SheMarketing ENews 37

Thursday, 12 January 2012 00:00

Marketing trends for 2012

We have just begun a new year and we have all seen the shift in how we market and reach consumers. The need for trust, value and brand transparency are of utter importance.

Telstra reports that 48% of Australians now carry smartphones. The shift to mobile marketing and online reputation management require businesses modify their content accordingly.  It’s no longer just access to email, messaging calendars and websites. We will see more location based services, mobile gaming, applications and event based marketing innovations in 2012.

In 2011 companies began to take social marketing seriously because we saw it as a marketing tool. This year we will begin to see more companies integrate social media into their overall marketing plan. Last year social media was used primarily for customer service, brand engagement and management. This year it will be used to collect customer data and enable better targeted marketing. Statistics show that large and small companies are shifting budget dollars to social media and other digital marketing initiatives and away from traditional advertising like print and radio.

This year, businesses will be experimenting with a variety of offline, online and mobile marketing initiatives. This creates an opportunity to lead consumers from one message to another by integrating these strategies.  You can drive significantly higher return on investment by cross-promoting branded online destinations, discounts, contests and pr events.

Consumers will determine value. Consumers no longer purchase simply because a product is on sale, they justify every dollar spent. This means marketing must display the value of products or services in order to get consumers to purchase. If there is no value, they won’t purchase.

The strongest message though is still the same from last year; customers want to know they matter to you and your staff. They evaluate now more than ever how they are treated and whether or not your business cares about their satisfaction. If you give the best after-purchase customer care, you will find that you will create consumers that are loyal to you, regardless of whether or not you have the least expensive price.

What's a snap-tag?

So most of us now know what a QR code is right? It’s one of those funny looking square-shaped, black bar code on a white background that when you click on them they take you directly to a website the ad is talking about. Imagine instead of the black bar code people use now, but using your logo instead?

88% of consumers have either a standard or smart camera phone can get instant access to offers, content, promotions and information by snapping and sending a picture of the snap-tag, using a snap-tag app. It’s more accessible and sophisticated and completely branded, because it’s your logo.

Still confused? A snap-tag is your logo but it’s interactive. It turns your recognisable logo into an interactive tool for marketing campaigns. Consumers engaging in a Snap-tag can activate a full scale interactive brand engagement. Branded, social and mobile, snap-tags can be used to engage consumers almost anywhere you want.

Branded snap-tags can activate campaigns crafted to meet an entire range of marketing and business goals. At the retail level, snap-tag campaigns can give customers extra information, and that may encourage them to purchase. They can keep loyal customers engaged and drive incremental sales with direct marketing.

The interactive two-way nature of customised snap-tags positions them as the perfect marketing tool to enhance the overall effect of traditional advertising, PR or social media activities. Not only do snap-tags add value to social media campaigns but they create a fantastic opportunity to engage their audience and extend the product experience further.

Women and league

One of my colleagues found an article about a survey put out by the NRL “What women want to read about rugby league in a newsletter”.  Women were asked to rank topics from 1 to 8, among the eight content choices were recipes, beauty & health, parenting advice and fashion. Are these really the kind of things that women want to hear about in a rugby league newsletter? Well apparently not. The results from this survey came back quickly and the ladies were not happy!

This is a prime example of the NRL being completely out of touch with part of their target market.  Female fans of rugby league or any sport for that matter follow the game because they are passionate and love the sport, simple as that. 

Sports organisations must bear in mind that women want to be treated as equals, and accepted within fan communities as legitimate fans.  Women are individuals and the same goes for female sports fans. While certain core commonalities can be identified, a “one size fits all” approach won’t work.  Female fans love their sport, and they want their sport to love them back! Female fans want what male fans want from their chosen sport, behind the scenes insights and stories about the game. Marketers need to remember this.

The Facts - Tablets

10% of the Australian population has a tablet device
98% is the amount of tablet traffic iPad has in Australia
39% have 3G
20% of tablet users use their device to read newspapers, books, watch TV & films
55% play games

SheMarketing ENews 36

Thursday, 08 December 2011 00:00

Australian women love to shop. So what's holding them back?

In Australia, unemployment has risen to over 5%, consumer sentiment has fallen, and we are seeing the impact of a multi-speed economy in different areas, driven by the continuing mining boom. Despite this, the fundamentals of our economy are strong, and remain the envy of the world.
 
Australian shoppers are savvy. Currently consumers are spending around $9.4 billion on online retailing, of this 50% is with local retailers. This figure is expected to rise to $22 million in 2015. In 2015 online sales will only represent just over 7% of the total retail spend of this country.
 
Through the Internet, Australians are looking at the market from a global perspective. 60% of shoppers feel that overseas retailer websites offer a wider variety of choice and information. It is no exaggeration to say that the rise of the Internet has fundamentally repositioned the role of the shopping centre, presenting a challenge for retailers. Interestingly, they still believe Australian retail websites offer strong customer service.
 
Online has created a new benchmark for retail and repositioned shopping. Around 85% of shoppers who are online are using some form of digital media to support their shopping. That means that over five million Australians are online now researching, talking to friends, comparing, seeking advice or even leaving comments on websites about shopping. Shoppers expect a seamless integration between the on and offline worlds.
 
The key to getting the shoppers back-in-store is getting back to basics, where customer service is of paramount importance. Consumers want to be served by high quality sales staff who are experienced, well-trained, and knowledgeable about the product they are selling. Consumers want staff that are friendly, authentic and genuinely interested in the customer. That experience can’t be replicated online.
 
Connected female consumers still want to go “to the shops” to look, touch and feel the products. In-store is very much about the sensory and the social.  In-store shopping for women can provide a connection with people, community and comfort. So make her experience more tailored and convenient with genuine deals, loyalty cards and immediate access to online information through their mobile device.  Directions, inventories, tips and recommendations, ordering and pickup – anything that makes her life simpler will encourage her to remain shopping in-store.

We love our shoes!

Of all the shoes sold in Australia, approximately half are for women’s feet.  Didn’t we think it would be more? Typically, women purchase a larger quantity of shoes, and at a higher value, than men. This distinction in gender is largely a function of fashion, the emotional benefits attached to footwear purchases and aesthetic motivations in regards to style. Margins for women’s shoes are generally higher than for other segments given the high proportion of fashion shoes sold.
But believe it or not, male footwear is the fastest growing of all segments. There has been a shift in recent years that emphasises the value men put on their footwear. Strong branding and a range of style, price and colour are needed in the male footwear market to be successful.
 
Price, weather, fashion trends and spending power, as measured by disposable income, determine the quantity and quality of footwear sales in Australia. Consumers will often travel to footwear retailers that are within proximity unless they are seeking a particular brand or type of shoe that is found at a specialist retailer.
 
Department stores represent the biggest competitive threat to footwear retailers. Advertising costs are anticipated to fall over the next 12 months as retailers seek to protect margins. Retailers in general are starting to shift their advertising  expenditure away from traditional TV, radio and print media channels, toward more online and direct marketing strategies.
 
So what are the key success factors for retailers? Adequate stock controls and cashflow management to reduce inventory costs and increase turnover.  Having a clear market position with a clear and consistent image which aids in attracting customers. Store layout and display as well as value for money propositions are important, as proximity to key markets.
 
Women in particular are still looking for the in-store shopping experiences so retailers have a relatively low level of threat from online retailers. VIP clubs are also a popular method through which retailers seek to build a strong report and reward customer loyalty.

Gadget Queens

There was a time when brands were offering pink mobiles, tiny sizes, lightweight handsets, flowery designs and textures for women. Thank goodness times have changed and so have women! Women in high profile corporate positions aren’t looking for ‘girlie’ phones, but smart and stylish solutions for their tech needs.

Women want gadgets that ‘speak’ to them, match their requirements and save them time. With technology getting easier and more user friendly, women are finding gadgets to be their ‘best friends’!  Working women are accessing emails, doing video voice calls, downloading presentations for meetings on the move. They are also paying bills, ordering groceries online, organising brunches on their smartphones and tablets to save them time.
 
Research conducted by Intel revealed that women adopt technologies at a faster rate than men.  However, that doesn’t mean that our consumer electronic stores are being tech-friendly to women.
The majority of women are actually leaving stores without purchasing because they either can’t find what they wanted or they felt intimidated by the technology or the retail staff. Tech stores assume females are uninformed and oblivious about technology. The result, women are purchasing fewer gadgets.
 
So how do stores help women become more tech-savvy? It’s easy, keep it simple.  Explain the technologies in simple and easy-to-understand terms. It’s about understanding what the user needs and how they intend to use the product, not what the product is capable of doing. It’s as simple as asking her questions, being interested in her needs and engaging in a conversation about how best to meet those needs. Demands on women’s time tend to be greater, so if you want technology to appeal to women, it needs to work flawlessly, first time out of the box and every time thereafter. They don’t have time to muck around.

We do care!

When faced with a choice between two brands that benefit a cause almost half of women would choose the one that donates with every purchase.
So what would influence your preference for one brand over another when choosing between two companies that each benefit a cause and sell the same product, similar in price and quality?
 
Well according to research, 70% of men and women rate personal relevance of cause as the number one answer. So, while women tend towards brands that promise instant gratification with each purchase (44% vs. 38% of the overall population) it's not such a big deal for men (33%). Women report causes such as finding cures and disease prevention are the most compelling, with social change, faith-based, animal and child welfare causes also appealing.

The Facts - Women's financial health:

13% of women feel very financially secure
20% of women feel very confident that they have a good financial plan for the future
35% of women have no idea about their super balance
48% of women feel they don’t have enough wealth to retire comfortably
49% feel disadvantaged for having children and therefore less super

SheMarketing ENews 35

Thursday, 10 November 2011 00:00

When it comes to spending decisions, women are in control!

How can marketers not only reach women more effectively? How can they create messaging that better speaks to sentiments and emotions that drive and empower women?

From daughters to mothers to grandmothers, there are some commonalities across watch and buy behaviours, but it’s the unique differences in the various life-stages that savvy marketers need to understand. Most commonly held sentiments are centred on buying quality products that provide good quality at fair prices. Planned shopping trips are typical, but impulse purchases happen too. Develop generational marketing strategies that address diverse habits that drive behaviour.  Do not assume all women are the same.

When it comes to advertising, women trust recommendations from people they know above all other forms. She is most reticent to trust text ads on mobile phones. And if she does trust a company, it means a lot. Create cross-platform campaigns that are customised for the medium, but stay consistent with the message. Be authentic and deliver the relevancy she demands.

Women’s roles are changing globally and they are changing for the better. Marketers need to recognise that women are concerned about their home, children and the future – both at the micro (immediate family) and macro (environment, politics) level.Make her life easier: Develop time-saving product innovations that deliver multiple benefits and satisfy various needs. Give back rewards that ease her complex life.

Treat her with equality; use collaborative and reciprocal language and include her as a shared decision maker in campaigns that are centred in industries that often cater to men, such as automotive, insurance and finance.

Combine the old with the new. Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth advertising and leverage digital platforms combined with traditional high reach and frequency vehicles to spread positive awareness of your brands and products. But caution is necessary. Digital and mobile strategies can’t be simply haphazardly added to the end of a marketing plan. Careful consideration into creating opportunities for how women can better engage with a brand, product and solution will earn their trust and their dollars.

Where most marketers fall short is delivering quality. Use promotion and discount tactics thoughtfully. She is willing to pay more for new products that deliver quality and earn her trust.

Tap into the "girlfriend factor"

Women prefer warmer marketing messages, while men focus on winners and competition. Women want to know what they have in common with the people in advertising, men prefer aspirational messages. Remember that autonomy and winning don’t have the same pull for women as for men. It’s not that she doesn’t like her sense of personal achievement, but the warmth of interaction is more important to her than a man.
 
Men try to differentiate themselves – women look for points of similarity. Where men focus more on facts, women focus in on personal details, but only if they feel like it is safe. So how do our gender differences affect marketing?  These gender differences affect what information each gender is looking for how they receive that information and how they process it. All these differences affect how men and women shop.
 
It’s not just about showing some emotion to women, but sharing emotion. Women want to be included. Emotion-based advertising has a powerful pull on women because there are people involved. To make it easy for women to hear and share your message, create a story. Whether based on a moment or shared feeling, whether empowerment, inspiration or sheer happiness. It’s much easier for women to recall and recount your ads when they are based on strong visuals and stories.
 
The language you use in your marketing material must truly speak to a women in a language she understands. Are you having a conversation or preaching at her with technical jargon? Allow your dialogue to answer her questions, so she can enjoy the conversation. Otherwise she will tune you out.
 
Until recently, most advertisers neglected one context that is very important to women; their inner circle of close girlfriends. According to Grey Advertising 74% of women would like to see advertising show more women doing things together with their girlfriends, sisters and mothers. Personal disclosure, constant contact, and emotional expressiveness make up the core of this inner circle of girlfriends. This in turn creates opportunities for emotional association with your brand.
 
What’s your company’s communication style? What is the communication style of your advertising message? Are you paying attention to the details? Are you recognising the importance a woman places on everything you do? Remember, what may not seem like a big deal to you could be a relationship breaker for her.

Females are the most active Social Networkers 

Social Media’s popularity is growing exponentially,  connecting people with just about everything they watch and buy. Whether it’s a brand icon inviting consumers to connect with a company on LinkedIn or people liking a product on Facebook. As the influence of social media continues to grow, it’s crucial for traditional media, retailers, brands and advertisers to understand how different consumer segments use and share this content.
 
Social Networks and Blog sites account for 22.5% of time spent online, still the top destination online. This is twice the amount spent online that the second category, which is online games (9.8%). Females and 18-34 year olds are the most active social networkers. Females have the highest concentration of visitors amongst all age groups.
 
Facebook continues to reign supreme with over 140 million visitors. 62% share of page views are by female visitors on Facebook. In the US, Internet users spend more time on Facebook than any other web brand 53.5%. So how are these women accessing social media?  According to a recent Nielsen survey 97% are via their computers, 37% via their mobile phone.
 
Social Networking app usage is up 30% from 2010. Social networking’s popularity extends across devices as it is the third most-used type of mobile application among smartphone owners who download apps. Facebook ranks as the most popular app across all operating systems. Twitter is the fifth most used app on Blackberry and Windows Mobile operating systems.
 
Young at Hearts (women over 50 years) are also getting connected. Over twice as many (62%) visit Social Networking sites on the their mobile phone than in 2010.
 
Active social media users are influential online. Consumers frequently trust the recommendations of their peers, making social media an ideal platform for influencers to spread their ideas and purchase power. Research by NM Incite shows that 60% of social media users create reviews for products and services. In fact, consumer-created reviews/ratings are preferred source for information about a product/service value, price and product quality. The statistics speak for themselves, can you afford not to have a social media strategy in place?

The Facts - Active social networks are more likely to:

75% buy music
47% buy clothing, shoes & accessories
45% go on a date
33% give their opinion on TV shows
26% give their opinion on politics/current events
19% attend a sporting event
18% more likely to work out at a gym/club

SheMarketing ENews 34

Thursday, 13 October 2011 00:00

Cause Marketing equals brand engagement

In the last five years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of charities that have aligned themselves with popular consumer products – from ipods to jeans to sneakers to mobiles to vodka and wine – the list is endless!
 
A prime example of this type of marketing, known as Cause Marketing, is the National Breast Cancer Foundation branding bottles of Mount Franklin water in pink (a colour that is now synonymous with the charity).  A percentage of each bottle of pink Mount Franklin water sold is donated to the Charity.  As mentioned in the environment section, Mount Franklin is now supporting the plantation of trees.
 
But do consumers actually care and pay attention and seek out the pink bottle-tops?  Surely they are buying the water to quench their thirst not for the feel-good factor of knowing they have helped a charity, perhaps inadvertently.  Well, apparently they do care. A study has shown that 77% of Australian woman would rather buy a product that is related to a cause, with 54% of those surveyed saying that they would switch brands to support a charity.
 
The successful Pedigree Adoption Drive is a good example of cause related marketing. The Facebook campaign encouraged the general public to adopt a dog, to save the many hundreds of thousands of dogs which end up in shelters every year.  This campaign had a clever alliance between the brand and the charity.  Through leveraging consumers love of animals, Pedigree not only helped many unloved dogs to find a home but also created a branded community where dog lovers from across Australia could connect and remain engaged in a conversation well past the campaign period.
 
It is becoming more important to consider your company’s position and involvement with social and environmental issues, due to the vast amount of information available and being exchanged online. Because of this, today’s consumers can suss you out not only from your website, but also via forums and blogs – the information is there for all to see – the good and the bad! Consumers are developing a strong sense of social consciousness and are therefore seeking this from the companies they buy from, and they are becoming cynical towards businesses that don’t appear to support the community or world issues.

What role do women play in the demise of brands?

If you prefer to read a hardcover novel rather than using a tablet, or prefer to rent a DVD from a store, then you’re going to find it harder and harder to find stores that cater to your needs. Brands like Boarders and Blockbuster are no more. Sony Pictures, Saab, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, MySpace, Reader’s Digest, BP - brands that have stood the test of time for decades are falling by the wayside at an alarming rate.
 
Managing a brand is tough. From the fierce competition, to the negative press, and everything in between – a brand’s reputation and success is always in jeopardy. While it’s possible that these brands will still be active, maybe even still popular as 2011 draws to a close, it’s really not that likely. They don’t have the staying power to last that long; they may be replaced by something that people like better or fall apart in the face of financial challenges. This proves that no brand is too big to fail if it is overwhelmed by competition, new inventions, costs or poor management.
 
Economists have begun to track the rise of a new market, one that may end up being the largest and most powerful of all: women. Thanks to an estimated $5 trillion in new female-earned income that will be coming over the line in the next few years. Worldwide, total income for men ($23.4 trillion) is still more than double that for women ($10.5 trillion), but the gap is poised to shrink significantly because the vast majority of new income growth over the next few years will go to women, due to a narrowing wage gap and rising female employment. That growth represents the biggest emerging market in the history of the planet - more than twice the size of the two hottest developing markets, India and China, combined.
 
Economists have studied how women spend in comparison to men, and they tend to spend more on things that are linked to people's well-being, like health and education. They also tend to save more, and exhibit less risky financial behavior. The fallout for business and investors could be significant. The more male-oriented product categories may show slower growth rates than areas like consumer durables, food, health-care, and child care - in short, all the stuff that women spend their money on.

Facebook has ranked in at number one of the top brands for 2011. And who are the predominate users of Facebook - women. Women rule in social media, spending more time, contributing more, using mobile more than men. The new Pew study shows that women are spending more time on Facebook and Twitter. In fact, Facebook and Twitter would be mere shadows of themselves without women.
 
If you’re not targeting women and they are the most powerful consumer in the world, the results could be catastrophic – possibly leading to the demise of your brand.

Understanding gender differences in the shopping experience

We’ve all had horrible experiences with companies and products. The question is, after a bad experience, would you do business with the company again? And are women different from men?
 
Overall, women are more likely to encounter problems, especially women over 40 years of age (53% female versus 48% male). Lack of help when needed is the number one problem among female shoppers and the most likely to result in the loss of business 29%.
 
Impatience is more of an issue for females than males. Females are more appreciative of efforts of empathy. Loyalty remains higher among females. Younger males (40 years of less) reveal the least loyalty.
 
Some bias does exist in traditional male categories. Shoppers who have gender preference are more likely to want help from a male when shopping for auto supplies, hardware or home improvement items, sporting goods, electronics or computers.
 
Positive shopping experiences are prevalent and powerful. Half of females and two-fifths of males tell more than eight people on average if they have a good shopping experience. Bad shopping experiences can have long term consequences. They do not need to be personal to be influential. Two in three shoppers decided not to return because of a problem they have encountered. Less than one-third did eventually return but, on average, it took close to a year. And interestingly, two in five have rejected shopping at a certain place based on problems encountered by someone they know. Wow, isn’t word of mouth powerful!
 
You will lose a customer if you blame the customer for the problem, do not listen to or understand them, fail to take swift action or lie to customer, i.e. break a promise. Women actually remember bad experiences more vividly than men do, it has to do with the greater number of connections to the emotional centres of the brain.
 
It basically comes down to the customer feeling in control. Both women and men get frustrated when they feel they have no control and there is nothing they can do to get a good outcome. They will leave you and tell their friends about it. Interestingly though, if the company handles the issue or problem well, a bad experience can actually be set right. If you give the customer back the control, they feel good, this can lead to increased customer loyalty.

The Facts - Boomer women

97% take control of their own financial future
79% of all financial assets
80% of all money in savings accounts
60% of all money in the stock market
78% don’t relate to current images in financial advertising, many of which show women depending on men