CustomHer Experience : The Importance of Tailoring Your Brand Experience to the Female Consumer

by Katie Mares

Amazon Best Seller in Strategy & Competition, Customer Relations, and Sales & Selling Management The Buying Power of Women Although the female movement is interwoven into our social world and people preach “girl power,” brand experience expert Katie Mares has seen that this mindset hasn’t penetrated business branding or the experience businesses provide to women. Very few businesses focus on elevating “interaction” so that a brand experience includes a personal connection with the consumer and addresses their genuine interests and needs. This branding disconnect is a problem not only for female consumers but also for businesses that lose potential sales and women’s loyalty. CustomHer Experience provides businesses with the insight, guidance, and tools to • better understand the female consumer,
• transform the transactional service a woman currently receives into the alluring, interactional experience she craves,
• adjust their approach when interacting with customers, and
• ignite a spark in their teams and companies. CustomHer Experience sends the clear message that true power comes when businesses focus on providing a brand and consumer experience that women―the world’s most influential consumers―can’t live without. When businesses start doing that―and doing it well―they can cultivate trust, build loyalty, earn referrals, and make top-line sales, and their female customers won’t want to go anywhere else. Katie Mares’s book is for anyone in business who wants to completely upend their industry.

Genres: Nonfiction, Professional Development

184 pages, Hardcover

Published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[Shannon Pilcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

CustomHer Experience: The Importance of Tailoring Your Brand Experience to the Female Consumer is a timely and thought-provoking guide that challenges businesses to rethink how they engage with one of the world's most influential consumer groups—women. Katie Mares argues that while women drive a significant portion of purchasing decisions globally, many brands still fail to create experiences that genuinely reflect their values, preferences, and expectations. Through practical insights and strategic guidance, she demonstrates that businesses that intentionally design meaningful experiences for female consumers will not only increase loyalty and revenue but also build stronger, more enduring relationships.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its emphasis on moving beyond transactional customer service. Mares makes a compelling case that women are not simply buying products or services—they are investing in experiences, relationships, and brands that make them feel understood and valued. By encouraging businesses to elevate every customer interaction, she provides leaders with a powerful framework for transforming ordinary transactions into memorable brand experiences.

Another standout feature is the book's practical applicability across industries. Whether readers work in retail, healthcare, hospitality, financial services, professional services, or entrepreneurship, the principles presented are immediately actionable. Mares offers valuable insights into understanding female consumer behavior and demonstrates how organizations can better align their messaging, culture, and customer experience strategies with the needs of today's female consumers.

The book also excels in highlighting the connection between customer experience and business growth. Rather than treating personalization as a marketing trend, Mares positions it as a strategic business imperative. Organizations that intentionally cultivate trust, connection, and authenticity are better positioned to increase customer retention, generate referrals, and establish lasting brand loyalty. Her work serves as an important reminder that understanding customers at a deeper level creates sustainable competitive advantages that cannot easily be replicated.

Ultimately, CustomHer Experience is much more than a book about branding or marketing. It is a blueprint for building businesses that recognize the tremendous influence of women as consumers and create experiences worthy of their trust and loyalty. Katie Mares successfully combines customer experience, leadership, branding, and business strategy into an insightful resource that empowers organizations to create more meaningful, profitable, and human-centered connections.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Greenleaf Book Group in exchange for an honest review.

I think I was hoping for more from this book. Particularly in the beginning, a lot of numbers and statistics are thrown at you. Add that to the buzzwords throughout, and this book seems to just skim too surface-level over actually making a difference.

As someone who works in customer service, in an industry that is particularly female dominated, none of this information was really new to me. Moreover, I think that the author is missing a huge part of the equation. She mentions a Gen Z connection in relation to creating more diversity and inclusion in the workplace. But I think the experience and shopping habits of Gen Z is vastly different than what she talks about as the ideals in this book. The growth of online shopping, fad trends, and the dominance of social media and fewer in-person communications changes the necessary experience drastically.

Overall, although I can see some of the points she’s making personally, and don’t disagree with the importance of strategic marketing to women, much of the actual info and suggestions seem dated and out of touch to making an impact on future branding.

[William Brophy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Business Book

This book does a great job explaining why companies need to treat women with the utmost respect as both consumers and workers. This includes both designing a great brand experience for customers and also a way for female employees to rise in the corporate world. Highly recommended!

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
CustomHer Experience provides practical insights and strategies that are easy to understand and apply in real-world situations. It's a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their skills and approach to business challenges.

[Shannon Vogel Lien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, GoodReads for the opportunity to read this book!

3.5 rounded up! This should be a must read for any one (even females) in sales.

[Mityl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing

Good anecdote to start, but author contradicts herself at times. After ridiculing businesses for stereotyping women, she does the same herself.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It made some interesting points, but nothing was fresh after the beginning. Points were just constantly being repeated.

[D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It made some interesting points, but nothing was fresh after the beginning.

[LaShanda Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was both rewarding and empowering!!! As a whole, women bring so much to the table, yet they are often overlooked or their opinions are downplayed. As a woman, Katie Mares uses her own experiences to illustrate what is wrong with our society. The unique perspective of women can and should be used by leaders and entities to make sound business decisions. As a woman, I can relate to so many of the experiences from this book. Overall, I found this book quite informative.

As a read this book during Women's History Month, the following statement really resonated with me..."it's bad enough that women have to fight an uphill battle to attain equality, but also battling against other women is a disgrace".

All in all, I enjoyed this book & I recommend it to others!!!