Choices and preferences: Experiments on gender differences

Gender differences in consumer choices ond preferences were explored in two quosi-experiments. In Experiment I, business cards were collected from 144 men and 83 women attending a Young Designers exhibition. The business cards of male designers were found to be of standard size and printed on white card significantly more often than the cards of female designers. In Experiment 11, 35 female and 30 male respondents indicated which of four representative Christmas cards they preferred. A Significant tendency was found for respondents to choose cards designed by members of their own sex. These findings are discussed in relation to earlier research into gender differences, and implications for design and brand management are outlined. THE CUSTOMER'S POINT OF VIEW A classic marketing textbook, 1 written almost 50 years ago, suggested that successful marketing involves seeing the business from the customer's point of view. and in today's commercial environnlent the same could be said with equal force about successful brand management. One possible route into the custon1.er's mind, often recommended m the literature, IS the study of market segmentation variables. They provide a method of identifYing subgroups of consumers who are likely to respond m a relatively homogeneous way to products/ services or brands. 2 Gender IS almost invariably cited as an important segmentation variable, but in fact relatively little research had been carried out until recently to establish whether men's and "vomen's responses to consumer products and brands differ systematically. Some publications have discussed informally techniques of marketing specifically to women,' but gender differences have surprisingly seldom been addressed 111 relation to consurner or brand preferences in the published research literature. In particular, very little research has re HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1350·231 X BRAND MANAGEMENT VOL. 9. NO. 2. 89-99 NOVEMBER 200 I 89