummets even more and then I tend to eat something very bad for me.

Now, I’m off-point but this just shows how one wrong note can lead a reader down the wrong path.

Mares has many personal stories in the book, which makes the reader know more about her but for me this led to a disconnect since I did not get some of the feelings she talked about, such as the “exhilarating” search for the “perfect shoe.” I will agree with her in that I seek “enjoyment from the shopping journey,” but I do not seek “arousal” as she stated.

And I don’t believe we need to set “expectations by gender” and “tailor the experience for women,” we need to set expectations by the person and what it is they want and are looking for, gender should have nothing to do with it. Each person is an individual, be they male or female, and what another female wants may not align with what I want. Mares’s book is all about the female consumer but to view all females as wanting the same things is flawed.

Can we all agree that most men don’t understand women? So, as Mares claims, “women understand women, so who better to design an experience for the decision maker than a woman?” It is the cornerstone of this book. More women need to be in management at top companies, sitting in executive seats, making the decisions that create, sustain, and advance the business brand.

Mares’s book, retitled CustomHer Experience and now found on Amazon, is a quick read with numerous tools and tips to help you connect with the female consumer, along with why you should do it, and I would recommend it for every entrepreneur, salesperson and marketer who wants to tap in more to the female consumer market.

And, in the end, I agreed with Mares: You need to tailor your brand experience by “taking the time to understand your female customer and giving her what she wants and needs.” This will go a long way in improving consumer relations in your business. Yes, men and women are different, but each consumer is also different from the next, so find out what it is each consumer wants and needs, fulfill it time and again, and you will have a lifetime consumer and advocate for your brand.

Thank you for reading Fifty and Frustrated. I receive numerous books to review, and I would love to know if this content connects with you and whether you’d want to read more articles like this. Please let me know in the comments below and be sure to follow me on Instagram for more great tips and pics.