Why She Buys

The New Strategy for Reaching the World’s Most Powerful Consumers

By: Bridget Brennan

Narrated by: Vanessa Daniels

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

If the consumer economy had a sex, it would be female. If the business world had a sex, it would be male. And therein lies the pickle.

Women are the engine of the global economy, driving nearly 80 percent of consumer household spending in the United States alone. They hold the purse strings, and when they've got a tight grip on them as they do now, companies must be shrewder than ever to win them over. Just when executives have mastered becoming technology literate, they find there's another skill they need: becoming female literate.

This isn't always easy. Gender is the most powerful determinant of how a person views the world and everything in it. It's stronger than age, income, or race. While there are mountains of research done every year segmenting consumers and analyzing why they buy, more often than not it doesn't factor in the one piece of information that trumps them all: the sex of the buyer.

It's stunning how many companies overlook the psychology of gender when we all know that men and women look at the world so differently. Bridget Brennan's Why She Buys shows decision makers how to bridge this divide and capture the business of the world's most powerful consumers just when they need it most.

©2011 Bridget Brennan (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Brennan's style is smart and straightforward, and her pragmatic advice is spot-on; marketers should take note." ( Publishers Weekly)

paradigm shifter

It a paradigm shifting book ... i will listen to it again next month ..

alright read but dated

Its alright and has information just seems very dated and based on too many stereotypes.

Accurate & Enlightening

Great read. Almost everything predicted in this book is a fact today in business. The suggestions are as recently now as they were when this book was published. It’s interesting to hear the references mentioned in the book through a modern lens. Many of the companies are decades old and yet still recognized as industry leaders.

A little dishonest

The author claims this book is for men who lead product design and marketing because men don’t know what women want. Which we can all agree to. But the book goes from start to finish bashing men and glorifying women. I then realize this book’s only audience is women which leaves me questioning why a book to help men understand and better serve women’s consumer needs is really speaking to women. I’m now wondering if women really know what other women want.

If what the author says is true then we all need to agree that no one really understands the worlds most powerful consumer.

Horrible narration, repetitive content

What would have made Why She Buys better?

The narration could have been less monotone, more interesting. The content was way too scientific and not at all practical if you're looking to apply concepts to your business.

What was most disappointing about Bridget Brennan’s story?

First off the narrator made me want to scratch my eyeballs out.. so freaking monotone. I was looking for some useful, concise information that I could use and apply to my business in a practical manner. This is a long, drawn out narration of the author's personal experiences and subsequent research.

Would you be willing to try another one of Vanessa Daniels’s performances?

No.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No.. I couldn't bring myself to get past the first few chapters.