how brands do communication with female consumers

Senior Trends Analyst, China

March 10th, 2022March 11th, 2022

Modern women are no longer bound by the ideal image such as superwoman, whether it’s about marriageable age, work-life balance, or the high expectations of appearance around them. By contrast, it is vital for single or married women in modern society to settle a plan about career development as well as spend more time fulfilling their own personal pursuit.

Mintel data shows that when female consumers were asked about the time allocation, over half of them wished to spend more time on their mates and children, which 24% of them put into the first place. Meanwhile, modern women pay more and more attention to self-development and personal pursuit. Their priorities have ranged from career developments and hobbies to financial investment and wellness, where the choices are equally distributed.

In response to the increasing recognition of women to sexual equality and gender inclusion, corperations and brands have to join the conversation. At the same time, they need to understand the new role women are playing in the relationship and workplaces, offer supportive products and services, and help the females fight for their unique personalities.

Protecting Mental Health of Women

Mintel data shows that 86% of Chinese women are positively looking for ways of stress relief. We’ve seen that beauty brand Florasis has opened a hotline, by offering free telephone consulting services as the main, together with offline psychodrama and salon, in order to protect the mental health of women. It is said that the brand is going to further carry out new services in various forms such as text consulting mini-programs, live science columns and women’s psychological forums, in an effort to provide more people with free psychological consultation channels.

Consumers are increasingly aware of how their mental health affects their physical one, and how their physical health may affect their appearance. At this level, Florasis offers a more comprehensive beauty program than just selling cosmetics or skin care products.

Closing the Gender Gap

Mintel data gives an image that 42% of the female consumers in India strongly agree to join the companies with an intention to promote sexual equality. Trend analysts from Mintel observed that skincare brand Olay recently launched an initiative in progress to help close the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in India. Conducted in partnership with Publicis Groupe Singapore, the campaign demonstrated how subtle, offhand comments from parents, teachers and other adults reinforce the notion that ‘STEM subjects are not appropriate things for girls and young women to be interested in.’

The campaign hopes that people can learn what exactly causes the lack of gender diversity we see in STEM-related industries today. In this sense, even a short comment about women can have a longer-term impact, highlighting the role we can play in addressing unconscious gender bias.

What We Think

In the future, brands should do well to take a more holistic look at what they offer their customers and think creatively about it. As people grow disenchanted with brands simply expressing their moral values in words, initiatives that provide practical support to the consumer group being served remain a powerful way to improve brand image and earn customer loyalty, especially when the brand’s products are able to solve problems faced by consumers themselves. Brands offer services to their customers and think creatively to provide solutions. Under the possible circumstances, brands also should get ready to provide solutions for big pictures.

At the same time, brands can highlight our role in fighting unconscious gender bias as a first step in removing some of the barriers women face at home, school and in the workplace. And indeed, we are seeing both brands and consumers pushing hard to remove these biases. Advocating for gender expression and inclusivity is giving a voice to a specific part of equality, which is a key underpinning argument in Mintel Trend Driver Social Environment.