This weekend I went through a book, called He Who Gets Women Gets the World （《得女人者得天下》）, which propagates the idea that Chinese companies should market to women in the 21 century. This book claims that the rise of female status in China makes women the most powerful groups of customers, and many successful companies rise to this change acutely. Admittedly, this book makes a thought-provoking guide in terms of utility, but I think many claims should be checked rigorously.
The establishment of female power is at the heart of its theory. Two things the author mentioned ring the bell. Firstly, women are the CFO at home and they make the purchase decisions on rather than small items, large commodities such as the car, house and luxury goods. Secondly, the world top 500 corporations have made it convenient for their female employees on the facilities and rules.
The author indefatigably mentions that other groups of people, whether young and old, are feminized. They feel lonely and insecure, which is categorized by the author to the female psychology. Afterwards, the author sacredly reveals some underlying rules of female consumption, such as the impulsive consumption, the inclination of mimicry, and the sentimental and perceptual way of thinking. His arguments seem psychologically sound. I pose two questions, however. Why call these features female characteristics? Are these phenomena mentioned in this book really the embodiment of the rising female power?
Many people nowadays feel lonely and insecure due to complex reasons, but why label the search for love and protection as the female behaviors? According Maslow, this kind of desire is universal and inclusive. In addition, he argues that women are dominant at home and consume much in contrast to men, who, he deliberately spares, are dominant at work and produce much. Even though the author bases his foundation on the female power, he consciously assumes that women should be weak and require man’s protection. In fact, the author analyzing the marketing strategy through the lens of men also reflects the subordinate role of women in the workplace.
Although feminists emphasizes the difference between women and men is not grave than that among women and men, the marketing strategies turn out to be effective at attracting female customers. These results, once again, show that gender difference develops in the process of socialization. Just feel how penetrating the market influence is and you won’t miss this point!