Direct Marketing News

On AMC hit movie Mad Man, an excellent made for TV movie about life on Madison Avenue in the Sixties. The star of the show, muses in an advertising pitch meeting. What is that women want?

This is the same problem that has been plaguing advertisers, marketers, shop owner and entrepreneurs for years and years. And will continue to plague us for many more years to come.

David Ogilvy, the famous advertising giant and founder of Ogilvy and Mather. Was famous for quoting in meetings. The consumer is not an idiot, she is your wife. Now what will it take for her to buy this product.

As one who evaluates countless ads and attempts to reach and communicate with this audience for a living. I to try to establish what women want.

Over the years through study, trail and error and getting knocked around a few times, this report is meant to help those who want to find there way in the dark.

The Pivotal Role of Women in regards to Spending

This Chapter contains Excepts for Treasure Hunt, by Michael Silverstein.

Women of course are the center of household spending and consumption. They are responsible for 100% of the growth of in real household income between 1974 and 2004.

They control and influence over 75% of discretionary spending and are masters in material-goods acquisition.

Women research their products carefully, and they have a sharp instinct for value and a clear sense of their own individual preferences. They can make a brand or new product concept successful within months of its launch. Or they can crush a flawed idea in ninety days or less.

They are working hard to live a rich and balanced life one that is distinctly their own. They develop elaborate coping strategies and smart purchasing tactics to help them buy most of what they want, live their lives almost as they please, and avoid as much financials stress as possible.

Women are the Principal Influencers of Shopping and Consumptions:

85% if women over 18 identify themselves as the principal shopper in the household.
90% of married women identify themselves as the principal shopper.
80% of consumer good purchases are made or influenced by women.
51% of consumer electronic purchases are made by women.
Women purchase 50% of all cars and Influence 80% of their sales.
48% of stock market investors are women.
Over 40% of households with at least $600,000 in assets are headed by women.

If you are selling any of these products and not focusing your marketing message on her, you are in for a rude awakening if your competitors start today.

What is the media that she wants her message to be delivered in?

Vertis Communication of Baltimore completed an exhaustive Customer Focus Study which was published in 2007 and this is what they found:

Despite the influx of electronically generated ads in the past decade, 85% of women ages 25-44 read printed direct mail marketing pieces.
72% responded that they have replied to direct mail campaigns that contain a buy one, get on free offer
63% said they have responded to a direct mail campaign that offers a percentage discount on merchandise. (Up from 54% in 2005)
57% of women ages 35-64 prefer that companies they express interest in, send follow up communication through direct mail pieces personalized to their needs.
In comparison 38% of men prefer generic direct mail follow up
Personalized follow up information is more effective than generic follow up information.
56% of females said that email is an accepted form of follow up communication. Versus 52% of men.
Only 5% of females prefer text messages as follow up
53% of females have access to email.
40% of adults are comfortable with providing credit card information online; this is down from 52% in 2003.

What does this all mean for Me?

At the end of the day you need to drive sales to your door, phones to ring or customers into your restaurant and shop. We have a saying that simply states our CODA Nothing Happens until Somebody Sells Something. With us that somebody is you our advertisers.

When you are marketing to women a few thoughts come to light in helping your drive her to your doorstep.

Respect Her. Listen to her feedback and input and treat her as you would your most trusted business advisors because she is. She will make you and or break you. So treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves. Talk to her, not only her husband because she is writing the checks.
Have a conversation with her. Focus on her, her wants and needs and have a real conversation over the course of your communication pieces. She wants many things but authenticity rates the highest. Remember she has a phony meter that can read a phony from a mile away. Communicate the value that you bring instead of a list of features. Build Feedback into the process.
Quality is Key. She is willing to pay for it. Look at Whole Foods as a case study their stack is up 1,552 percent over the last decade. She wants only the best for her family, with in reason and has no time for shoddy workmanship, service or goods. And trust me she will tell everyone when she has been wronged. To quote Shakespeare, hell haft no furry as a woman scorned. So deliver her the quality and product that she deserves and wants.
Communicate with her in a way that she wants. She as no time for methods other than direct mail. Though many other methods are sometimes sexier, do what works. Incorporate an entire campaign but have it revolve around response driven direct mail. Use that to open up the conversation with her, and then use other methods plus direct mail to get her to continue to come back to you. If direct mail is not part of your arsenal of marketing communication you are doomed for failure.
Understand she is part of many communities. If you do all the right things to reach her and to serve her well she will do the right things by you. She will share her experiences BOTH good and bad with all her communities. From the sidelines at soccer games and football games, to in the salon or out to lunch with her girlfriends. She will share it all.
Be Real and Unique. Need I say more than Target, Whole Foods, Starbucks, No Pudge Brownies, Costco, and Tealuxe in Chicago. Know who you are and who you serve and continue to enhance the experience. Its all about a real experience. And most importantly know who she is and what she wants.

The Next Steps

We wish you well on your journey to serving this wonderful market. You should go on many field trips to those that have done it well and those that need some help along the way. Learn for everyone, create your own community. Listen and learn do the best you can. Pick yourself up when you make a mistake and learn from it.

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