Why you should know about 51%, 65%, 43%
Becky Hammon was a top 15 professional woman’s basketball player. She is the only woman who is coaching in the NBA. For the 2014-2015 season, the world champion San Antonio Spurs hired Becky as a full time assistant coach.
Interestingly, of the 12 coaches in the women’s professional league, half of the head coaches are men!
Here are 3 key metrics that you should be aware of as you strategize the future of your business:
- 51% of the U.S. population is female. Obviously this is the country’s largest segment, but often ignored. When thinking of the leadership team of your business, think about what a woman’s insight could mean to capture this ignored segment. Of the fortune 500 companies, only 5% of the CEO’s are women.
- 65%. A few months ago my wife visited a car dealer with the intention of leasing. She was interested in 2 options: a rear camera and a navigation system. Nothing else. The salesman lost the sale as he insisted on explaining the engine, gas mileage and climate control. When was the last time you saw a woman car salesperson? 65% of all new cars are purchased by women! Yet only 4% of all car salesperson are women. How many sales are you missing because your sales force doesn’t reflect your potential customer base?
- 43% have zero. While women now comprise 49% of the workforce, 43% have zero life insurance. Despite this fact, amazingly 27% of all “breadwinners” in American households are women. In most households, the women are the financial decision makers. Watch the life and auto insurance commercials on television and you will notice male domination. This is a blatant mismatch with the market.
There are many micro demographic segments in the U.S.; but none are larger, more underrepresented, or underserved than the woman’s market. Whether business leadership, sports, auto, finance… whatever your business sells, don’t ignore this opportunity.