• The Wall Street Journal, Monday, October 8, 2007 12:15 PM

Deloitte & Touche's marketing strategy is based on a simple, yet radical, idea: Just as women consumers shop differently than men, businesswomen shop for professional services differently than men.

After teaming up with consulting firm TrendSight Group and interviewing senior women executives and Deloitte employees, it concluded that the same discovery process women use when doing personal shopping applies to purchasing business services. A woman might go into a store for black pants, for example--but then see something else she likes and buy that, too, or change her mind. Men just buy the pants.

Among other things, Deloitte is also training consultants to sit across from women at a table, rather than next to them, and to bring subordinates to meetings because women value knowing the people who do the work. Body language also differs by gender. But Deloitte has to tread carefully. What some clients might see as sensitivity, others could find patronizing.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »