Research makes it clear that when it comes to consumer spending, women are king, queen and tween. According to polls and studies by Allianz, Business Week, and Gallup, women make or influence 80 percent of all purchase decisions of consumer products and services and, by 2010, will control 60 percent of our country’s wealth. Women also like the convenience of the Internet, at least for shopping, and those age 30 to 49, account for 46 percent of online purchases, compared to 36 percent for men in same age group.

For everything from banking and insurance products, home furnishings, food, over-the-counter drugs, clothing, gifts, appliances, automobiles, home sales, health care, and vacations, you better be talking to women if you want to make the sale.

At our 90-minute marketing workshops for small businesses, we’ve discovered that while many agree that women represent a majority of their customers, they admit they haven’t taken the time to create a clear profile regarding age, income, lifestyle, sales history or favored marketing channels.

Women may be a gender, but they are not a homogenous group. A tween does not want, or need, the same products or services as a single professional, or a young working mother, or a retired grandmother.

If you want to know what women want, you have to ask them. Nordstrom used this strategy when it opened its doors in the ‘60s and ended up building a national retail empire filling up customer preference books with personalized information and phone numbers.

Nordstrom sales representatives knew every detail about their customers because they asked them; from their shoe, dress and pant size, to blouse and suit style, and color and pattern preferences. They knew what their women customers wanted at all times. They used this information to stay in contact, demonstrate how much they valued their business.

Nordstrom lavished attention, information and respect on women and what they got in return was years and years of loyalty and lasting relationships and lots of referrals. Good news travels fast… but not as fast as bad news in the form of loss of interest and respect.

As a small business, you may not have the financial resources of Nordstrom or Starbucks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t employ the same customer service strategies, most which are free. There is no silver bullet… there is no study or committee meeting that can replace a friendly welcome when a customer walks through the door.

Before you can develop an effective marketing strategy, you have to know exactly whom you are talking to, how to reach them and the kind of message that will capture their attention. There is no point in buying expensive media or color brochures unless you are clear about your audience and what it wants. Here are some marketing details to consider:

• Do you have a clear picture of who your female customers are? Age, lifestyle, economic profile, buying habits, favorites, sales history, etc.? When was the last time you conducted a survey?
• Are you selling the products and services women in your market area truly want and need, that will also attract new customers who walk by your business or visit your Web site?
• What strategies do you use to communicate with existing female customers on a consistent basis to maintain awareness, loyalty and generate referrals?
• How often do you say thank you to your customers to let them know you value their business, and for repeat customers, their loyalty?

Most women are busy, but never too busy for a personalized, Hallmark moment, or a phone call from the owner. A small gift tucked into customers’ shopping bag along with the receipt is a thoughtful reminder that you appreciate their business. It is much more cost-effective to take care of the customers you have than to spend 10 times the same amount of money to find new customers.

Make sure you have a policy from the top down that requires that every customer or prospective customer who calls or walks through the door of your store or Web site, is quickly acknowledged with a friendly greeting.

As Nordstrom proved, growing and maintaining a successful business is all about building and growing customer relationships — one customer at a time — and giving them what they want. Add to that a full measure of respect, information and lots of personalized attention.

When we market to women, we must know their preferences, acknowledge their differences and celebrate their buying power by building lasting relationships. It’s just that simple.