You didn't hear it here first - or maybe you did because I talked about it in my book, before a whole lot of other people even wanted to admit that women shoppers were powerhouses - but, women are all about health and welfare.
Of course, family comes first, but don't forget that we consider neighbors and co-workers part of our family. Women embrace complete strangers, sometimes - opening our doors to folks in need, on a regular basis. Well, a couple of recent studies show that women are taking their hard-core belief in health and welfare with them, as they prepare for the trying times ahead.
a&g (allen & gerritsen) did a survey on Moms "to understand just how the economy is affecting their purchase behaviors and economic outlook." The result isn't surprising, but it is note-worthy...
Here are some of the results - I share this with you because this impacts YOUR ability to sell to these women in the coming months (and yes, even during the coming holidays)...
a&g said they chose Moms because "[Moms] occupy two important roles in American society: they manage the household (which means their behaviros drastically impact sales) and they teach and enforce family values (which means they are as influential in shaping our culture as a mass media)."
(looks like a&g doesn't have a traditional website, just a blog...hmmm...does this portend something?)
The numbers look like this for the a&g study:
- 65% of Moms surveyed [are] eliminating purchases that are not absolutely necessary
- 52% are cutting back in general
- 71% say they have made more sacrifices this year than last
More importantly, 94% of the Moms surveyed say "it is more important to seek regular medical care for their families than themselves," and, "62% of moms say they are less greedy than the American average." But, most importantly, "51% of moms say they don't see the economic situation improving within the next year."
Holy cow! Here we are at Lip-sticking telling you to get moving, make progress, keep your spirits up, don't give in to the status quo of negative news...and I'm passing along this study that is overly negative. Or is it? Is it just a reflection of the times? Can you look at these stats and understand that they represent a mindset at the moment - and that you can turn them around? I've been saying for awhile that if you help us cope, educate us on how to manage in this scary world, and pay attention to our family issues, you'll win.
A recent note sent to me from someone at MS&L Worldwide says, "67% of Women Seek Status in Faux Brands Over Designer Labels," which means...we're still looking for what you sell. In fact, we're looking more seriously at what YOU sell...if you're a small biz owner.
The sub-title of the press release says it all, "The New High Society Research Reveals U.S. Women are Building a New Culture." Really now, women are the carpenters of every culture and the 'new' label just means we're adjusting our mindset to match the new world we live in.
Ok...let me quote from the release, because it's relevant; here are the bolded titles without explanation, you can visit this link to MS&L's PDF on the topic to read it all:
- Parenthood is all or nothing (duh! when wasn't it? even for folks with the four-legged kind of kids)
- Doing good never felt so good (Mary Hunt said this several years ago when she wrote her book, In Women We Trust)
- Discipline is making a comeback (kids behaving well? I'm all for it - how quickly can we turn this disaster around? and whose fault is it that so many of today's kids are rude and outrageous???)
- Made in the U.S.A. (everybody listening? we're reading the label and if it's not homegrown, we don't want it!)
- Health is the new wealth (a return to days gone-by; remember what Mom would say when tragedy hit? "As long as you have your health, you have everything." This study actually says that "74 percent of American women claim that looking healthy represents status more than looking young." How kewl is that?)
This sounds like a return to those good old days of the early 20th century, when our grandmothers held court. Back when family was the center of the universe and manners were taught with a stern look and the expectation of results. I think today's women are indeed embracing those days gone by - but they're doing it digitally, on the net, using social networking. They're sharing and caring for a larger circle of trusted friends, than ever before. They're intent upon supporting this country, each other, and the whole world, because it's that important. Oh, btw, let's not forget who's watching - the teens and tweens and little children at our knee - your future customers, folks.
What they think is a post for another day.
Sell to women. If they won't buy it, no one will. Now, hop over to Moms Rising and tell President-elect Obama what you want to see in his administration, for your family.
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