| Wooing Women: It's A Head Game |
| Excerpted from MediaPost article by Maria Reitan |
A few years ago Mel Gibson starred in a successfully romantic comedy, "What Women Want." He played a hard-charging advertising executive who thought he knew what women wanted until one day he woke up, and he could hear the actual musings inside women's heads. He was stunned to discover he was way off base.
Wouldn't it be easier if marketers could just read women's minds? Women with children control $1.6 trillion in household spending. Looking at those figures, if marketers are smart they have an opportunity to "get it right" and "get the girl."
Here are some tips for getting inside the head of the home's chief purchasing officer.
1. Time crunched
Mom purchases from companies that are relevant to her multi-tasking lifestyle. Your communications to her must be multi-dimensional as well: pricing, service, messages and actions all play a role.
2. The friend factor
If you can't reach a specific type of woman directly, tapping her friend may serve the same purpose. Seventy-five percent of mothers research a product before buying it, about the same rate as men do at 74%, but 90% of women prefer brands recommended by other moms. That's nearly double the average consumer. "Word-of-mom" marketing is a significant way to make an impression that lingers all the way to the check-out aisle.
3. Technology is "queen"
Women purchase $55 billion worth of technology every year. Sixty percent prefer to be reached via the Internet, but because they are so connected, you can reach mom through a variety of mediums. If you are marketing in the technology space, you should be selling DTM (direct-to-mom).
4. The mom-stage
The cookie-cutter mom doesn't exist. Marketers who connect with women through their shared experiences based on lifestyles and lifestages, no matter what their demographic, will make their products more relevant and believable.
Be relevant. Deliver on your promises. Create some buzz. Get your message in front of mom in many places and many ways. Don't treat all women the same. Follow these tips, and like Mel Gibson's character in the movie, you too can capture her heart (and her disposable income in the process).
Wouldn't it be easier if marketers could just read women's minds? Women with children control $1.6 trillion in household spending. Looking at those figures, if marketers are smart they have an opportunity to "get it right" and "get the girl."
Here are some tips for getting inside the head of the home's chief purchasing officer.
1. Time crunched
Mom purchases from companies that are relevant to her multi-tasking lifestyle. Your communications to her must be multi-dimensional as well: pricing, service, messages and actions all play a role.
2. The friend factor
If you can't reach a specific type of woman directly, tapping her friend may serve the same purpose. Seventy-five percent of mothers research a product before buying it, about the same rate as men do at 74%, but 90% of women prefer brands recommended by other moms. That's nearly double the average consumer. "Word-of-mom" marketing is a significant way to make an impression that lingers all the way to the check-out aisle.
3. Technology is "queen"
Women purchase $55 billion worth of technology every year. Sixty percent prefer to be reached via the Internet, but because they are so connected, you can reach mom through a variety of mediums. If you are marketing in the technology space, you should be selling DTM (direct-to-mom).
4. The mom-stage
The cookie-cutter mom doesn't exist. Marketers who connect with women through their shared experiences based on lifestyles and lifestages, no matter what their demographic, will make their products more relevant and believable.
Be relevant. Deliver on your promises. Create some buzz. Get your message in front of mom in many places and many ways. Don't treat all women the same. Follow these tips, and like Mel Gibson's character in the movie, you too can capture her heart (and her disposable income in the process).
My Take
Staggering stats. But not very surprising. Local businesses with tight ad budgets should pay close attention to the data cited by Maria.
Posts
