andHow To Reach Women

Savvy Auntie Gives Voice, And Virtual Space, To An Un-Tapped Market: Non-Moms Who Love Kids

The most powerful marketing opportunities, the ones that start movements and build momentum, come from recognizing a segment that has been there all along, yet was never directly addressed. For the last several years brands have been extending their reach and loyalty by developing campaigns to connect with the LGBT community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) or the Hispanic market, both of which wield huge amounts of spending power, and certainly did not just pop up out of nowhere.  Women have been dissected down further - both by generation (Gen Y, Gen X, Boomers) and parental status (Moms and Non-Moms).  And in that scenario, because they buy for so many, Moms are the hot market to chase.  Generally speaking, Moms are targeted with emotional messages about caring for families, being pressed for time and trying to do more with less.  Non-Moms get "me" messages that are about reveling in the joys of kid-free lives: more beauty products, more travel, more clothes. But what about the Non-Moms who love kids?  Who is talking to them?  

Melanie Notkin (pictured above), a self-described "auntrepreneur" launched Savvy Auntie this past July due to her desire to have a place where she could revel in her pride in being an aunt and connect with other women who had very important children in their lives that weren't necessarily their own.  In the first 2 months, without any advertising, Melanie's site had attracted 50,000 visitors.  

Marketing to aunts or PANK's (Professional Aunts, No Kids), as Melanie refers to them, gives brands the best of both worlds - women who have a deep attachment to children and want to spend time and money on them but who also have the time and disposable income to spend on themselves. As budgets tighten and retirement nest eggs continue to crack, aunts may be the best option to purchase the more indulgent items that parents and grandparents are being forced to strike from their shopping lists.  And as Non-Moms begin to comprise over 50% of the adult female population, it doesn't make sense to ignore them. Check out this stat from a press release on the Savvy Auntie website:

An ever higher number of American women are childless, according to statistics* released by the U.S. Census Bureau on August 18, 2008.  The data, which reports a significant rise over the last two years, shows that the percentage of non-moms is nearing the 50 percent mark, making the ratio of moms to non-moms in America almost 1:1. 

This aunt acknowledgment is reminiscent of the Right Hand campaign launched by DeBeers in 2003. Before then, in the jewelry world, women were divided into Brides and Non-Brides.  Only one could credibly aspire to wear a diamond ring.  DeBeers gave voice to a population of women who had financial means, were not married and/or weren't interested in waiting to receive a diamond ring from a man (or for that to be the only permissible reason to wear one) and opened up a whole new market segment and selling opportunity.  Single women, whether young, old, straight or gay, began to adopt right hand rings as their statement of independence and success. Many married women found the concept appealing as well. The campaign struck a powerful emotional chord that DeBeers could not have manufactured, they simply tapped in to something that was already there, just waiting to be named.

I believe recognition of "aunting" has the potential to resonate on an equally deep level.  Think of all the products developed to foster the connection between grandparents and grandchildren.   Aunts and uncles can have very powerful relationships and a profound impact on kids but those roles have no such cultural mirror.  Moreover "auntie" in many cultures is a term of endearment applied to any adult woman important in a child's life, regardless of actual blood relation, expanding the definition even further.  And the role is quite distinct from that of parent or grandparent.  Aunts can be confidantes, friends, supercool babysitters, shopping buddies, secret sharers (they know the stuff about mom or dad that grandma and grandpa still haven't figured out), homework helpers and surrogate parents, often flowing in and out of those roles as needed. 

Savvy Auntie's tagline is:The First Community for Cool Aunts, Great Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids. All Women Who Love Kids. Talk about emotional.  

Aunties of the World - Go spoil your nieces and nephews!

For Some Guys Sales Success Smells Like...Skin Cream

The great pun title was already taken by this LA Times article on the new wave of successful Avon sales reps - men. And not carefully gelled and coifed metro men, but military men, construction working men. Men who started assisting their Avon-repping wives and found they had a knack for selling beauty products - to both sexes.

What I find most interesting about the article is not just that more men are buying personal care or "beauty" products, or that guys are interested in selling them. Avon isn't as much the point as the tool to what I believe is an even larger trend - couples starting businesses in order to create extra income or have more control over their lives. The widget in this case just happened to be skin cream. Avon was smart here. They didn't create a men's division, and why would they? Recruiting brochures now feature both men and women - again, one brochure, not one for each sex. What attracted the men profiled to the Avon opportunity? Seeing how much money their wives were making. Ah, yes, truly the universal language.

Where The New Mommy Track Is Taking Women - And Why Corporate America Should Care

We've talked alot here about marketing consumer products and services to women, but there is another segment of the economy that needs to look at this complex demographic and adjust it's approach - corporate employers. A US News & World Report cover story, The New Mommy Track, hitting newsstands next week, delves into the many ways women are negotiating careers and motherhood on their own terms, including extended leaves, part-and flex-time options and starting their own businesses. Some companies, such as Best Buy, who has implemented a flex time program for all employees at it's corporate headquarters and PricewaterhouseCooper's whose Full Circle program allows select senior managers to take a couple year break without losing their spot on the partner track, are working to avoid the talent drain. But they are the minority. Most companies still remain in the 9-5 structured world with no formal programs in place to retain talented mothers, who don't want to sacrifice family for career but have plenty of brainpower available for the employer who approaches the situation creatively.

Why should they care? In addition to the fact that more women are earning bachelor's and master's degrees today than men, according to a recent Lifetime survey, the most popular goal among women ages 18 to 29 was to manage their own companies (47%) while becoming president of a major corporation was named by only 10%. It's unclear whether that's because they wouldn't be interested in the job, or they doubt they could dedicate their lives to the level necessary to climb the corporate ladder to the top. Either way, companies seeking to attract and retain educated talent must look at the convergence of these trends and create opportunities that begin to address the needs of the changing workforce.

The article offers lots of stats, examples and sidebars. A fascinating read.

Mall Walking And Other Tips I Learned From My Business Bank

A lot of discussion around marketing to women centers on consumer goods and services.  Makes sense as women influence 85% of those decisions and there's a big reward for companies that get it right.  Companies actively pursuing women in this category are also a bit ahead of the curve as women have been part of the consumer buying pool for a long time now, although their tastes and habits have certainly changed, and therein lies the challenge.

What doesn't get as much attention is women as business customers and this seems to be a harder nut to crack.  Today's issue of Women's Wear Daily (sub. required) featured an article highlighting the latest stats from the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, which reported that:

privately held firms that are at least 51 percent owned by women are growing twice as fast as the average U.S. firm, contribute $1.1 trillion in revenues to the economy and create jobs for 7.2 million Americans.

According to a quote by the Center's executive director, financial institutions are going after these customers with gusto but we have yet to see one that is really connecting the dots.  Citibank has an interesting program in Women and Company, which they chose to market to my husband instead of me...  Last week I received an email from my business credit card company with tips on exercising, which included a guide to mall walking.  No joke.  I can't imagine a bank sending a similar email to a man.  This is a business account at a business bank so there's no mistaking that the email was going to a business owner. There wasn't even any relevant introduction to this content such as how this focus on fitness might benefit me as a business owner, perhaps helping to relieve stress or increase my productivity. Just random workout tips for women, any women. How about some advice on sales generation, or hiring or cash flow?  Not to mention, what entrepreneur, male or female, has time to walk malls?

Women-owned businesses are a market segment that is driving economic growth and will continue to do so in increasingly greater numbers.  A ripe opportunity for the institution willing to commit to both understanding the needs of these consumers and making them a front-and-center priority in the organization. No more half-hearted attempts, please. Take us seriously and we will do the same.

andHow Joins Forces With Start Up Nation

Last Friday marked the debut of a new relationship we couldn't be more excited about.  The Sloan Brothers, entrepreneurs extraordinaire and founders of Start Up Nation, a resource for entrepreneurs that includes a nationally syndicated radio show, website and book, invited us to begin regular contributions to their email newsletter and website as their women's marketing partners and experts.  We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with the Sloans at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show, a key event for one of their newest business ventures, and are thrilled to be associated with such smart, kind people.  Congratulations to *Pianissima (picured above) on being named the blue ribbon champion of her class!

Read 7 Powerful Insights For Marketing To Women and let us know what you think.