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Women Emerge to the Forefront of Household Finance

In days gone by, women were in the dark about their household finances.   Money was something that men talked about in dark-paneled rooms, while the women  minded the children in the yard.  The men bought the cars, paid the bills,  decided how much to spend on a house, and if and how much to save for the boys’  college education.

All that has changed.

In more and more American households, it is the women sorting the mail as it  comes in, separating the bills and ensuring they get paid on time via their  online bill pay system.  And when it’s time to buy a car, women are buying 60%  of all new cars and 53% of all used cars, according to a December 2009 poll by  NBC Universal.

Women also typically continue to make day-to-day purchasing decisions that  have lasting impact on a family’s finances, such as where to make grocery and  clothing purchases, and whether to use club cards or clip coupons. In addition,  many women have taken on increasingly complex financial tasks, such as  eliminating credit card debt, investing for retirement, saving for their  children’s education, and engaging in family estate planning.

The Household CFO: A New Term is Coined

This phenomenon of women completely emerging from financial darkness to take  the reins has resulted in a new term:  the Household Chief Financial Officer, or  CFO for short.  And established businesspeople and entrepreneurs are catching  on.  Businesses that provide financial services are beginning to cater to women  and to give them the respect they deserve.

Women and Finance:  Doing it Their Way

As marketers, web designers, sales people, financial advisors and other  business professionals learn to target women more effectively, they are  realizing that women think differently about finance than men do.  Here are some  strategies that these professionals should keep in mind as they target women in  finance.

1. Women are voracious information gatherers.  And they like to get their  information in community settings. Note the success of websites like  Babycenter.com, ivillage.com, and the like.  Women will certainly carry this  appetite for information-gathering into their finance habits.
2. Many, but not all women, lack confidence in their financial skills.  This  lack of confidence is somewhat ironic, because many of these women are actually  quite competent and so their lack of skill is often perceived, rather than real.  Financial service providers can bridge this confidence gap by speaking in plain  English, rather than attempting to impress their female clients with their  intricate finance vocabulary.
3. Women tend to thrive in networks.  Rather than coldly refer female clients  to an unknown professional, it will pay off to build a warmer sense of community  by hosting local events.
4. Be true to who and what you are, and consistently build your brand around  it.  If you try to brand yourself or your product or service line as something  it is not, women will sense it immediately and reject it.

There are certainly companies and whole industries that have not gotten the  memo.  For example, I was in a used car lot recently with my husband and was  summarily ignored by the salesman.  But then, I shouldn’t expect a used car  salesman to be at the forefront of evolution, now should I?

About Author: Katie Banks is a freelance writer who contributes to FinancialRx.com, a website targeting savvy women who are the  CFOs of their households. You can read more on this and the topic of women and  finance on the FinancialRx.com  CEO Blog.