A recent Wall Street Journal article cited how some retailers are finally recognizing that men and women shop differently.   No surprises there!  In general, women tend to be risk-averse.  They like to know more about the features and benefits of a product to help assure them in the decision making process.  Men, on the other hand, simply want to know where the product is so they can quickly get in and out of the store.  To appeal to gender differences, merchandisers may group all men’s products in one location situated close to the store entrance.  Makes it easy to grab and go!  When catering to women, staging products to show how they fit together in a visually appealing manner can help reduce risk, making it a cinch to say “Yes to the dress!”

Same thing might be considered when crafting your radio commercial.  If your product or service primarily caters to men, you might want to keep it simple and pragmatic.  Give them the facts!  And, make it easy for men to buy.  For women, be sure to provide benefits and context as to why purchasing your brand is the right way to go.

Now, what if both sexes are ripe targets for your brand?  You might want to test various creative to see how it affects your overall ROI.  For instance, air a two week radio schedule with gender neutral copy.  Follow that with a two week buy incorporating a copy split whereby radio stations with a higher audience composition of men air pragmatic, data driven copy while the stations with a higher female audience composition run creative that addresses women’s aversion to risk.  You’ll know in a few weeks whether gender selling enhances your results or not.  Let the proof be in the results … which tend to be unisex.

Lisa Sable is a Senior Marketing Strategist at The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above. Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com