It’s a fact that women over 40 are integral to the consumer economy.

They’re heading households, buying for their families, often spending discretionary income on themselves. They’re loyal to their favorite brands and willing to try something new if there’s credible evidence to suggest it will solve a problem, or enhance an experience. But the question remains: how to connect with them in a way that’s interesting, relevant, and most importantly, motivating?

Be clear and obvious that you see her, you get her, and you’re on her side.

We surveyed 500 women 40+ and it turned out that the vast majority feel misunderstood by the very same companies that want them to buy their goods and services. They think brands underestimate their intelligence and spending power while simultaneously overestimating their preoccupation with her physical appearance. As one woman said, “Brands don’t seem to have captured the “ageless” feeling that a lot of us feel. Ads for women 40+ are about slowing down... not living incredible lives that we’ve earned and can afford.”

She is not the middle child.

Women over 40 are exhausted by trying to relate to messages targeted to millennials or senior citizens. Be honest about what your product or service will actually do for her.

Reflect and respect. 

If you plan to sell to women over 40, start by featuring them in your advertising. And when you do, consider the role you’re asking her to play. Help your consumer see herself as the woman she wants to be.

Make her world a better place. 

Go beyond your product benefits and take a stand on issues that are important to her. Be brave about the way you conduct business. Brands have the opportunity (and dare I say obligation) to use their power, might, and cultural influence to push the world in a positive direction. When you do this, she will want to be a part of it.

Avoid generalizations.

There is incredible diversity within this group. One woman could be a new parent, the other an empty nester, another not a parent at all. She could be at the top of her career or just re-entering the workforce. She could be starting her own business or raising her kids full time. Liberal, conservative. Frustrated, hopeful. No stereotype fits the bill. 

Get on her page.

Honor and understand where a 40-plus woman is in her life, especially as it relates to your brand. Spend the time (and the money) to get to know her and the things that are important to her -- what makes her laugh, cry, scream, and love. Presumptions aren’t helpful, and they’re usually wrong. 

Honesty really is the best policy. 

Don’t dance around what your product does for her. Use truthful language and talk to her like you’d talk to a friend. Euphemisms have no place in this dialogue. Even, maybe especially, topics typically considered taboo deserve to be discussed openly and honestly. Menopause. Bladder leakage. Aging. Retirement. Divorce. Mental health (hers, her kids’, her parents’), even end of life are all realities of living and her feelings and concerns are valid.

Take the road less traveled.

When it comes to reaching women over 40, it’s not just about what you need to do; it’s about what you need to NOT do. And the most important thing not to do is to continue down the same path you’ve always taken hoping it’s going to lead you to a different destination. 

Women over forty are rewarding brands that do it differently.

That treat them differently. That are creating products and services that benefit the lives they are living right now. Skincare for perimenopausal issues. Financial services to help with aging parents. Reading glasses that are actually fashionable. And they’re also supporting legacy brands that are demonstrating they value the presence and the purchases of women over 40.

Marketers and advertisers can change their relationships with this valuable group of people. And you can take that to the bank.