If you’ve made the wrong choice, it could be costing you a truckload of customers.

Research results issued by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and the University of Illinois at Chicago indicate that gender difference plays a role in the “thinking vs. feeling” debate.

In two different studies, participants were asked to rate which ads they found to be most persuasive.  The basic information of each ad was the same; it was just framed in different ways.

Take, for example, blood donations:

… one message, entitled “My Feelings About Blood Donation,” started with, “I feel that donating blood is one of the most important contributions I can make to society.” It went on to include several more arguments framed in terms of the source’s feelings — for example, “I feel that blood donation is the most fantastic thing I can do with 30 minutes of my free time.”

In a different condition, the message was entitled “My Thoughts About Blood Donation,” and opened with, “I think donating blood is one of the most important contributions I can make to society,” and went on to frame the exact same arguments in terms of the source’s thoughts — “I think blood donation is the most fantastic thing I can do with 30 minutes of my free time.”

Aside from the use of the word “feel” or “think” throughout the message, the content of the arguments was identical, yet those more emotionally oriented were more impressed with (and persuaded by) the “feel” arguments, while those more cognitively oriented liked the “think” arguments better.”

Another study used movie advertising to measure the reactions of participants.  Women were more influenced by reviews that began with, “I feel…”; men were more influenced by reviews that began, “I think…”

Yet another reason Burger King may want to be careful with its next advertising campaign. A woman may think your ad is creative, edgy, and funny, but will she feel good enough about you to be persuaded into purchasing your product?

It’s a slim distinction that makes all the difference in successfully marketing to women.

Some highlights:

A study from RAMA and BIGresearch states that women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook (60.3%) than average adults (50.2%).   According to the study, moms use social media tools to search for coupons or deals. (Hint: make your Facebook page about her, not about your company.)

ShesConnected has a new report that says more than one-third (36%) of women in the U.S. and Canada would give up chocolate or Prada before giving up their connection to social networks… but only as long as the service remained free. (Hint: don’t limit yourself to one social media outlet; there’s no doubt that some will start charging a fee somewhere down the road.)

According to BabyCenter, LLC, the number of tech-savvy mothers is shooting upward off the grid.  Between 2006 and 2009, the number of mothers using social media increased 462%; the number using cell phones to go online increased 348%. (Hint: start investigating the creation of a mobile phone app that applies to your business and makes her life easier.)

We’re seeing the first wave of a generation that was born with a mouse (or trackpad) at their fingertips.  What are you doing to ensure you’re keeping up with their morphing process for consumer research and purchases?

It seems that the Outdoor Advertising Association decided to conduct a 14-day campaign to show the effectiveness of billboards and signage.

The organization tapped the Beta Agency to create the campaign, which came up with a headline that read:

Career Women Make Bad Mothers

Hundreds of mothers banded together in online forums like Mumsnet to express their outrage.  One mother put it well: “It doesn’t show that outdoor advertising works, it just shows that controversial advertising works.”

Needless to say, the campaign was pulled.

Any seven-year old can get attention using shock value.  Please don’t be one.

P.S. Speaking of seven year olds… check out the agency’s (sort of) apology here.

The report is filled with statistics, including a 48-year comparison on education, purchasing power, and wages.  It contains numerous charts on purchases by category, and even breaks down daily responsibilities by gender.

In addition to emphasizing a continuing upward trend in terms of purchasing power, Miley and Mack spend a solid portion of the paper discussing the internal values of today’s mom – her thoughts, ideals, and challenges.  While handcuffed to painting a broad-brush picture of today’s mom, the authors still do an excellent job of digging a little deeper in order to give marketers and business owners a fresh look at this very powerful group of consumers.

… she wants brands to catch up.  In plainer terms, she wants products and services that provide value to her and her family – and that give her permission to be imperfect and recognize her identity outside of being a mom.”

For anyone who wants to know more about today’s mothers, “The Rise of the Real Mom” is a fantastic place to start.  You can download the white paper here, for free.

The one statistic that bears repeating is the percentage of women who are either the main breadwinners or co-breadwinners [Click to enlarge]:

During a conference call with bloggers (worthy of a blog post in its own right – can you see me rolling my eyes?), former Clinton White House chief Jon Podesta said, “We are very excited about this information. It just kind of snuck up on us!”

Really? Maybe you’ve just been inside that Washington bubble too long, Jon. As a girlfriend of mine said when I quoted her a few of the Shriver Report statistics, “What’s so new about that? We’re living it every day.”

The report you really should be paying attention to is much smaller. It was quietly tucked in the back third of the November 2nd edition of Newsweek.

Titled, “Hear Her Roar,” the article focuses on the financial power women hold in the global economy – the lead-in to the article heralded:

Working women are poised to become the biggest economic engine the world has ever known.”

Surveys, studies, and in-depth research by such organizations as Boston Consulting Group, Goldman Sachs, and the National Bureau of Economic Research reveal that:

• Women currently control $13 trillion of the world’s $18.4 trillion in consumer spending. That is expected to rise to $18 trillion by 2014.
• Over the next five years, $5 trillion in new female-earned income will come online.
• A narrowing wage gap and rising female employment means that women will drive the shopping process even more than before.
• The new generation of women (with better equality in education and wages), will fill more Fortune 500 CEO positions – rising from today’s 38 to more than 100 in the next ten years.

These facts alone have strong implications – for hiring (wages and promotion), human resources (flexibility in time, work space, and career track), product development, marketing and advertising.

The products, services, advertising message, and customer experience you create for your customers are about to become more important than ever.

You need to start thinking more about transparency, authenticity, and writing to different types of female customers.

Just because it snuck up on Maria Shriver and Jon Podesta, doesn’t mean you have to let it sneak up on you.

According to Jackie and Ben, one marketing strategy that many of these companies have in common is the creation of a board of customer evangelists. A solid board of committed customers (with no other investment in your business) can provide you with more business insight and marketing ideas than a dozen demographic studies or focus groups.

Start small for big ideas.

Begin by identifying 4-6 of your most loyal customers, then invite them to join an informal panel of “customer experts.”  Keep the number of participants small – manageability is key in the beginning, both in terms of people skills and to be able to capture the ideas that are generated by the group.

Create a “come-as-you-are” sense of informality.

This is the kind of board that belongs around a dinner table, not a conference table.

Once or twice a year, bring the group together in a luncheon or dinner atmosphere (a private room in a restaurant or at someone’s home is good), and break bread together.  Set the stage for conversation, informality, and sharing.  Eat, drink, and be merry.  Only after getting everyone to relax a bit should you start talking business.

Encourage bad news.

Any good relationship built on trust allows for freedom of communication – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A successful board of customer evangelists not only tells you what you’re doing right, but what you can improve.  Do you want honest feedback about what you’re doing right and wrong?  These customers will tell you.  Explore how they’re using your product or service.  Are they missing something you assumed they knew how to do?  Are they utilizing what you sell in ways you never dreamed – ways that should be shared with others?

Start the conversation by saying, “I already know that you love our company.  I do want to hear about the things you think we’re doing right, so that we can deliver that experience on a consistent basis.  But, more important, I need to hear where we are missing the mark.  What can we improve?  Where are we inconsistent?  What will make us better as a company and deliver an even greater experience to our customers?”  The feedback you get will be mind-blowing.

Why wouldn’t you try this?  This group of customers loves you for SOME reason – you’ve already won them over.  The trust and love is there – let them help you.

More than ever, customers are dying to have a dialogue with companies.  Be one of the smart companies, and start one with your customers.

Think that’s harsh?  Then you ain’t seen nothin’.  Remember:  With four times the connections between hemispheres of the brain, a woman’s human operating system is directly linked to her BS meter.  Hype, bluster, and poor messaging don’t even begin to make it through the purchasing process filter.

Here’s what you can learn from this direct mail example:

1.  Hire a copywriter.

You have about 4 seconds to plant your brand into her right brain.  Poor grammar, bad spelling, and run-on sentences get you immediately kicked to the curb.  Mixed messaging (“best contractor” vs. “need to keep my employees busy”) will also short-circuit the entire sales process.

The tone is also critical.  Overuse of exclamation marks, sensitive language like “come-on,” and pushy phrases such as “Don’t call unless you’re ready to go” are all no-no’s.  You’re trying to persuade her to do business with her, not bully her into it!

2.  Back up your claims with proof.

How can you say you’re the best contractor in the area without facts to back it up? If you don’t have proof, don’t say it. And don’t expect that women are going to go to your website to look for awards or testimonials, because they don’t have the time.

3.  Without a pay-off, your guarantee is worthless.

Saying that you guarantee lowest price means nothing unless, once again, you can back it up.  Receipts and pay stubs won’t be enough here.  You guarantee it or what – you’ll do the job for FREE?  Guarantees without a customer payoff are just empty promises that send the BS meter into the red.

Will this contractor get 5 jobs out of this direct mail piece?  I’m doubtful.  My guess is he’ll try sending this piece out next month, and the month after that, pouring good marketing money down the drain.

I’ve sent the contractor an email offering to help re-write the copy and get him those 5 jobs he’s desperately seeking – we’ll see if he takes me up on it.

What other things do you see on this direct mail piece that raise red flags for you?

The “2009 Online Buyer Economic Trend Study” was just released from ROI Research, showing that while men seem to be more optimistic about a recovering economy, women need more convincing evidence.

55% of women say they expect to spend less overall in the near future, compared to 37% of men (wow, guys – when did you start getting all rah-rah on me?).

46% of women say they expect to spend less online.

Our recent lean over the precipice of economic disaster has women saying they have fundamentally changed the way they think about spending. Whether or not that’s true, here are a couple of things you might want to keep in mind for the future of your business:

1. Now is the time to increase your advertising, not decrease it. Business owners seem to have a hair-trigger when it comes to advertising – the economy rocks, and marketing budgets are the first thing to get slashed.

Let everyone else slice and dice, because for the consumer, “out of sight is out of mind.” Media outlets need your business, so negotiating on advertising rates is easier. Plus, you’ll be the lone voice in the advertising desert because your competitors weenied out. You will own your space. And when times get better (as they inevitably will), you will be top-of-mind for customers because you’ve been there all along.

2. The online challenge is bigger than ever. If 55% of women are going to spend less online, then you’d better own that space, too. I know that I sound like a automaton because I’m always yammering on about the importance of your website and social media tools – so be it. I cannot emphasize enough that taking the time to create a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate, persuasive website is critical to the future of your business.

And that one-way monologue you’ve been having with your customers? Fugheddaboudit. It’s all about conversation, and you have to invite your customers to participate.  Read and learn about how small businesses just like yours are using tools like Facebook and Twitter.  Then sign up, get started, and work the hell out of it.  It’s FREE, for goodness’ sake.

Just a couple of things for you to roll around in your brain for awhile.  It’s all about increasing your share of mind within each customer, and it’s up to you whether or not you see these times as Armageddon or Opportunity.

(chart courtesy of eMarketer)

The phenomenal growth of social media tools in the last two years seems like a natural fit for women. A recent study conducted by ShesConnected lends some insight into how often and in what ways women are using these tools.

Of the women who use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, an astounding 59% say they check these sites multiple times per day. (Hi. I’m Michele and I’m a social media addict…)

The big surprise for me was the breakdown of social media tasking.  Not so much the networking professionally and promotion of business, but the percentage of women that indicate they research a product or service – 79% of women say that social media tools are either very important or somewhat important in researching information about businesses.

And that includes YOUR business.  I’ve written here before about social media.  Do you have your Facebook page set up yet?  Have you been sending out Tweets on a regular basis?  Have you, in effect, done any work to build and strengthen your relationships with the community outside of traditional advertising and your website?

This latest statistic is a green flag to encourage you to do so today.



*chart courtesy of eMarketer

Not intentionally, of course. Results can be skewed, depending on how a question is posed or, sometimes (gasp!), when a respondent gives an answer she thinks the surveyor wants to hear.

When the Kimberly-Clark Corporation hit a wall with sales of their Baby Wipes brand, it turned to surveys in order to learn more about how, when, and where mothers change their babies’ diapers. But the surveys proved fruitless. It was immediately apparent that mothers often subconsciously gave answers that would put them in the best possible light.  The survey indicated that mothers only used changing tables and rated themselves very high in the cleanliness category.

Kimberly-Clark researchers decided to gather their own data, utilizing “immersion” research.  The mothers that were recruited wore a cap-like device with a live camera attached, and researchers studied mothers as they went through their day, viewing activities from a mother’s perspective.  The results contradicted the surveys.  They watched as women changed babies on top of washing machines and on the floor of mall bathrooms.

But it was one small observation that was the discovery of the decade.

When mothers tried to use the Baby Wipes brand, they had to use two hands to open the container. (Try opening something with two hands when you have a wiggling baby revving his engine.)  Kimberly-Clark re-designed its packaging so it could be opened with one hand, and sales of Baby Wipes skyrocketed. Using the technique of immersion – a form of “cultural anthropology” to observe how customers use a product or service – Kimberly-Clark found the one small nugget that had been holding them back.

Immersion research doesn’t have to involve high-end technological equipment, and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.  There are a couple of ways you can conduct a “mini-immersion” project of your own:

1. Spend a day with a customer in her own environment.
You may not be able to conduct live camera research, but why can’t you spend a little time with your customer, in her surroundings, to observe how she goes through her day?  You’ll see the challenges she faces when trying to use your product or service, indicating changes you need to make.  You’ll be surprised when she’s unaware of information about your product that you take for granted.  And you might even discover that she’s using your product in ways you never dreamed about.

2. Let customers open their lives to you through a contest.
Astech Closet Systems connected with customers’ lives by holding its “Messiest Closet” contest.  With hundreds of photographs and essay entries, Astech could peer directly into the closets of people and observe how the company’s closet organization systems could benefit them.  The winner received a closet makeover and Astech gleaned a treasure trove of information that would help them with future product ideas, blog posts to help customers organize their lives, and copywriting for ads and the web.

What kind of contest could you promote?  It would not only provide great insight, but promoted correctly would get you plenty of local PR, which amounts to the best in free advertising.

Consumer research doesn’t have to be costly or traditional; it just has to be conducted in a way that gives you answers that are directly aligned with the personal, everyday lives of your customers.

Give it a try.  The only thing you have to lose is a tired-out, traditional way of thinking about your customer.