Zeno Group Blog

When the world’s most influential consumer speaks, marketers listen. Well, at least now they do. Once relegated to a niche market, research shows that women are marketers’ MVC—Most Valuable Consumer. She makes upwards of 80% of all household purchases and drives $5 trillion in consumer spending. Women spend and influence household purchases beyond most marketers’ wildest expectations. For example, not only does she pay the bills (80%), but she also takes care of auto repairs (65%) and even influences the digital cable selection in 92% of American households. She’s not a niche market – in most cases, she is the market.

Then why is it that it’s taking so long for her to get the respect – and the products – she deserves when shopping the aisles at her local Target store? This was a hot topic at this year’s M2W Marketing-to-Women conference held last week in Chicago. As a part of Zeno Group’s Speaking Female practice, dedicated to just this topic, I sat with the best and the brightest marketers and thought-leaders in the field who shared my passion and discussed strategies, practices and trends in our pursuit. We discussed a woman’s propensity to become social butterflies – social media, that is. We’ve all heard the reports, and it’s true, women are all a-flutter about Twitter. And it’s official; mark your calendar, effective April 17th women have adopted Twitter. Why? The Oprah Effect, April 17th will go down in the history books as the day Oprah posted her first tweet, resulting in an immediate 24% spike in visitors to the Twitter Web site. So goes Oprah, and so go American women.

It all makes sense. Dr. Melissa Read of Engauge told us that women’s brains are wired differently than men’s. Women need to feel engaged in relationships more than men, whether it’s the girlfriend grapevine or the companies with whom they choose to do business. Women are wired to need this interaction, or dialogue.

While the insights, research and discourse on social media measurement set the room abuzz, the voice that emerged above all else was that of Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women, PrimeTime Women and a pioneer in the field. Simply, she said, “Don’t ignore her.” While we’ve come a long way with smart and effective campaigns that that speak to women, there’s still a good distance to go. Marketers, women want to be heard and it’s time to listen. Her voice can be heard booming with BlogHer, in the workplace and at the grocery check-out. For any marketing communications campaign to be effective with this MVC, marketers must engage and be engaged in a dialogue with her. Regardless of gender, it’s just good business.

Simple, maybe. Priceless, definitely.

Wondering how this tough economy is really affecting consumer spending habits? To get a pulse on today’s consumer, Zeno Group’s Speaking Female Team went straight to those controlling the purse strings – US women. According to the US Census Bureau, women buy 81% of all products and services – who better than this powerful consumer group to give us insight into how spending habits are changing.

In this month’s Zeno Group She Report we offer an enlightening look into what women are thinking and doing when it comes to money. While most are cutting the family budget, women still need a vacation.

A study recently asked moms about the driving forces behind their food purchases when it comes to their kids. The results showed that moms are choosing healthier foods – products that are “healthy and nutritious” and “will establish good eating habits for the long run.” Perhaps not a big surprise in this day and age – Mom’s are supposed to feed their children nutritious food, right? But this wasn’t the only or most important purchase driver, equal was their child’s preference — wanting to give them something that they know, as a Mom, their child will love and also something they will eat without a fuss. So yes, moms want to know a product is healthy, but they also want to know their child is going to love it. These findings can be expanded beyond food to anything that a Mom buys for her children – I think we can extrapolate that whatever the purchase, moms want not only the best thing for the child but also the thing their child will like best. As marketers we need to keep this in mind when developing messages and make sure we are speaking to all the reasons moms purchase products.

My 9-year old son recently took part in one of our elementary school’s most anticipated events – the annual Lego science fair. The competition, which this year centered around the topic of climate change, attracted numerous students, parents as well as state and local officials. There was a piece for everyone. The kids loved building with Legos, the parents felt good because their children were learning more about science, and the government representatives were able interact with community members and demonstrate their commitment to the public school system. While viewing the intricate displays and watching the awards ceremony, as a marketer I couldn’t help thinking about the benefit to the Lego brand and the positive goodwill and exposure they were receiving among their direct target audience (children) as well as their personal bankers (moms). In fact, when the state’s Attorney General thanked Lego for the company’s commitment to safety and education, I knew he had touched on two topics moms cared about most. And what did we do the very next day? What else? Go out and buy more Legos. This type of grassroots PR campaign is nothing new but it served as a reminder to me that just like a couple of Legos, brands need to stay “connected” to consumers to succeed.

Alpha moms aka helicopter parents scare and intimidate me. Unlike the more low key soccer moms, the Alphas attack parenting with the same zeal and organizational prowess that they did in the board room. Blackberries are whipped out at school carpool lines to schedule play dates. Parent meetings, previously and wonderfully laid back, have taken on the air of city council meetings.

As a slacker mom or beta mom I have struggled over the years with the raised eyebrows or shall we say, pregnant pauses, that I seem to evoke when admitting that I didn’t make an open house meeting or could not for the life of me remember the names of the kids, let alone the parents, in my children’s classes. And recently the quintessential slacker versus helicopter moment in my 18-year history arrived. I was at a party where we were discussing the college application process. I asked an Alpha mom how her daughter was handling the stress of college admissions. She laughed and responded with utter candor, “my daughter wouldn’t know, I have written all of her applications.” Instead of the group of moms reeling in horror, bobbing heads went around the room as mom after mom shared what they were doing to “help” their kid get into college. All eyes were on me when the woman asked me how my daughter’s applications were going. A moment of truth in Slackermommia (my new word) – do I or don’t I reveal that my daughter filled out all her applications without my husband or I ever laying eyes on them? Part of me felt horror at these parents who have difficulty allowing their kids to make it on their own. Another part of me felt like the slacker mom I am – it never even occurred to write my daughter’s applications.

When it comes to marketing to moms, conventional wisdom dictates that companies should market to Alpha moms and the Betas will follow. I disagree – from recommended products to parenting, I follow the advice and trends of other betas. While we may not lead the way in hyper-parenting, we certainly have our own and valued opinions about how we raise our children and the products we consume and companies would be wise to speak and market to us differently.

I just returned from the Marketing to Moms conference and I have to say, it truly has never been a better or more exciting time for marketers to be reaching moms. Why? Well, for one, mom’s powerful. Consider the fact that mom controls 80% of all household spending. She spends $1.7 trillion every year, including an average of $13K on her baby during the first year alone. But today, it’s not enough to simply know that mom is out there spending money. With so many different types of moms out there, it’s more important than ever that we as marketers understand how to effectively engage her in relevant and meaningful ways. In other words, welcome to the new age of “mom.”

Who is she?

She’s a fan of reality TV, and she’s active on the message boards. She doesn’t watch TV. She’s playing games online. She can’t wait for her triplets to arrive. She’s stressed about the arrival of her second baby. She’s all about “me” time. She only buys organic. She eats out four times a week. She’s working full-time. She’s staying at home.

One theme that was woven throughout every piece of this 2-day conference was centered around the idea that all moms aren’t created equal. Whether you’re talking to a “Gen Y Mom”, or a “Second Time Mom,” today’s moms are multi-dimensional people (yes, not just a “mom” but a real person) who constantly influence the decisions of those around her. Did you know that the biggest concern of the Gen Y moms is time? Or that sixty-two percent of second-time moms use social networking sites? This is important because it reinforces the fact that we must speak to these moms differently. Whether it’s a different message, or a new communications channel, campaigns must be targeted to be effective.

Another key differentiator among today’s mom is how quickly she moves into different roles. Eighty-six percent of women see motherhood and womanhood as something very different. Marketers need to think about mom as a 360 and respect her different hats. In other words, “Don’t go all mom, all the time.”

Not surprisingly, moms are online. Technology has liberated moms from feeling ‘alone’ and has empowered them to trust their instincts and seek information from experts as well as other parents. Consider the fact that moms are going on social networking sites more than any other demographic. They are pushing out information as quickly as they are absorbing it. Among pregnant and new moms, the internet is the #1 driver of word-of-mouth. And half of all moms say blogs influence their purchasing decision.

At the end of the day, the message moms are sending us is that they are people too, with different habits, needs and wants. And like anything, it’s critical to research and understand the moms you are talking to so you can reach them effectively.

After all, they’re the ones holding the purse strings.