Marketing to Women: Power to the PANKs

On the eve of Mother’s Day, I thought it would be important to salute those amazing women who are influential in the lives of their nieces and nephews but have not given birth to a child.  I know lots of these important women who have been nicknamed PANKs, Professional Aunts No Kids.  They are actively involved in the lives of children around them.  In fact, one in five women is a PANK, or approximately 23 million Americans.  PANKs are roughly half of all the women who are not a mother or grandmother.  This group is actually growing as women are choosing to stay single or marry later.

PANKs spend $9 billion on toys and gifts for children annually, according to “The Power of the PANK”, a study by Savvy Auntie and public relations firm Weber Shandwich.  PANKs tend to have about the same income as the average woman, but they have more disposable income because they do not have children and are more likely to be single.  PANKs estimate that they spent an average of $387 on each child in their lives during the past year, with 76% having spent more than $500 per child.

Additionally, PANKs are younger. The average age of a PANK is 36 (vs. 46 years for overall women), a highly desirable age group for marketers because it suggests that PANKs potentially have a network of friends and family members with growing families. This important group of women are also mighty among social media influencers.  PANKs tend to spend more time on social media than women in general.

PANKs are great at sharing information about clothing, vacation/travel, websites/social networks sites, and products for digital devices.   They also index higher on traditionally “mom” categories, such as groceries/food and beverages, household appliances and home decorating goods, and knowledgeable about more male-dominated areas of expertise: electronics, automobiles/other vehicles, life and property insurance, and financial investments/services.

Some 43% of PANKs say advertising and marketing is not geared to them, and half of them say that society does not acknowledge them.  Imagine what would happen if advertisers acknowledged this group.  This important demographic would be extremely loyal to brands that reach out to them.

Marketing to Women: Mobile Advertising Yet?

Smartphones now comprise 57% of the mobile market in the United States.  By next year, there will be more mobile devices than there are people in the world and more mobile phones than desktop PCs.

With all that mobile action, why then is mobile advertising not growing as fast as smartphone adoption?  According to IAB, some 53% of agencies say they don’t have experience in mobile advertising.  And 70% say they would purchase more if clients understood it better.  Translation:  Agencies and clients need to go to school on mobile.

The Google Factor

So here’s a tip for all the late adopters:  Mobile ads work!  Or at least that’s what Google says.  Mobile ads appear to be the most effective paid method of driving page likes, and Google reports that smartphone users are unusually responsive to advertising. Forty-two percent of users click on mobile ads they like, found the Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users survey. Of those, 49 percent go on to make a purchase, while 35 percent visit the advertiser’s site, and 27 percent call the business in question.  A lot of that clicking is on local sites;  95% of people look for local info on their smartphone.

All that smartphone usage leads to smartphone shopping. While strolling the aisles, 49% of us compare prices, 44 percent read reviews of stuff while we shop, and 34 percent are using their phones to check the store’s inventory.

Gender differences in shopping:  In a new study by Millennial Media and comScore, findings show men are more likely to use phones to check product availability, compare prices, find deals or make online purchases. Women are more likely than men to use phones in stores to text or call friends about products, send pictures of products, or research product features.

Mobile-Optimized Sites and Apps Necessary

Those that will win in mobile will have sites that are responsive and won’t have roadblocks like Flash.  I was working with a client recently, and I tried to view her website on my iPad.  Because her site was built in Flash, it was not at all accessible on any Apple devices.

Right now, people spend more time on apps than mobile websites.  Tablets seem to be the online shopping tool of choice.  Important features include side-by-side product comparison, 360-degree zoom, customer ratings, and an easy checkout process are most important to shoppers.

So let’s go mobile!

Marketing to Women: Women Still Dominate Retail Shopping

A new report from Nielsen confirms that women still control the spending power in the US.  Some people estimate that we control $5-15 trillion annually.  Now, I know that saying women still dominate retail shopping is like saying that it still snows at the North Pole, but there are some shifts going on that are interesting.

The report points out that men are taking a more active role in the shopping process than they have in the past. Woo-hoo!  Between 2004 and 2012, U.S. women reduced the number of trips they made across most retail channels, while men increased their visits to all outlets except grocery and drug stores.

However women are still spending more money per trip than men in all shopping channels.  Women drive the larger stock-up or planned trips and outspend males by $14.31 per trip in supercenters and by $10.32 per trip in grocery stores.

So basically, women are still doing the majority of shopping, but the data tends to suggest that men are beginning to assume more shopping duties beyond the trip to the convenience store for beer and chips.

Talking to the female shopper is more important than ever.  So those  at Nielsen are concerned, like we are, about the emotional and rational content of marketing and advertising messages.

Women remember more and differently than men do, so talk to both her emotional and rational sides and acknowledge her attention to detail. Layering emotional decision-making opportunities with rational information will increase purchase intent and will have strong “sticking” power. According to Nielsen NeuroFocus, the female brain is programmed to maintain social harmony, so messaging should be positive and not focus on negative comparisons or associations.

In other words, women form value opinions based on both emotional and rational reasons to buy.  That’s why the Darth Vader spot for Volkswagen was a game changer.  It spoke to both men and women about the special moments of family life yet focused on a buying feature of the car.  And yes, women are the buyers of most cars too.

Marketing to Moms: Four Things to Consider Before Developing an App

Considering an app to market to moms?  A recent study found that 97% of moms made a purchase on their tablet in the last month and they’re spending significantly more time on their tablets than laptops. There’s a huge opportunity for brands to provide value for moms on their tablets.

One way to make the most of moms on tablets is by developing an app for your brand. However, developing an app, especially for the first time, is not an easy task. It requires a big budget, skilled engineers, and dedicated marketers to build a useful, powerful app.

So before you begin, there are 4 key things to keep in mind when planning to develop a new app:

App functionality – In order to be truly effective, apps must be smart, innovative, and provide value to the customer. Know when your customers will be downloading the app and why they need it at that moment. Determine the use case scenario and keep it top of mind throughout all stages of development. Also know that you don’t have to include all potential features in the first release of the app. Prioritize the essential elements and add additional functionality in future releases.

Operating systems – You don’t need to develop an app for all platforms to be successful. Rather, understand the devices before choosing one or a few. First, narrow down your options by knowing which device your target audience uses. For example, about 51% of moms own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod, compared to 52% of teenagers owning an Android. Second, understand the pros and cons of the various platforms. Windows is known for its flexibility and provides a great user experience. Apple has fewer models and screen sizes so testing is easier. However, a rejection from Apple’s App Store means more time and money to make improvements. With Android, though, it’s easier to get apps into the Google Play store. On the down side, there are many Android models and testing on all of them is nearly impossible. Finally, testing on various devices requires lots of Quality Assurance (QA), not only for the first release but also to maintain the app as devices update their operating systems. Don’t forget to budget for ongoing QA as you develop your plan.

Pricing model – Will the app support your core business or will it be the sole revenue stream? If your business has other revenue sources, you may offer the app for free because it builds mobile presence and authority for your brand. If this will be your main revenue source, the app itself might be free but perhaps it will generate revenue through an eCommerce engine or paid membership. While some paid apps are very successful, tablet users have been shown to prefer free apps with ads to paid apps. Paid apps accounted for only 23% of all tablet app downloads in 2012. Does your app offer something that customers will pay for or does it offer another value to your business?

Download strategies – Marketing your app and getting customers to download it provides a huge challenge. Make sure your app is searchable within the app store. You can do this by choosing the most relevant keywords. What will customers be looking for when you want them to find your app? Find out and use those keywords. Note, you are limited a specific number of characters for keywords. For Apple, keywords must be less than 100 characters. Another download strategy is through email marketing. Email your existing customers and include a direct link to the app store so they can download the app immediately. Make it easy for them to find and download. Also consider integrating a social sharing element into your app so users market the app for you.

Creating an app may or may not be worth it for your business, but after thinking through each of these topics you should have a better idea of your approach and strategy. For more insights on the habits of moms on tablets and how to build the best app strategy for your brand, download the white paper, “Tablets 101: A Primer for Mom-Focused Brands.”

This guest post is by Katie Petrillo. She is the B2B Marketing Manager at Punchbowl, where she writes about marketing to moms for the Punchbowl Trends blog. Follow her on Twitter @PunchbowlTrends and find her on Google+.

Marketing Travel to Women: Going Mobile

When looking at travel, women are the primary decision makers – making 80% of all decisions.  And we women are going mobile.  TripAdviser says some 40% of us use a mobile device to plan a trip.

A recently post on instant.ly identified two groups who are shaping mobile usage for tourism – Generation X and Digital Natives.    Gen X are the  ‘digital travellers’ making use of all  technologies in all stages of the customer journey  (mobile devices, tablets, desktop PCs etc.).  The  ‘digital natives’ (20th century kids) have grown up with technology and have interacted with digital technology from early stages in all lifetime situations.

According to Intrepid Travel, who booked over 100,00 US passengers for 2012,  63% were female (this is on par with the global figure of 64%).  The majority of  travellers were aged between 25 – 39 (46%).  So female travelers between the ages of 25 and 39 are their biggest market. Some 24 percent of American women have taken a girlfriend getaway in the past three years, and 39 percent of American women plan on taking one in the next three years.

Social Media, Location Based and Mobile (SoLoMo) Marketing

SoLoMo marketing is increasingly becoming a critical and pivotal tool for tourism marketing. It combines social media, location and context based marketing as well as mobile devices. Interactions are becoming digital real-time experiences at a physical location.

Top US Travel Apps / Sites

When looking at the top U.S. travel apps and sites, consumers seemingly prefer apps for guidance and the mobile Web for trip planning.  Seven out of the top 10 Travel apps during June 2012 featured a map/navigation function, while the top mobile websites mostly included airlines and travel aggregators, such as TripAdvisor and Priceline.com.  Interestingly, during a summer when gas prices were on the rise, GasBuddy, which lets users search for local gas prices, ranked as the number-two Travel app with nearly nine million users. Along with Google Maps, MapQuest and Southwest Airlines appeared on both lists but had more mobile Web users than app users.

Easter: Holy Day or Spring Holiday?

Easter is one of the holiest days of the Christian religion and yet research conducted by The Barna Group in 2010 found that only 42% of Americans could correctly identify the meaning of Easter as the resurrection of Christ.

So what is the significance of Easter today?  Is it a celebration of resurrection or a Spring Holiday?

Most Americans consider Easter to be a religious holiday.   Two out of every three Americans (67%) mention some type of  religious connotation. Barna found responses included describing it as a Christian holiday, a celebration of God or Jesus, a celebration of Passover, a holy day, or a special time for church or worship attendance.

As you would expect, the persons most likely to identify it correctly are evangelicals (93%), attenders of large churches (86%), born again Christians (81%), and weekly churchgoers (77%).  Age is another indicator of understanding of Easter.  Baby Boomers (73%, ages 45 to 63) were among the most likely to describe Easter as a religious holiday for them, compared with two-thirds of Elders (66% of those ages 64-plus) and Busters (66%, ages 26 to 44). The youngest adult generation, Millennials (ages 18 to 25), were the least likely age group to say Easter is a religious holiday (58%), reflecting the increasingly secular mindset of young adults.

Who will be at church this Easter?

It’s not surprising that Easter attendance in churches is declining.  While Easter is still the highest attendance day, it seems that the overall population is changing. When you look at the total population, 41% of Americans say they will be attending church and 39% will not.

A recent poll taken by LifeWay Research, a religion data tracking firm in Nashville,  found that among self-identified Christians, just over half said they will attend Easter services this year. Protestants (58 percent) and Catholics (57 percent) are most likely to say they plan to go, followed by 45 percent of nondenominational Christians.

Churches are planning for bigger crowds this weekend.  And, according to Barna,  here are the people most likely to invite you to a service this weekend -  women, parents of young children, evangelicals, Protestants, those who attend small churches (less than 100 adult attenders), and non-white adults.

How we are celebrating – Jelly Beans or Chocolate?

According to the National Retail Federation survey, about eight in 10 adults plan to celebrate Easter this year, spending an average of $145 on candy, decorations, apparel and food.  The holiday is one of the busiest seasons behind Christmas and Thanksgiving.

The survey found much of our Easter spending will go towards food for a family brunch or dinner: 86.9 percent of those celebrating Easter will spend an average of $45.26 on items needed for their holiday meal. As a kickoff to Sping, many are purchasing new spring attire. Nearly half (48.4%) will purchase clothing this Easter, spending an average of $25.91 on bright new outfits for their children and even something new for themselves. And, most of us (90.5%) will stock up on Easter candy, spending an average of $20.66 on jelly beans, chocolate and more. (Read Cadbury eggs here.)

 

Marketing to Women: Will Retail Stores Disappear?

Can you imagine a time when brick and mortar stores are just window shopping venues for online shoppers?  Some retail experts are prognosticating a time in the not-too-distant future when stores will become glorified showrooms because of the rise in internet commerce.

Actually, some online-only stores are actually experimenting with opening retail operations. Among those famous online names are EBay and Etsy who are testing temporary stores, while Piperlime, the Gap Inc. unit that was online-only for six years, opened a SoHo store last fall. Bonobos plans to keep opening stores, and Warby Parker, the eyeglass brand, will soon open a physical location.  These companies see these showrooms as catering to consumers who like the social nature of shopping – and need to touch and feel items before they purchase them.

Back to the experts – some say the way of the future will be smaller stores, carrying little or no inventory, with an efficient showroom model.  Consumers will see the product, make a selection and have it shipped to them the next day.  Some of these stores are testing the water now.

Today’s Showrooming and Sale Surfing

Today, showrooming refers to consumers that look at a product in store and then buy it online for a cheaper price.  A recent study found out that the top retailers at risk for showrooming (read buy it online or at another discounter) are Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart, ToysRUs, Best Buy and Sears.  Target seemed to do a little bit better.

Research shows that when shoppers were asked how many products they researched while in the retail store with their mobile device within the past 3 months, 80% indicated that they had researched at least 3 products with 43% had researched 5 or more products.

For all those showroomers, there are many shoppers that stay home,  start online and purchase online.

Will Brand Loyalty Survive?

According to a new study from InContact and Harris Interactive, 56% of consumers said they would be at least somewhat likely to switch brands based on customer service options, and a quarter do not feel any loyalty to any type of brand. These value shoppers are actually looking for more than price.  One of the value factors is customer service contact points and flexible timing for customer service.  Brands will need online, offline, social, and 24-hour hotlines to endear consumers.

Are You Marketing to Women? You Need to Lean In Too!

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg

The idea of “lean in” is not a new one.  Lean in means to press forward like leaning in to the wind so you won’t be blown over – or leaning in because you are more than interested, involved – all in.  In the past few weeks, you need to have been in a cloistered retreat to miss all the hoopla over Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book “Lean In:  Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.”  Sheryl Sandberg is an amazing woman who tells an engaging story about the workplace today and women’s own responsibility in moving up in business.

But marketers need to “lean in” as well.  Marketers need to recognize the power and influence of the women in the consumer arena and to greet that knowledge with more intuitive marketing that allows today’s women to see themselves in marketing.  Marketers need to be “all in” on the importance of women as consumers.

Here are just a few facts that support marketers “leaning in” on the subject of women and their purchasing behavior.

1.  One-third of Women are Single and Independent.   This is a growing group of women who think being independent is their most important life goal.  They have more disposable income than other women.  They are well educated, growing in management and happy to be single.

2.  Breadwinner wives are the highest wage earners in 40% of marriages.    From 2007 to 2011, women’s contribution to household income grew from 44% to 47%.  Male dominated jobs suffered the most in the past recession and women were more stable in their jobs.  Women now compose half of the workforce and are moving up the ladder.

3.  Women don’t think marketers understand them.  Women make 85% of all consumer purchases and yet, 91% of women don’t think marketeres understand them.  Women want authenticity, transparency, honesty and accurate portrayal.  Families are not longer nuclear, and women don’t measure success by how clean their laundry is.  It’s no surprise that only 3% of advertising agency creative directors are women.

4.  Marketers need to embrace women’s tools – social media and smartphones.  The newest figures out on social media usage from Pew show that the percentage of female internet users exceeds that of men (75% vs. 63%, respectively).  A new study by Weber Shanadwick provides richer insight on this social usage.  Here are some facts you can’t ignore -

• 86% have a social media account/profile with 2.2 accounts on average
• 81% Facebook is by far the most prevalent social media account
• Women spend an average of 12 hours per week using social media (nearly 2 hours/day)
• 19% say some of their best friends they know only through Facebook or Twitter

And why is this important?  Well, social women are social and have influence with friends.  They tell friends about products and services at a higher rate, they like or recommend services online, and they post comments and write reviews about products and services online.  And they post pictures or images online.

Oh, and smartphones are the most important tools in women’s handbags.  50.9% of smartphone users are women and we are using smartphones to stay in touch with our families and friends, interact on social media, and shop, shop, SHOP!!  If women can’t easily find you on their mobile phone or if you are not competitive, she will move on to another source.  Moms are on their phones six hours daily and  readily admit that their smartphones are more important than sex!

5.  Women buy based on emotion and facts. Okay, everyone does.  But marketers don’t seem to understand that in many arenas.  In purchasing decisions, 83 percent are willing to spend more on a product or service if they feel a personal connection to the company. One fifth of respondents said they would pay 50 percent or more if they felt the company put the customer first.  And yes, we have crushes on companies.  Who are those companies?  Think about your own list.  Mine includes Apple (oh, yes even if Samsung is making competitive products), Amazon (I smile when I see a box), Nordstrom’s (even my husband knows this is my brand), and Costco (a Saturday shopping pleasure).

So what’s a marketer to do?  Portray women accurately, don’t talk down to us, appeal to our emotional side, allow us to discover things about your brand, surprise us once in awhile, lavish us with great information and advice and like any good marriage – communicate, communicate, communicate.

Marketing to Women: For Emails, Timing is Everything

The timing of sending email campaigns is equally as important as the content.  There are definitely some things you should learn about your consumers and their email habits.  Different categories and businesses have distinct patterns.  It is important to look at the patterns of your emails.

Some consumer products find Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the most important time – maybe coinciding with weekend shopping trips.  B2B marketers find mid-week as the most important days because Mondays are busy and Fridays are more focused on weekends.

The hour of the day that emails are opened is important as well.  You need to think about what your consumers are doing.  Between 5 and 6 p.m., they may be stuck in traffic.  Later in the evening, they may check their emails again.

Emails have the best result within one hour of sending.  That’s when more than 23% of emails are opened.  The second hour it’s 9.52%, the third hour is 6.33% and four-hour is 4.8%.   The open rate is nearly zero 24 hours after delivery of an email.

Mobile Email Opens

So, you know all those stats about women reaching for their smartphones first thing in the morning?   Based on an analysis of more than 150 million emails sent between August 2011 and September 2012, a TailoredMail study shows that 14% of all opens and clicks on a mobile device occurred from 6AM to 8AM. The second-biggest peak, at 12% share, occurred between 6PM and 8PM.  Not surprisingly, the third time was around lunchtime.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  We reach for our phones first thing in the morning.  We may check emails at lunch when we are away from our laptops.  And then in the evening, we are checking our phones during commutes or when we get home.

Social Media and Emails

Some 57% of marketers believe that social media will affect their email marketing, according to a MarketingSherpa survey.  Some of the things to think about are making social sharing options easy to use, allow “likes” from the body of your emails, and integration of messages across social media to encourage interaction.

Related articles

• 4 Ways Marketers Can Integrate Email and Social Marketing (neolane.com)

 

Marketing to Women: Slideshare as Advertising on LinkedIn

For marketers trying to reach business audiences, this new LinkedIn ad feature is something to sing about.  For advertising folks, it might be a nightmare, depending on how creative the slideshow is.   Imagine this – you can include your slide presentation in an ad.  It’s turning the humble Powerpoint into a new form of interactive advertising.

Here’s how it works.

On your LinkedIn page, you have a sidebar area where text ads are included.  Now, you will see the Slideshare box in that sidebar. (See red outlined area.)  It’s a Slideshare presentation sized down for the ad dimensions.  You will be able to click on it and see the presentation without leaving LinkedIn.  You will only be served an ad if you are the target audience.

The concept was initially tested with GE and Constant Contact with success.  The ads are called SlideShare Content Ads.  They will appear as a “sponsored presentation,” and users can click through it within the advertisement or they can expand it into a full-page view. It’s also a way to acquire leads through links and information capture.

For us advertising geeks, here’s the scoop from Adweek:  “The ads are being priced on a cost-per-thousand-impressions basis and can be targeted to LinkedIn users’ profile information, such as company name or size, seniority and job function, said a LinkedIn spokesperson. In terms of reporting metrics, “LinkedIn provides an aggregate of non-personally identifiable profile and demographic data of members who see a campaign. This includes things like the job function, industry and seniority of those that view and click.  Also included is content viewing metrics like number of views, average time on presentations, and average time spent per slide,” the spokesperson said.”

Sample Ad

Showcase your Presentations on LinkedIn with SlideShare Content Ads from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

Why Slideshare?

These LinkedIn folks are pretty smart.  They purchased Slideshare last year and we are now seeing the fruits of their labor.  They recently launched their Influencer prominent blogger program.  And now there is chatter about the purchase of my favorite news reader Pulse.  Imagine what they can do with that platform.  LinkedIn is definitely building a unique business content platform.