Married women who choose to manage their homes rather than climb a corporate ladder are a growing market segment that breaks stereotypes, makes key decisions and holds the purse strings. Overlook this savvy group and you miss out on serious profit; market the wrong way and you risk losing one of your best audiences. Knowledge is the key to marketing to housewives with confidence.

Identify your audience. If the image of June Cleaver from the 1950s television show “Leave It to Beaver” comes to your mind when you think of a housewife, think again. Today’s housewives may or may not be stay-at-home moms, may be retired career women, or may run their own businesses from home. Avoid stereotypes and learn more about your audience through surveys, polls and other types of feedback avenues. When conducting your research, consider housewives’ age, income and ethnicity. For example, the results of a 2007 Pew Research Center survey indicate that stay-at-home moms, on average, are younger than working mothers and have lower household income. After you choose which segment of housewives you want to reach, improve your product or service and tailor your marketing message accordingly.

Create a persona. After you conduct general market research, Bryan Eisenberg at ClickZ recommends using the data to create a persona to help you put yourself in your audience's shoes. A persona is a description of one person who represents your target market. For example, a housewife persona could begin with, "Jane is 35 years old, married with no children and takes classes at her local college. She drives a Toyota, enjoys cooking with her husband and likes to take frequent day trips to the mountains." Include relevant data from your research in your persona to answer important questions. Is she an entrepreneur starting her own business at home? Did she lose her job in the workforce? Did she choose to stay home rather than go back to work after her pregnancy leave was over? What does she love best about staying at home? Is she happier at home? What does she do when her work at home is finished for the day? When you keep a few different personas in your mind while crafting your marketing message, you're more likely to relate to the housewife demographic you are trying to reach.

Get the word out. The only way to reach the segment of housewives that you've decided to target is to go where they are. If they homeschool their children, go to a homeschool convention. If they work from home, advertise on a niche blog for work-at-home women or in a trade magazine. If your target persona likes to craft in her free time, create a presence at craft fairs. Take advantage of all social media has to offer. Emerging social media site Pinterest boasts that more than 80 percent of its users are female, and one retail study recently showed that stay-at-home moms are more likely to use social media sites like Facebook than their career-minded counterparts. Cultivate your online presence while monitoring what your audience likes and shares with friends -- and then do the same.

Tip

When creating a persona, use data gleaned from your most active customers.