Women in Business: Relationships, Vision, and that 3:30 p.m. Soccer Game (page 1 of 3)

Fordham was one of several panelists speaking from experience at last week's 24th annual Wharton Women in Business conference centered on the theme of "Conquering New Horizons. A Vision. A Goal. A Reality." Two of the panels looked at "Selling to the Global Marketplace" and "Entrepreneurship in the Post-Bubble Period: Opportunities for Women."

Practice Those Jump Shots
"You have to build relationships at all levels, you have to be flexible, but you have to be bossy as a woman," said Stephanie Longworth, assistant vice president of global marketing for Ralph Lauren and responsible for marketing Ralph Lauren Parfums, a brand owned by L'Oreal. Longworth was part of the panel on global marketing which featured speakers from the cosmetics and luxury goods industries. The strategy may be paying off at L'Oreal where women received some 70% of this year's promotions and make up about 45% of the overall workforce, Longworth said.

As a woman climbing the corporate ladder, there's no substitute for adopting an aggressive, pro-active approach, suggested panelist Linda Zango-Haley, vice president of cosmetic marketing international for Del Laboratories Inc., a New York-based cosmetics manufacturer. "Practice your jump shots. You have to be aggressive and passionate about what you do." For women seeking an opening in the cosmetics business, looking the part is an important determinant of your success, Zango-Haley added. "Sometimes someone comes in for an interview wearing no makeup and I say, 'What is that?' "

The proactive approach is particularly important in the international department of some American corporations, which still fail to pay enough attention to the overseas markets they are trying to sell to, said Zango-Haley. "When you work for corporate America in the international department, you are marginalized."

And despite talk of a single global marketplace, regional differences persist, requiring marketers such as cosmetics companies to recognize that Asian women, for example, will respond to different strategies than women in Europe or North America. To illustrate this point, Longworth, a British citizen working for a French company in the United States, told Zango-Haley she did not understand what a "jump shot" was.

L'Oreal's internal decision-making process also illustrates enduring cultural differences in the global market, according to Longworth. She noted that in the company's consensus culture, where discussion takes place "ad nauseum," the French think the Americans don't discuss enough, the Americans think the French - with their 35-hour work weeks - don't produce enough, and everybody thinks the British don't know what they're doing.

Marketers have to contend not only with cultural differences but also with new ways of thinking about their markets, Longworth suggested. The traditional market divisions of income, age and gender have been replaced by less-tangible classifications such as optimism, energy and independence. The ageing population, however, presents an additional challenge, she noted: Within the next five years in England, for example, there will be more people over the age of 60 than under the age of 5.

Finding a Chef
While recognizing that consumers everywhere don't want exactly the same product, cosmetics companies seek to establish a brand image that is recognizable anywhere, according to the panelists.

"Globalization is absolutely critical to our success," said Susan Baida, Asia-Pacific regional marketing director for the skincare products manufacturer Clinique Laboratories.