Is the Selectivity Hypothesis Still Relevant?

“You cannot market to men the same way that you market to women. It’s not a simple transformation of changing colors, fonts, or packaging. Men and women are different biologically, psychologically and socially”… Because of these presumed differences, contemporary marketing advice suggests a segmentation approach based on gender. Consider the following characterizations from Marketing Daily: Men

A man focuses on himself—the “me.” They are concrete thinkers who like to consummate, finish. Men tend to hone in, more quickly than women, on what they’re looking for. Men are concrete and tend to tightly focus their awareness.

Women

A woman focuses on the “we.” View other people as a source of strength. Often think, “it depends.” Women relate to the relationship between things. (Deutsch, 2010)