Are you getting burned out by the holiday rush? Is it a rush? I mean, you've known about it for months now. I've been talking about it since October, I think. Other news media has been talking about it since...August. If you're feeling the heat, let's look at some relevant stats and information that might help.
First of all, women dominate the shopping experience, no matter what time of year it is. I know there are some (a few) studies that purport to show how men spend more money, but those studies aren't looking at the big picture. They're looking at the big paychecks - and wallets - men carry around with them. This is not the time to get into a discussion on why men still make more money, overall, than women do. Nor, how women are rising up to the occasion. Let's revisit that down the road.
What's important now, today, in your overall review or prep for marketing to women online, is recognizing the power of the purse, as Susan B. Anthony might say. I can only give you suggestions and hints in this blog. If you need more help, you can email me and we can talk.
So, what do the folks who study this stuff have to say? (I'm talking about the research companies that focus on marketing, sales, Internet trends, and more to really get to the nitty gritty).
Over at JWT, this article says a number of really interesting things. It borders on being innovative, a compliment I don't give away easily. Since everything I am sharing came to me via email, I feel okay giving it away to you, for your own reflection:
Title of the article: What's Next for Women. Authors: Marian Salzman and Ira Matathai. From JWT.com (I'm not thrilled with the website, folks. Sorry - it was annoying - as in, just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. Lose the opening JWT.)
"In conjunction with their latest book, Next Now, futurists Marian Salzman, executive vice president, chief marketing officer of JWT Worldwide, and Ira Matathia, managing partner of brand consultancy NoFormula, have pinpointed ten trends that will affect women in 2007."
- She's the Boss: Self-explanatory, I think.
- Arranged Marriages: Shades of reality TV. So, their explanation says. Hmmm...
- Atalantas: The power of twentysomething single gals... worth paying attention to.
- The Age Shuffle: Redefining age - 50 is the new 30? Or, the new 25??
- Alpha Moms: Moms that are "well-informed, strong, decision-making..." machines. The key, "shared experiences."
- Peerents: Parents embracing the "friend" concept of rearing children. Well...didn't work last century, won't work this one, either. They're striking out on this one, methinks.
- And more...you may need to register at the site to get the whole article...I don't know. It just 'came' to me.
Let's look at this note from Pew Charitable Trusts: "Bloggers: A Portrait of the Internet's New Storytellers." Not so Mom or woman focused as people focused. But, since Moms and women are the real social butterflies of the world, I thought this merited mention here.
Old news, but maybe you haven't seen it before:
"Eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog. Thirty-nine percent of internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005."
Content is from last July, so it's a good bet that the numbers are much higher now. The point is, blogging is here to stay. It serves a whole lot of purposes - not the least of which is connecting to customers and clients and actually learning - ahead of time - what they want and need, and HOW they want to receive it. Kewl!
Last, but certainly not least, this report from The Marketing X Factor (thanks to our own Lena West for the head's up): "Today's Surprising Power Influencer: Mom." [registration required]
Love this introduction...
"Moms will spend $1.7 trillion in 2007 on everything from fast food to shampoo, and companies are finding creative ways to execute campaigns that curry their influence, purchase power, and attention."
Are you one of those companies? Maybe you're still thinking of 'Mom' as the woman who baked cookies for you, or nagged you to clean your room, or picked you up from soccer - twenty minutes late because she had to see the end of General Hospital?
Think again. Here's just a short piece from this interesting article, "For example, as a whole, moms make fewer unique contacts per day than other people (an average of 31 versus. 40). But as employment status, income, and the ages of household children rise, so does mom's sphere of influence and her opportunity to spread information via word of mouth in person and by phone."
Apparently, the folks at Suave, McDonald's, Dove, Kraft, and even Sony are catering to this group. A The article cites a Lucid Marketing report released in October 2006 which "... showed that moms are even more likely (as high as 98 percent) than non-moms (up to 88 percent) to spread the word about positive experiences they have with products and businesses. But moms should not be considered a homogeneous group when developing word-of-mouth initiatives."
How does all of this help you? Well, if you aren't looking at women as influential in your space, you're missing opportunities. If you're discounting Moms as just gals who shop for groceries and cosmetics, and aren't interested in electronics, computers, cars, trucks, sports, construction and more - you're really missing opportunities.
Think about this: when the quarterback gets on TV after the game, what's the first thing he says, with that big happy smile? He says, "Hi, Mom!"
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