By Chris Lee

According to analyst group Forrester, technology companies are losing around £600 million each year by failing to accurately market their products to women. In a highly competitive industry and at a time when disposable income is under pressure, this fails to make economic sense.

One company which has emerged to help redress the balance is London-based consultancy Ladygeek. Founder Belinda Parmar saw a niche for a consultancy aimed at helping firms market technology to women while working at Saatchi & Saatchi, and she told NMK that a third of women feel dissatisfied and underserved in the way that technology companies market to them.

“There were a lot messages saying that ‘tech was candy’ and using pink and I thought surely companies can do better than that,” Parmar said. “So I reduced my time at Saatchi and started Ladygeek earlier this year.”

Ladygeek is a marketing firm made up of industrial designers, content producers and gender experts. Clients include mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, pollster YouGov and computer games firm Ubisoft.

Once, twice, three times a Ladygeek

According to Parmar, technology marketing has traditionally been male dominated and therefore “more about pipes than people”, yet even when women form part of the marketing team not much changes, she argues.

“It’s not enough to put women in the leadership team, you need to understand women,” Parmar said. “There’s a difference in the way you should market to women with children, single women, and older women are getting online now, too. You need to understand women and what they want from technology.”

So just how do women like to be marketed to when it comes to technology? According to Ladygeek’s own research, the way women buy technology is completely different to men. Whereas men will research reviews prior to making a transaction, women will be more likely to use the retail experience to reassure them of their technology choice. 80 per cent of women want to know they’ve bought the right technology, Parmar says, and companies also need to take into account the design of a machine before they launch it.

“Women want something intuitive and beautiful, but not necessarily pink,” Parmar told NMK. “Women want technology to feel good and look good. Look at the Dell Inspiron [laptop], it’s not dumbed down, comes in several colours and feels great.”

Parmar cites the Flip Video as a great example of female-friendly tech design and marketing.

“The Flip is marketed in a way that isn’t intimidating and demonstrate benefits, compared to more complex handhelds,” she said.

Ditch the pink

There has been a rise in the number and influence of female-focused tech blogs in recent years, such as ShinyShiny, BitchBuzz and GirlyGeekdom. Where does Parmar see that space going?

“These sites are doing amazing things and raising the profile of women in technology,” Parmar said. There’s a need for them now. One of the things I’m trying to do is consolidate that voice into a collective group.”

So, in summary, how should firms market technology products to women?

“Don’t overtly brand to women, we’re not a special needs case. And don’t assume women want pink, as only nine per cent want something ‘feminine’,” Parmar advised. “Understand the market and immerse yourself in what it’s like to be that woman. We call it ‘feminography’.”