Mom. You think you know her. But think again, because today’s moms have changed. Who are they? What influences and motivates them? And how are today’s brands marketing to all the moms?
There are approximately 85 million moms in the U.S. today, with spending power exceeding $3.5 trillion. Moms are the ones making decisions about the cars in the garage, the groceries in the refrigerator, and the clothes worn by everyone in the family. More
As a group, Millennials represent a major market force in terms of buying power, spending $200 billion per year. With women responsible for 85 percent of all U.S. consumer spending, that translates to $170 billion in spending power annually for Millennial women.
That’s a lot of money on the table. And most marketers are already behind the ball because 84% of Millennials admit that they don’t trust advertising. Following are some ideas for building relationships with these important consumers. More
It’s not an overstatement to say that today’s marketers are almost unanimously focused on Millennials. Sure, Millennials are the largest living generation, but Boomers have greater spending power, controlling nearly 70% of all disposable income and spending $3.2 trillion each year. With that much spending at stake, it makes economic sense to aggressively be marketing to Baby Boomers.
That’s especially true with Boomer women, who will control two-thirds of all consumer wealth over the next decade, with estimates ranging from $12 to $40 trillion. More
According to The Economist, “The growing economic power of women is one of the most important trends of our time.”
Key growth drivers, such as delaying marriage and children as well as rising literacy rates, indicate the average U.S. woman’s salary will rise above the average U.S. man’s by the year 2028.
Women currently control $7 trillion in U.S. spending. And during the next decade, they will control two-thirds of the country’s overall consumer wealth. More
Today, every fifth adult in the United States is a female over 50. They are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history who control half of the country’s discretionary income and 75% of the country’s wealth. That’s a lot of spending power for one generation of women. It’s a mystery why marketers ignore Boomer women, even during the holidays, but ignore them they do.
During the holiday season, this generation of women likes nothing more than to spoil their families. They buy food to create memorable family meals, and gifts for family members, spending a collective $35 billion on grandchildren alone. It seems clear that marketers would target this group as much as any other. Instead, they spend less than 10% of their holiday marketing budgets targeting Boomers. It’s time for marketers to put Boomer women on their “nice” list this holiday season. More
As female economic power continues to explode, now, more than ever, marketers need to understand how to reach these key decision makers. Because 91% of women still say that advertisers don’t understand them.
The average U.S. woman is projected to earn more than the average man by the year 2028. In the United States alone, women control up to $15 trillion annually. As incomes grow, women’s spending power and influence do, too.
Women are responsible for 85% of consumer household purchases—from cars to healthcare, to family vacations—and that power is growing by the day. With such growth drivers as delayed marriage and children, educational attainment, rising incomes and breadwinner status (women are the primary breadwinner in 40% of U.S. households with kids under 18), almost all income growth in the U.S. over the past 15 or 20 years has come from women.
Brands need to look beyond the superficial and understand that the women’s market isn’t a niche–it’s a driving force. Women respond to marketing messages that show marketers understand them, and that portray them in a strong and powerful way. Following are tips to consider when you market to women.
There is no “one” female demographic; the female market is huge and diverse. From baby boomer women who are experiencing a healthier, wealthier lifestyle as they inherit from parents and spouses to the single professional who has more discretionary spending because they are child-free, each female sub-set has its own unique interests and values that influence purchasing behaviors.
Understand the differences between men and women, without being patronizing. While men typically focus on exterior styling and horsepower, a woman may or may not care. But tell her how the vehicle can make her life easier and safer and watch her perk up. Fuel economy, safety features, the number of cup holders, built-in cold storage, and third-row seats. Depending on the life stage she’s in, any of these more practical points will be important to her.
With 70% of women with children under 18 in today’s work force, many women are working both inside and outside of the home. They are multi-taskers seeking solutions and work-life balance. Opportunities to provide stress-management solutions, convenience, timesaving products, and one-stop shopping opportunities will earn her patronage and loyalty.
“Shrink it and pink it” is probably the most common stereotype when brands market to women, but there are others that may not be quite as obvious. For instance, 41% of mothers had a child outside of marriage this year. That’s 41% of your audience that doesn’t connect with marketing messages about traditional, nuclear families. Women appreciate marketers who acknowledge their accomplishments, both at home and in the workplace, and show them in roles of empowerment.
Are you confident in your marketing to women strategies? Creating engaging, thoughtful campaigns that reach female consumers is what we do. Please reach out if you’d like to talk about how Girlpower Marketing can help your brand.
I recently read an article by Liz O’Donnell about marketing to “mothers in the sandwich,” those women who are caring for their parents while also raising their children and trying to balance careers. Life in the sandwich raises unique challenges for these women, but also provides unique opportunities for those products, services and businesses that support these women. I should know, because I am one of those mothers in the sandwich.
These women are busy, savvy (they need to be; they are managing crises, averting crises, and solving problems every day), and influential. As Liz notes, they’re making health care decisions for three generations, managing money for three generations, consuming services for three generations, and purchasing products for three generations.
So whether it’s car services to transport seniors to medical appointments and children safely to afterschool activities, or errand and meal delivery service, these women have purchasing power that shouldn’t be ignored. Marketers would be wise to listen to them, support them, and help solve their problems. For that, they’ll be rewarded with a lifetime of loyalty.
A new study by Influence Central confirms the dramatic impact online reviews have on consumers this holiday season, with Amazon emerging as the top site that consumers rely on for checking reviews. According to the study, 85 percent of women consumers consider e-commerce reviews extremely or very important when making a purchase, with 90 percent of consumers saying that an online review is more important than input from a salesperson.
Additional findings include:
So what does this all mean? For retailers and brand managers, it means taking note of the increasingly important role of online reviews– shoppers are getting savvy, and the tides are changing. Companies that understand the importance of reputation management and online reviews will be at a major advantage.
As Appeared In Huffington Post
Most women would rather not discuss the intricacies of their period with a man. Most men seem fine with that.
Yet, until just five years ago, it was up to a largely male-led team to figure out how to market tampons, maxi-pads and other feminine products at Kimberly-Clark, the company behind Kotex, Huggies and Kleenex.
That translated into ads featuring blue liquids dumped on sanitary napkins, and portraying ecstatic women clad in all-white dancing and frolicking, apparently while menstruating. That’s a scenario approximately no woman has ever related to. A compilation of awkward images from vintage Kotex commercials. The company recently poked fun at its old advertising tactics in a new “U By Kotex” campaign. Story continues after the photos.
The absurdity of the situation came to light about five years ago at Kimberly-Clark, when CEO Tom Falk brought the male executive in charge of Kotex to present a marketing strategy for the more than 90-year-old brand to the company’s board of directors
After the presentation, some board members politely asked Falk: “Don’t you think you can get a female to present the strategy to us?” (read more)
These days, when “Honey, I’m home!” is shouted up the stairs at the end of the day, it may very well NOT be the husband who’s come home from a hard day at work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, nearly 40 percent of wives now earn more money than their husbands. That’s a huge jump from just 11 percent back in 1960, and a staggering shift in our society.
Today’s women are more than just sugar and spice and everything nice. One needs only to peruse the list of Fortune 500 or Fortune 1000 companies to see that women quickly are becoming as powerful and successful in business as men. The 24 female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list represent just a handful of the hardworking women that companies should be addressing in their marketing strategies. Women are also the dominant sex earning bachelor’s degrees, indicating that the trajectory for their earning power will continue to climb even higher over the coming years.
More than ever, women are driving household incomes and the global consumer economy itself. They influence or control 85 percent of consumer spending in the United States. That’s 68 percent of new car purchases, and 80 percent of healthcare spending. 91 percent of new homes, and 92 percent of vacation travel.
For those businesses that have yet to identify a strategy for appealing to the “breadwinner” women, author Bridget Brennan identifies three smart ways in her book “Why She Buys,” to approach this massive opportunity:
1. Invest in sales training, because women who routinely negotiate at work expect great service when they leave the office. Research shows that women have higher expectations of customer service than men do. How has your sales training evolved? Women will walk out the door and walk off the lot because of poor or frustrating service. Many service issues are based on a perceived lack of respect, attention or even dignity. Though it’s clear that women are changing, old stereotypes die hard. Some of the best advice for salespeople in the age of breadwinner women is this: don’t assume anything. Don’t assume she’s not the decision-maker; don’t assume she’s married with kids; and most of all, don’t assume she can’t afford whatever it is you’re selling.
2. Make her hours, your hours. When a woman takes a job outside the home, it impacts every aspect of her life, from what time she wakes up in the morning to what she wears, where and when she shops, and even what she eats.
If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, are you staffing up at lunchtime, when many women squeeze in their errands? Are you offering delivery options outside of traditional business hours, so she doesn’t have to take a day off work? Are you open in the hours before the workday begins? Take the time and effort to study the changing traffic patterns of your female customers to ensure that your hours of operation match hers.
3. Offer Services, Not Just Products. Women appreciate service as much or more than “stuff.” This is the sweet spot for Lexus – their warranty provides free, 24/7 roadside assistance; a bumper-to-bumper warranty; free loaner car with any servicing; free car washes; and free new owner events that help customers install Bluetooth and change automatic settings on seats and radios. Providing helpful service can ensure that women appreciate your business and recommend it to their circle of friends and colleagues.
To learn more about how Girlpower Marketing’s approach can help your brand, please contact us.
The truth is that no matter what you’re selling, what you’re really selling is help. And breadwinner or not, all women will thank you for providing it.
