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Women are getting better educated, better paid and are now looking for better accommodation. MPA looks at how brokers can target this burgeoning market...

Ladies across the country strapped on their Manolo Blahniks and quaffed cosmos in celebration of the sequel to Sex And The City (SATC), which hit 450 cinemas in June.

Much like the original movie, which opened in 2008, theatres sold out weeks in advance.
The fever pitch which surrounds SATC is not hard to understand – legions of Australians can identify with the show’s four characters and their lifestyle – particularly women in their mid-30s with good jobs and even better shoes.

Australian women – like their American counterparts – are evolving. More are choosing to get married later in life or not at all and an increasing number earn higher salaries thanks to higher education, better training and improvements in work-related experiences. The Australian Bureau of Statistics noted in 2008 that the last 25 years have seen substantial changes in women’s economic circumstances.

“The proportion of women earning their own incomes has risen, and levels of economic autonomy experienced by women have increased,” it said. To demonstrate this phenomenon, in 1982, women aged between 18 and 64 years earned 31% of all income received by men and women in this age group. But by 2005–06, this share had increased to 38%.

It is no surprise then that this demographic is one of the most exciting new target markets for mortgage brokers.

Looking to buy

Home Loan Hints conducted a national survey in March 2010 of 600 people to highlight the gender differences in the home loan market. Survey findings revealed that not only are females the dominant gender in their participation as active home loan customers, but they are also more likely to be buying their first homes.

According to the data, 58% of those looking for a home loan were females. The results also found 38% of women were in the search to buy their first home compared to only 30% of men. And on the information front, more than 70% of females said they trusted and were satisfied with the advice they obtained from external sources, as opposed to only 40% of males.

Claire Bailey, corporate affairs leader of Home Loan Hints, says the availability of information online has played a big part in the increased interest from women searching for home loans. “It seems largely correlated to the active role women play online today and the services now available and provided online, in combination with the trust factor,” she says.

“There is an unprecedented amount of information now provided over the internet, mostly out of demand for self-education. The problem raised by both genders in our survey is the authenticity and objectivity of the information. However, our results show that women – although equally as cautious of biased intent – are less likely influenced by it in their search. Men, on the other hand, are. Basically, women are more active, because they are less influenced by biased content – so they search more, knowing what to look for.”

Therefore, Bailey adds, women tend to be more prone to using outside sources to help them secure a loan.

“Our survey suggests that women are more aware of availability and opportunity. Because they are more actively seeking home loan information and products, they are more susceptible to recognising their options.”

It should be noted that Home Loan Hints data isn’t just for city ladies – the research applies regionally as well.

“From our data, it seems to exist across the board. Once again, this would be correlated to the limitless geographical boundaries of the internet.”

Marketing advice

Reaching the female market comes down to understanding your audience, says Bailey. “First of all, we are seeing that women are instinctively wary of anything to do with home loans: the qualification of the person giving them the advice, to the reason behind the answer. However, we have now established that the most active seekers and influencers are women looking for their first or later home (aged 26–55).”

So, starting with that bit of information, Bailey recommends a “combination approach”
that integrates traditional practices with new online methodologies.

“Often, we come across lenders/brokers who - in the rave of social media and the internet - drop their traditional methods. Our results found that face-to-face meetings are still a significant component with over half (57%) of females listing this as an important communication methodology.” Bailey adds that there are also both those who are latent in the uptake of online marketing, and those who just do it completely wrong.

“Online marketing allows you to be dynamic with your advertising – direct and accountable. Even more important to note, online is where women are spending a large, if not majority, portion of their leisure and research time. So consider platforms that share your demographic, and allow you to promote your message.”

Bailey says that in the case of Facebook, where there are about eight million users, 60% are women and of that figure 30% are aged 25–34 and 30% aged 35+ who spend on average around 14 hours a month interacting with others.

“It just makes sense,” she says. “Don’t forget though, your audience is cautious of your intent,
so rather than trying to push your presence in directly, it is sometimes helpful to advertise an extended service or product that can introduce you to the customer – such as a ‘free manage your mortgage’ webinar. You cannot just paste rate updates. Use mediums like Facebook to engage with consumers and place them with others – that’s the whole point of social media.”

Another key point is to offer information, but keep it simple.

“Women are doing their own research,” Bailey says. “Our results show the majority of those looking for home loan help are doing it on their own and are satisfied with what they are finding (56%). However, issues of mistrust and affordability constantly pop up – so bear this in mind with your content creation.”
According to Bailey, consumers feel they have information overload.

“So keep it simple and keep it sharp. After all, they have plenty of alternatives.” And lastly, Bailey suggests brokers team up with businesses that share the same audience.

“If there are mutual benefits of a union then negotiate your grounds. The local real estate agent might send out monthly newsletters to a large database of potential customers that you can advertise with. In return, you send them leads.”

Sites such as Home Loan Hints have a large female demographic. It allows professional advisors who meet its criteria to actively engage with consumers via its Q&A engine, although it requires responses to be unbiased (ie, not to direct the answer for their own sale). Soon, it will be offering a ‘bio’ avatar, which will allow the respondent to advertise their business for brand awareness.

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