Women will be the best (or worst) word of mouth ambassadors for your products or your services – whatever you are promoting in your networking or direct sales business. RAVE? Surprised you, didn’t I? Bet you expected that mantra from the 70’s and 80’s song –“I am Woman, Hear Me Roar”? I believe today’s version would be “I Am Woman, Hear Me Rave!” WHY? Women will be the best (or worst) word of mouth ambassadors for your products or your services – whatever you are promoting in your networking or direct sales business.
Ignore marketing to women at your own peril!
We have been hearing for years that our parent companies chose this business model of word of mouth advertising to keep the costs down (by avoiding the middle men and the exorbitant advertising costs). My premise is that in today’s noisy and shrill marketplace, the people we tend to listen to are NOT the ”experts” or the “Guru’s” and certainly NOT the MASS ADVERTISERS but rather our friends and the people we know, like and then trust. NULL
Today we have to trust enough to even listen to the message long enough and with enough interest to build belief, THEN make a decision as to whether or not we are going to whip out the cash or the credit card to make a purchase. Look, if you are in business today (I’m assuming you are or why be reading this magazine?) then it should be no big surprise to acknowledge that this is a way way tougher market to succeed than ever before. This is such a challenging business climate, that the struggle to survive much less thrive, suggests we must embrace a whole different attitude towards the way we do business. Out of this collapse of old paradigms crashing -you know the over the top claims and the pitchy, hypey, manipulative sales messages has risen a wonderfully positive aspect to this entire mess…
WOMEN LOVE TO RAVE ABOUT THINGS THEY REALLY BELIEVE IN!
So the mission here is to get them to rave about your product /service. To strengthen this viewpoint, here are new and rather startling statistics and why this is such a good thing for those of us who awaken to this new possibility of marketing – authentic and real and to women! The internet, more than the family doctor is the primary source of health information amongst ALL AGE SEGMENTS and 83.5% of women! In 93% of households, WOMEN (my CAPS AND BOLD), are the #1 decision makers for most if not ALL PURCHASES. (again my CAPS AND BOLD) As household income decreases during an economic crisis, people place more value on their health and also think about it more… (good news for those of us in the health and wellness field!) Women account for 93% of all over the counter pharma needs. (again wellness is my business focus so these numbers are from my own specific research!) 75% of all travel decisions made by women 92% of all vacation plans made by women 70% of all business start-ups –yup you guessed right if you said started by women! Women are clearly more people powered and relationship focused and we need to remember that when we are creating our business and marketing strategies!
We don’t want to be “sold to” – we want to “look and see” – and then make an informed decision based on the information we have been researching.
This is why small intimate home gatherings are so popular with women and why large events in hotels talking about BIG MONEY and circles leave us frustrated and bored. I could go on and on to make my point here and yes you guessed it, this has been one of my favorite soapbox topics for years now… and probably one of the major factors of why I left my previous company after 14 years to join my new one.
Women want to be listened to and valued. Simple respect really and yes, one of the biggest ways we can add value to our businesses is by addressing this in every message we give!
Do we really want that GREAT BIG CHECK to drive us to GO FOR IT… as a Sweepstake contest? Or would a years worth of maid service be more attractive? Don’t have an easy answer on that yet… but let’s start opening our eyes and thinking more about what’s possible and appealing to women than the same old stuff. Many companies offer a leased Mercedes, BMW’s, Porche etc. How about at least evaluating if this is something women in your sales force really want more than something else? I was thrilled my company recently got rid of their car bonus – in the past the policy was it had to be an expensive, new and Black luxury car. As women, we rose up to complain mostly about the mandatory black color, interestingly, and the great thing is the company listened. Now we get the same cash bonus for achieving rank advancements… but get to spend it on WHAT WE WANT! Doesn’t this just exude respect and validation? That is what I am referring to. We get the same reward but on our own terms! In summary, I am going to make a BOLD and BODOCIOUS statement!
“I believe women are going to get us out of this lousy recession…..”
Why? Because women are responsible for 93% of all consumer purchases and it is that statistic which the pundits tell us will finally pull us out of this economic mess. I for one am going to do whatever I can to support this lofty and noble cause by helping women purchase from me – at least the ones interested in what I am offering. As part of my Life Purpose, I am also going to help as many women as possible around the globe, start those small businesses and gain the support and skills to be successful in those businesses. What are you going to do?
Downloads
- Boomer Marketing, Turning Silver to Gold! by Elizabeth Harrington - November 1, 2016
- Powering Up Your Purpose Will Ignite Your Passion! by Elizabeth Harrington - October 1, 2016
- Zig or Zag? Don’t follow the crowd… be unique by Elizabeth Harrington - September 1, 2016
