I recently attended a roundtable discussion about Marketing To Women... Online during which I got to hear several marketers discuss how best to connect with women consumers.  Two of the participants I had heard before:  MaryLou Quinlan from Just Ask A Woman and Grant Schneider, CMO Time Inc. and author of She Means Business: 7 New Rules for Marketing to Today's Woman.  In fact, I had heard them [and read their books] several years ago.  We're talking 2005. 

At the same event, I got to talk to Holly Buchanan who writes about marketing to women online and authored The Soccer Mom Myth.  In comparing notes, we expressed amazement that so many still don't get that women are the primary purchase decision makers.  Yes, women are the chief purchasing officers at home as well as at work.  And, if they aren't purchasing, they are influencing purchases.  And that goes for carpet and flooring, too!

We remarked that at most events and presentations where marketing to women gets discussed, the audience consists of more women than men. The women understand what's going on.  You see them nodding their heads as strategies and tactics are discussed.

The men attending get it, too.

But what about those who don't attend events about marketing to our coveted woman consumer?  Where are they?  Why aren't they participating and listening and absorbing the information being presented?  Is is that they don't care about their business?  Is it that they know it all?  Is it that they don't appreciate how important to this industry's well-being women consumers are?  Is it that customers don't matter?

It's time to refocus on customers, particularly women customers.

In the past few years, something major has changed.  And that's why we all need to pay attention.  Because of that new consumer world order I discussed in my last post here, marketing to women consumers has taken on a whole new level of urgency.  Via the web, consumers can choose to bypass us.  They can talk about us.  They can drive other customers to us.  Or not. 

By the way, women are the majority of Internet users. 

So, it matters that we be connecting with women customers and doing so on their terms, that we be listening and engaging them in discussion, that we be responding and building strong relationships, and generally making our brands, products and services [and retail experience, too] meaningful and relevant.

The benefit?  Not only will you increase satisfaction with women consumers, but your men consumers will appreciate you, too.  That's a benefit that American Express discovered.

So what are you waiting for? 

Given all of the talk about the web, it's time to put the web phenomenon into a consumer context. 

How do you go about getting information about a purchase?  Do you get into your car and drive to a handful of stores gathering details?  Or, do you sit down in front of your computer and type in a search term in Google or Yahoo!, or perhaps Amazon?

The more complex the purchase, the more research I do, and the more I prefer to do that research on my time, on my terms, without being hounded by someone who doesn’t have my interests at heart.  I distrust hard sells and marketing pitches that are too biased.  I seek out reviews and perspectives from peer consumers; I follow people [virtually] whose perspectives I respect.  I value corporate sites only if they offer me relevant information and act/feel like real human beings. 

Does it sound familiar?  If it doesn’t, it will soon because this is the new world order where consumers call the shots, ignore traditional push marketing communications, trust others before we trust organizations and their marketing messages, and immediately start the purchase process searching online.

Think of that.  Before going to a company website for information, we type our query into Google and then examine the results delivered.

That goes for carpet and flooring, too. 

The funny thing is that the new world order results from technology – easy-to-use technology that enables search, engagement, conversation, interaction and community-creation.  That's the web.  It’s a democratic tool breaking down geographic, educational, cultural and personal boundaries.  It allows like-minded individuals to connect and share information; it facilitates crowd-sourcing, co-creation, unexpected problem-solving and amazing cooperation.  It also allows corporations to engage in conversations with customers.

For you see, the people taking part - in blogs and wikis, photo-sharing, online reviews, help boards - are no longer at the fringe.  They are you and me.  Entrepreneurs, corporate business people, retirees, school teachers and operators. Men and women.  Especially women.

Although the conversations happen on an individual level, they increasingly affect large organizations which are made up of individuals.  Traditionally, corporations have formed walls around employees and brands while issuing carefully crafted and controlled messages to end users or customers outside.  Those walls are becoming more porous, disintegrating before our eyes, all for good reasons.  Not only can we now communicate directly with our consumers, our end customers, but our organizations can now be appreciated for the sum of the individuals making them up.

Individuals who are consumers and endusers and the ultimate customer, too.  Individuals with passion and perspectives to share, eager to take part in meaningful conversation. 

If the new world order is about engaging those interested in the conversation, regardless of corporate affiliation, how can corporations and brands participate?  After all, if they don’t, how will they remain relevant to customers?  How will they develop meaningful solutions?  How will they be found? 

Welcome to the New World Order!

In an online article on eMarketing.com titled "Gas Prices Boost E-Commerce"they state there has been a boost in online sales because of the higher gas prices. That would not surprise me. What does bother is in the chart it Shows the decline in purchase of luxury goods and fewer major purchases. That strikes the heart of the flooring industry, not just new home construction but also the remodeling projects are probably being put off by many homeowners too. Click here to read this full article.

 

Do you follow Sonna Calandrino?  Her column titled "She says by Sonna..." at Floor Covering Weekly inevitably gets me thinking about consumers...

From "It's not business as usual" in the 4/21-28/08 issue comes wonderful advice around listening to your customers' demands and expectations.  Why bother?  Because it's not business as usual. 

Sonna urges us to learn everything there is to learn about our customers.  I refer to that as 'walking in her shoes'... as in Walk In Her Shoes.  And, then, spend time figuring out why customers don't shop with you.  Engage everyone around you, even your installers, to better understand your consumers.

Once customers are in your store, don't just automatically focus on opening price point items.  Instead, spend time understanding what your consumer is trying to create, what solution she is looking to build.  If you listen to her, you'll be better able to suggest items that help her with creating that solution.  But, make sure that everyone in your store can explain the value that one product represents over another.  And, demonstrate respect.  Lots of it.  For her, her information sources, and what she is trying to achieve.

Finally, consider sending out regular communications to your best customers about what you're doing that is relevant to their lives.

In"Adjusting to the new consumer reality" in the 6/16-30/08 issue, Sonna further urges us to pay attention to customers.  Why?  Because customers drive business!  So, how well do we understand her?

Understanding her, how she responds to our store experience, displays, and messages are all a part of listening.  Understanding her means learning which are the other businesses [not necessarily flooring related] that she admires, which causes she believes in, and how she searches for relevant information.  Then, once we have absorbed the information, the insights, the perspectives, then we can respond with better ways of organizing our products and price points, our procedures, recommendations, and overall experience instore and online.

"She says by Sonna" exudes passion.  Passion is what you need to adjust to the new consumer reality.  Do you have passion?