MARKETING TO WOMEN QUICK FACTS

• Boomer Women and Affluence – One huge, affluent segment wields more spending clout than any other: Baby-Boomer women. Born between 1946 and 1964, these women represent a portion of the buying public no marketer can afford to ignore. With successful careers, investments made during the “boom” years, and inheritances from parents or husbands, they are more financially empowered than any previous generation of women. – Mary Brown, Carol Orsborn, Ph.D., Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—The Baby-Boomer Woman

• Senior women age 50 and older control net worth of $19 trillion and own more than three-fourths of the nation’s financial wealth. – MassMutual Financial Group–2007

• Fifty-plus American women are the healthiest, wealthiest and most active generation of women in history. - Demographics by Mark Miller

• Of the 743 women of wealth interviewed with at least $3 million in investable assets, 61.2% accumulated their fortunes through corporate employment, their own or a family business or a professional practice. Only 38.8% of the women had married into or inherited their money. – Women of Wealth, 2004, by Russ Alan Prince and Hannah Shaw Grove

• High-net-worth women account for 39% of the country’s top wealth earners; 2.5 million of them have combined assets of $4.2 trillion. More than 1.3 million women professionals and executives earn in excess of $100,000 annually. 43% of Americans with more than $500,000 in assets are female – MassMutual Financial Group–2007

• Over the next decade, women will control two thirds of consumer wealth in the United States and be the beneficiaries of the largest transference of wealth in our country’s history. Estimates range from $12 to $40 trillion. Many Boomer women will experience a double inheritance windfall, from both parents and husband. The Boomer woman is a consumer that luxury brands want to resonate with. – Claire Behar, Senior Partner and Director, New Business Development, Fleishman-Hillard New York

• The more mature luxury consumer places the highest priority in making memories and experiences. They don’t buy things to have more things; they want the experience to go along with it. Luxury consumers expect superior quality and are extremely discerning. – Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing

• The 55 to 75 year-old female has seen her role change from homemaker to purchaser of security, convenience and luxury items. – Barbara Kleger, president of 55+ Consulting

• Wealthy boomer women are the marquee players in our country’s culture and commerce. They are educated, have a high income, and make 95 percent of the purchase decisions for their households. – Karen Vogel, The Women’s Congress and co-founder and president of New Generation Event Solutions

• Once the college bills are out of the way and children launch their own households, the discretionary spending power of 50-plus women soars. They spend 2.5 times what the average person spends. Women are the primary buyers for computers, cars, banking, financial services and a lot of other big-ticket categories. – Marti Barletta, Primetime Women

• The Baby Boomer Generation has more money, leisure time and technology than any other generation in history. They can not only stay in touch with family and friends but actually continue to pursue their careers while traveling. Thanks to Wi-Fi, satellite Internet hookups, e-mail and cell phones, baby boomers can continue running businesses from RV’s from just about anywhere in the United States. – Baby-Boomer Magazine.com

• Affluent women juggle demands of career and family, are concerned about the environment and are discriminating shoppers. – The Affluent Market in the U.S., Dr. Robert Brown and Ms. Ruth Washton

• The number of wealthy women investors in the U.S. is growing at a faster rate than that of men. In a two-year period, the number of wealthy women in the U.S. grew 68%, while the number of men grew only 36%. – The Spectrem Group

• Affluent working women with family incomes of $75,000 or more are growing in number, and 94.3 percent access the Internet during an average month. About half are now considered heavy users of the Internet, while heavy use of radio, television, newspapers and direct mail has declined within this group. – Ten Marketing Trends to Watch, Kim T. Gordon, Entrepreneur.com

STATISTICS

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care:

• 47.2 % of major league soccer fans
• 46.5% of MLB fans
• 43.2% of NFL fans
• 40.8% of fans at NHL games
• 37% of NBA fans
• Women purchase 46% of official NFL merchandise
• Women spent 80% of all sport apparel dollars and controlled 60% of all money spent on men’s clothing
• Women comprise about one-third (34%) of the adult audience for ESPN sport event programs

In older groups, women make up a larger percentage of the audience:

Women in Motorsports

Link back to: http://she-conomy.com/report/facts-on-women/

Brands that are successful have a well defined position in the marketplace. Brands following the hype are just winging it on “a hope and a prayer” that their customer will “get the concept.”

Would you rather base your brand on sound principles and a firm foundation or hype of trying and buying, hoping something will work?

Here are some great Brand Re-Position examples: Gucci, Apple, Tropicana okay how about Ali Brown, Toni Robbins, Les Brown, and Walmart, okay how about Oprah excuse me, the OWN Network?

There is this buzz word called Brand going around and I think people are sitting at the edge of their seats, pinching pennies to try to make sure that their Brand is in order. Every coach and meme is talking about what TO DO; let’s look at what NOT TO DO.
Who Told You that Brand Stinking Lie?

Changing Face: These brands did not change their names or logos over night. They simply defined their logo.  Their name is the same; logo is the same with light touch ups. Please do not make haste decisions when it comes to your name or logo. Companies such as Marlboro, Puffs, and Ziploc, they simply use a specialized font with the product name. No glitter, glamour or gold, no images, no “logo.” Logos are good, but not mandatory.
Mouthing Off: These brands did not send out an eblast, newsletter, press release, press conference, J about their re-positioning.  They did all the work silently and slowly made the necessary changes.  This avoids your reputation being washed up, because you are mouthing off too early. Many entrepreneurs believe that once they have a boat load of clients or prospects, get their USP down to a science, and have a snappy logo and banner created, that they have accomplished it all in the world of branding.  Your brand position is an ongoing process, not a one night stand.
Rushing: Each brand mentioned above has a firm foundation and a grasp on their target.  They know who they are, what they represent, and that is why we buy. They are confident in their deliverables, their value and their position.  Get it, Who? What? and Why? These brands took a decade or so to turn around their brand.  You don’t have to take a decade, but thanks to these household name brands we are able to see how they shifted successfully.

Keep in mind a great brand strategy and position does not start with name changes, logos, expensive PR and Ad campaigns, or an expensive Marketing Coach.  The strategy starts with identifying your authentic and organic vision.

How are you positioning yourself to become a household name?

How are you preparing your business for the long haul?

Are you building an empire, a legacy for generational wealth?

Think about it and post a comment, we would love to dialog with you.

Having laser sharp focus is crucial to your long term success. Having a good idea and sticking with it until it either succeeds of fails is actually a vital skill – A skill that many entrepreneurs unfortunately lack and fail as a result.

Results Come with Persistence, Not Singular Spurts of Effort

Entrepreneurs often feel powerful spurts of desire, of determination, of feeling like they’re willing to do whatever it takes. Feeling that way for a few days or weeks isn’t an uncommon feeling.
However, to really succeed you need to be able to stay motivated and inspired about what you’re doing for months and years at a time.

Business is not a short term game. You have wins and you have losses. It’s a matter of persisting through all the ups and downs to the final result of real success. That takes time and focus.

Improve Your Focus With Productivity Systems

Your habits play a large role in how focused you stay.
One habit that many successful business people have is planning their day at the beginning of the day. When you wake up, the first thing you do is get out a sheet of paper and write out exactly what you want to accomplish today.

Then, write out what you want to accomplish this year. Then your five year goals, your 10 year goals and your 25 year goals.

If you have inspiring goals set, this will help you stay focused on both the short term actions and the long term picture. Doing this every day will help you stay totally motivated to do what you need to do to succeed.

Be Focused, But Stay Flexible
As an entrepreneur, it’s important that you’re able to adapt to your environment and do what’s necessary to make your business succeed.This and staying focused may sound like contradictory concepts, but they’re actually very complimentary.

Most experienced business people agree that business seldom goes as you expect. If you have one plan to generate traffic, one plan about what to sell, one plan about how your business should look and you’re not willing to change strategies, chances are you won’t make it in the long run.

However, don’t confuse flexibility in strategy with actually bouncing around completely different paths. If you bounce from trying to do PPC affiliate marketing to trying to be a top blogger to trying to trade Forex online, you are certainly destined to fail.

On the other hand, if something isn’t working then don’t bash your head against a wall trying to make it work. Instead, be willing to be flexible and adapt. Being able to hold both focus towards a goal and flexibility in the method of getting there is crucial to success.

Know your goals. Know what’s important to know. Know what you need to do on a day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year basis. Stick to your plan and stay focused.

No means No

After being a work-at-home entrepreneur for over 7 years, I can attest that the toughest item on this list for me, personally, is learning to say no to potential clients or customers. When you work for yourself – especially in the early days – you’re not always sure where that next paycheck is coming from. And even when the customer roster is full this month, you can’t be positive the same will be true next month or the month after, so you tend to take on more work than you can comfortably perform. After all, isn’t a few nights of burning the midnight oil well worth the benefit of having a little more padding in the bank account?

The problem is, working too much to stay ahead causes us stress and job burnout – and it also makes spouses and families a tad angry! So we just exchange one stress point (finances) for another (overwork and family pressure). There is a solution, although you’re not going to like it. Set a limit and stick to it.

I know, I know, this is easier said than done. But I can honestly say that I’ve never had a customer or client disappear into thin air when I told him or her they had to wait a few weeks or months to work with me. In fact, it often shows that you’re in demand and that you can pick and choose who you work with, and when. And that’s a valuable trait, particularly when you want to command top rates for your expertise.

Think about the busiest restaurant you know of: the Hard Rock Cafe, the Cheesecake Factory, etc.  The advance reservations notice these establishments require actually increases their mystique and reputation. Making your customers and clients wait can do the same for you!

Decide how many products you’re going to release, how many interviews you’re going to do, how many coaching clients you’re going to work with, how many articles you’ll write, or how many hours you’re going to work per week, and then stop. That’s it – no more.

One of the best ways to keep your work commitments at a tolerable level is to make a commitment to your family. You can start with committing to attending every softball game, every Scout meeting, and every recital. You can promise dinner each evening, or read out of a chapter book every night to your children.  This will make you accountable to your own scheduled work day. You may feel a momentary pang of regret or anxiety when you tell a potential client “no” or “wait.”  I’m willing to bet it will soon fade when you realize how much less stressed you are on a day-to-day basis, and how much happier your home life is!

You’ve set boundaries for your commitment to your clients. You’ll say the words “no” or “wait” to a client when the time constraints of a new assignment don’t fit within your agenda. You have now become the boss of your time.  Does your family know that?

There you are sitting at your desk in your home office, available to everyone – kids, spouse, neighbors, friends – at a moments notice. You wanted to work at home so you COULD be available to your family, but what are the limits?  We’ll explore the dichotomy of working at home in order to enjoy the flexibility and availability to the ones you love, and working at home in order to create a successful business which requires focused time away from distractions.

I love to hear your comments and join the newsletter while you are here.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. The Internet is full of social options to reach out and promote your business in addition to your Web page and your blog. But you have to use them wisely and carefully. Facebook is a good place to have not only a page, but also a site to collect fans. When you post info, all your fans get the post. LinkedIn is a site for business people to contact each other for business opportunities. Twitter can get a quick (remember, only 140 characters) message out to your database.

One important thing to keep in mind is that your personal accounts and your business accounts are not the same account. So, if you want to say you love going to Starbucks, do it on your personal account. Your business contacts don’t care.

Here are three guidelines for your business account:

1. Make sure what you post relates to your brand image.  A lot of people post nonsense like the Starbucks comment and then expect to get a prospect. This won’t work. Stick to business. Tell the site what’s new with the business or if you have a public image, where you’ll be for a meet and greet.

2. Is your post inspiring or tiring? Sometimes if you run across something that gives you a lift, you can share it with your media friends as long as it pertains to business. It’s not about a new way to fold towels unless it gives you more time for your business. Of course, if you really do find a better way to do something, by all means, shout it out.

3. Are you taking your conversations offline to get to really know, like and trust your social media friends? Make sure your Internet contacts truly do have common interests as you. The Internet, even the social media pages, is anarchy, and you have to be on the lookout so that your business isn’t dragged down by someone who does not wish you well.

Used properly, social media can be used to as a tool to really reaching out and touching someone.