Women Want More: How to Capture Your Share of the World's Largest, Fastest-Growing Market

Michael Silverstein and Kate Sayre respond to a series of separate but related questions. Specifically, 1. Of what do women want more? Why? 2. What more do they want from the "revolution" they are now waging to increase their earning power, commercial influence, and political clout? 3. What more do they want for their family's quality of life? 4. What more do they want from the products and services they purchase and from the companies that provide them? 5. What more do they want for their community, society, and planet? Here's Silverstein and Sayre suggestion to those who seek the answers to these and other questions: "Ask them." That's sensible if by that response they are suggesting that their readers ask the women who now purchase from them. However, many women do not always know what they want, although most tend to know what they don't want. In that event, the best strategy is to ask women to identify their pet peeves, unmet needs, greatest frustrations, etc. Silverstein and Sayre conducted extensive research that involved more than 12,000 women, in more than 40 demographic areas, from every income level and many walks of life, and in ten countries. When processing responses to the 120-question survey, presumably they kept in mind that that differences between and among women are probably greater than they are between and among men, especially given where they live in terms of legal, social, and economic status in countries whose demographics are themselves so diverse, notably the United States, China, India, Mexico, and Russia as well as those that comprise the United Kingdom. To learn more about the research and take a brief survey, please visit www.womenspeakworldwide.com. Throughout their lively and informative narrative, Silverstein and Sayre insert a number of assertions and observations that caught my eye. For example: "A quiet economic and social revolution is taking place. Worldwide, 1 billion women work. More than half of university students worldwide are women. Women control half of the wealth in the United States. The female economy will have a global impact greater than the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China)... This economy represents the most important commercial opportunity in our lifetime." (Page 5) "No brand - that is truly what she is - understands what more women want from their lives better than Oprah Winfrey...We found variations of Winfrey's motto - `Live your best life' - sprinkled throughout the 8,000 pages of comments we collected from women around the world, and we saw many more versions taped to refrigerator doors in the homes we visited during the course of our research. To women around the world, Winfrey is a welcome shot in the arm, urging them to complete their education, think big, and change the world." (Page 89) "Companies like Curves, Weight Watchers, and NutriSystems create apostles for their particular approach and build a business model with high operating leverage. They know p

I found Women Want More to be insightful and actionable. As a young woman facing multiple pressures and demands on my time from family / friends / career / etc, the themes presented in the book truly resonate. I would echo the thesis of the book and challenge corporations and organizations to continue to push rethinking not only assumptions about the value proposition of their goods and services or their marketing and merchandising strategies but also assumptions about how to provide support to employees. As a female consumer, I sincerely hope organizational leaders keep the insights presented in Women Want More top of mind.

I picked this book up expecting to just flip through it quickly [as I do with most business books] and boy, was I surprised. I was drawn in in the first few pages and couldn't put it down. Not only did I see myself in so many of the interviews [I now understand why I buy the soup I do and why I love Banana Republic pants], I actually found it a very fun book to read. It is not only filled with useful business inisghts, but it's also chock full of stories about everyday women around the world...and on one level or another, I identify with them all. There are tons of books out there about marketing to women, but to me they all seem to miss the boat. This is the first time someone has taken the time to actually "listen" to what women are saying before writing [the authors say the book is based on interviews with more than 12,000 women and perhaps that's why it rings so true]. This book acknowledges the growing level of frustration and stress that women around the world are feeling as we all try to expand our roles as mothers, wives, household managers, cooks, childcare givers, and increasingly influential members of the work force. We're all so desperate for time. It's hard to believe that major companies still think they can win us over by further complicating our lives[has anyone out there tried to buy health insurance lately?]. As a marketer, I found this book practical, inciteful, and truly useful. However, as a women, I feel like it's a brand new manifesto. Women do want more...MUCH more. And, we'd better get it or the businesses who want our hard earned cash are going to lose, big time. Hats off to Silverstein and Sayre for speaking out for us all.

Women Want More describes how many companies are missing the boat in capturing the female consumer. The book, which is actually based on a global survey of 12,000 women, argues that although women control the majority of consumer spending worldwide, most companies are not meeting their needs. What I found to be the most intriguing element of the book was the extensive interviews the authors had with women around the world. The stories show how much pressure women face on a daily basis and the difficulty they have in achieving a healthy work-life balance. Smart companies will recognize this consumer base, which is the key to weathering the current economic storm.

As an electronics retailer in major market area, the book provides me an interesting and provocative road map to develop strategies for winning key decision making customers. We have been focusing on female clients for years. This book gives us a more in depth views into women and will help us to do it better in the future.