Research-Based Themes Regarding Men

Over the twenty years we've spent conducting research among men, a number of consistent themes have emerged regarding differences between men and women. With some degree of trepidation (understanding we could be accused of perpetuating stereotypes), we share a few of our research-based observations here:

Temperament:

- Conventional wisdom suggests that men have a wanderer's temperament, in the sense that they're more restless and less content with the "here and now" than women--they're more likely to think that in any situation, there's bound to be something better if they just keep looking.

In our work, we've seen evidence of this in men's greater interest in new and upcoming technology (this is better than what I have now), and in their greater likelihood to "surf" (with print products, on TV, the Internet)--always on the lookout for something more interesting on the next page or next channel. From a practical perspective, value needs to be quickly and obviously signaled to men--to grab and hold their attention before they decide to move on. It also suggests an opportunity for companies to expand their business to men by emphasizing newness and improved products.

- Men are also assumed to be more focused on the end rather than the means; they assess success in terms of achieving an objective (rather than enjoying process for process's sake).

The ends vs. means focus makes it more important for men to be able to quickly and efficiently "navigate" through whatever process they're engaged in--which has implications for product organization (e.g., magazine structure/headings, Web site organization), content design (e.g., highly bulleted, bold headings), and retail environments.

- We've also found men are often more interested in how things work (especially when the topic is of great interest) and are less satisfied in simply knowing that they work.

This may seem to contradict the prior point about being more focused on the ends vs. the means, but we've found that when males latch onto a topic that truly interests them, they like to pick it apart and analyze what's behind it.

Social:

- Historically, men are seen as individualists, while women are seen as valuing connections with others.

Men are more likely to engage and enjoy solitary activities--from videogames, to Web surfing, to online shopping and online customer care. On the other hand, women (especially young women) are earlier adopters and more regular users of communications technologies, like cellphones, social networking sites, and so on.

- Men are considered to have a stronger need to impress others or prove their worth--e.g., with how much they know (they're less likely to admit ignorance or confusion), with how courageous they are (they're less likely to admit fear).

The most famous example of this is the "refusing to ask for directions" phenomenon. But this trait has other, marketing-related implications as well--men are more likely to do product homework or research before purchasing, so they feel sufficiently informed (can "hold their own") when they do actually go to a store and talk to a salesperson.

- Consumer-generated recommendations work well with men, both as generators of such content (gives them an opportunity to talk about what they know) and as users (helps them "do their homework" in a way that fits their individualistic tendencies).

Given their need to impress others, men respond strongly to positive reinforcement--in marketing messages and customer service interactions.

Communication:

- Men feel the need to rely more on reason and logic when making points or expressing opinions.

This ties back to the "how things work" phenomenon. For example, in assessing the value of "content", men feel most satisfied when the argument is logically organized and reasoned (not to mention logically designed/formatted).

Risk:

- Men are considered to be more accepting of risk generally--in fact, they're more likely to encourage risk-taking behavior (where women will tend to be more protective).

- They're also more likely to think about risk in rational terms (i.e., risk likelihood or percentage), rather than in terms of the implications or impact of a bad outcome.

This is another trait that contributes to men's greater interest, purchase, and use of brand-new, cutting-edge, untested products.

Entertainment/Media:

- Men are less discriminating when it comes to humor and entertainment generally. Plus, they're more likely to value humor for humor's sake, and care less about how humor fits with an overall message.

In work we've done for the entertainment industry, we've identified segments of consumers who have especially broad, eclectic tastes and interests (e.g., interest in a range of music or movie genres). Males tend to dominate those segments.

- We've also found men are more likely to relate to entertainment/advertising scenarios in which men are featured; women are more likely to relate to the dynamics of the situations themselves, regardless of the gender of the participants depicted.

This is further evidence of men's more literal-minded approach to information--when trying to place themselves in a situation, they can relate more easily when the situation has clear and obvious parallels to themselves and their own lives.

- Men (especially young men) relate on a more visual and spatial (vs. verbal) basis--which helps explain the appeal of the format/color-driven designs of magazines.

-It perhaps goes without saying that men are more accepting of violence and conflict in entertainment, sports, and games (including discussion of violence and conflict in media).