Is financial services marketing missing the opportunity with women?

Financial services marketing still tends to build strategies on a male-oriented decision making process.  That will change as an interesting article on AdvisorOne highlights.  Financial services marketing will need to adjust to address the unique requirements of  working with women.  Here are a few interesting observations from the article as well as statistics from the studies the article quotes:

• At least two-thirds of the nation’s wealth will be in the hands of women by 2030
• Female entrepreneurs are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of men
• Women-owned companies are projected to create more than half of the nearly 10 million new small-business jobs by 2018
• Women desire more education and validation than men to make financial services decisions, and they can easily detect whether a financial advisor is really listening to them
• A large majority believe it is critically important to have a financial services advisor who is a fiduciary, which is a primary indicator of whether the advisor has a client’s best interests at heart
• 80% of women don’t feel understood by advisors in the financial services industry
• Women are two times more likely to refer a financial advisor

Although the article addresses the advisor segment, the points apply to the  financial services marketing efforts in banking, insurance, and more.  It's now more common to see women portrayed as equal partners in financial decision making.  The next step is to build financial services marketing strategies that address the unique mindset and decision-making process that women apply to evaluating financial partners.