I knew who my target market was, fortunately. Now I have the concepts and the tools to create and present the right message to attract that market to my products and keep my customers coming back for more. Other than Guerrilla Marketing, there may not be a better book in this genre.

This book repeats the same info, over and over and over. If the editor would cut out all the duplication, the book would be about 1/3 its current size. There are some nuggets, here and there, but if I'd had a chance to browse it more completely (like you can at a book store) I would not have bought it. That's the price one pays by buying through Amazon, and considering the convenience, etc., it's usually a small price. Dont' really recommend this book one way or the other.

Marti is a person of remarkable insight. What she understands about human nature and the way that men and women view the world is backed up by both solid research and keen intuition.

Luckily - for her clients and the readers of her books - she has applied those insights to teach us all how to effectively communicate to women about our products, services, and ideas.

A pragmatic intellectual, Marti applies her thinking to a wide range of marketing topics and writes in a lively style that makes her work a delight to read.

This an excellent book that covers the insights of "what women want" when it relates to their purchase decisions/habits. Anyone that owns a business should read this. It is one of the few books that I've read in a long time that is actually packed with valuable information. Written in a style that is educational and entertaining. This is definitely a book that will remain on my bookshelf for many years.

For anyone interested in additional reviews, there are 33 more under the first edition (2003), which is listed under Martha Barletta, rather than Marti Barletta at [...] .

This second edition retains all the good stuff from the first edition, and adds photo examples of good marketing to women communications, plus a completely new chapter on PrimeTime Women (women 50-70 years old). PrimeTime Women(tm): How to Win the Hearts, Minds and Business or Boomer Big Spenders, is also the title of my most recent book, released in 2007.

I enjoyed this book very much. It gave me some wonderful perspective and information in planning marketing for my business.

It's worth your time and money to buy and read Barletta's second edition for Chapter 11 alone. Titled: "PrimeTime Women: The Target Marketer's Golden Bulls-Eye," this is a totally new chapter packed full of statistics and information on what promises to be a very lucrative market segment for marketers wise enough to pursue it. Best of all, Barletta not only describes the market in detail, she provides creative recommendations and tips for reaching these women.

I haven't bought or read the book.(I read Trends which I found to have no detail or market research-just cute man bashing). What I challenge anyone who has read this book is give me 10 discreet things (ok 3) that the author gives you to help market to women. I mean take back to the office and put to use things. I don't mean 'women want complexity' - more than that. What do we mean by 'complexity'? Or how do we create an online experience for a woman that increases click-thru to purchase. Do we upsell items on the first page (because that is how women prefer it)? Do we put shoes next to the business suits because women multi-task? Or??... you get the point. My take is most of her material is anecdotal- even personal opinion. I may be wrong - someone help me on this.

I haven't bought or read the book.(I read Trends which I found to have no detail or market research-just cute man bashing). What I challenge anyone who has read this book is give me 10 discreet things (ok 3) that the author gives you to help market to women. I mean take back to the office and put to use things. I don't mean 'women want complexity' - more than that. What do we mean by 'complexity'? Or how do we create an online experience for a woman that increases click-thru to purchase. Do we upsell items on the first page (because that is how women prefer it)? Do we put shoes next to the business suits because women multi-task? Or??... you get the point. My take is most of her material is anecdotal- even personal opinion. I may be wrong - someone help me on this.

I agree, this book is ground breaking! It is very well written and easy to understand for even the average reader. This book helped me tackle a difficult business issue and gave me the information and the implementation tools I needed!

You could fill a football stadium with books about marketing, but only a handful could be categorized as "groundbreaking". This book might fit that definition. Ms. Barletta's ideas about gender marketing were certainly new to me, made enormous sense, and seriously challenge conventional wisdom.

She begins with an overview of how men and women differ in personality, behavior, and temperment. Her observations ring true and will bring a smile to anyone who has ever had a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. Next comes a detailed, step-by-step "how-to" manual of how to create marketing programs and materials that attract women. This nuts-and-bolts information is useful not only for gender marketing, but as a comprehensive guide to managing a marketing program in general. She then devotes some attention to techniques of selling to women and wraps up with an overview of the "Big Picture".

Some people, like me, might be surprised to learn how much buying power and influence women have. (They have most of it.) And--women's influence is growing as baby boomers age!

As I read the book, it began to dawn on me just how male-centric advertising is, and how so many advertisers are missing a golden opportunity to attract new business by shaping their message to women. Plus, it's a no-brainer, because women-based marketing seems to help with the guys, too. A key point Barletta stresses over and over is that women are more demanding customers than men. Therefore, she says, if you meet the expectations of a woman, you will exceed the expectations of a man. I think that makes sense.

The book does anything but bash men, which I liked, being one. Barletta even concedes men's superiority in some areas, such as abstract and spacial thinking. (She proves it by including a few graphic representations of her model that are virtually incomprehensible.)

In some cases, I think she draws her lines too sharply between the sexes. For instance, the idea that men like features and women like benefits seems like an overgeneralization. True, men can get caught up in a gadget's bells and whistles, but I've seen women analyze features into the ground when shopping for an appliance or car. And plenty of men like to hear about benefits and get bored stiff with technical talk about features.

Anyway, this book could open your eyes to all sorts of new opportunities to make money. It's a valuable read for anyone in marketing.

As one of those males Ms. Gitta says Marti Barletta is bashing, I couldn't disagree more with her "axe-to-grind" comment. Barletta presents her facts and tactics with a wink and a smile, leaving the negativity for somebody else. And isn't this what a category leader does? Carves a path with knowledge and assuredness -- no need to put anybody down -- while everybody else dukes it out for second place?

Barletta is indeed a category leader, witness the fact that after the first edition of this book was published, other books re-packaged her principles. The book "Trends," which she wrote in 2003 with Tom Peters, proved she's the one doing the new thinking in the field of marketing to women.

The substantial data in this new book is well-researched, and provides important insights on the differences between how the genders think and react. Women, Barletta proves, are not just "female men." They respond differently to different stimuli. A woman's intent to purchase grows in proportion to how well marketers demonstrate they understand her. The best thing about this book is that Barletta tells us how to do that, and then shows what happens when we do. Her hundreds of examples and case studies stand as intelligent proof.

Another excellent thing about "Marketing to Women" is that her thorough research and findings give anybody enough factual fodder to convince their company of the relevance and importance of this market. A tip of the hat to Barletta.

"Marketing to Women" isn't just a collection of polls and observations pulled together by someone looking to write a bestseller. There is hard science to back up many of Barletta's assertions about how men and women see the world differently, and why marketers should care.

The main reason why we should care, is $6,144,000,000,000. Yes, that 6 is in the TRILLIONS column. That's how much money American women spend in a year, according to a 2004 "Time" magazine report.

Barletta presents a comprehensive, if often strident, explanation of what business owners stand to lose if their advertising doesn't drop two persistent beliefs about society: that men do the spending, and that youth is all everyone cares about. She gives many examples of companies that have moved beyond those beliefs, and ways that other industries can do the same.

One of her standout case studies is Lowe's Home Improvement Stores. In the "men's world" of home improvement, women actually make most purchases (over 60%) and drive 80% of them. Lowe's noticed that, and their efforts to make their stores physically and psychologically appealing to women have paid off. As she explains, there is more to catching our fancy than producing a line of pink hand tools (that's condescending), but catch it you can (with better lighting and bigger paint departments).

The book does have a shortcoming, though, and it's a big one. Barletta has an axe to grind, and she wants to do it on the forehead of the nearest male. She isn't content to let her large collection of both social and scientific data make her case for marketing to women. Her snide remarks weaken her case on two fronts: by turning off the very people who stand to gain the most from her research, and by damaging her reputation as a leader in her field.

But if you can ignore the sniping-and I strongly suggest that you do-this book may be the single most profitable purchase you're going to make in a long time.