What Shapes Her Shopping?
Earlier this year our Marketing to Moms practice commissioned a survey of 1,264 U.S. women on a host of topics. The complete study can be found here and I really encourage you to spend some time reviewing it. There are several surprises for we who think we know what women are thinking. But that is not the point of this post…
There is one table from the study that word of mouth marketers especially should heed. It shows which sources of information women find “essential” to their shopping, and which they turn to most often. Here’s the chart:
This is what the study says about this particular set of findings: “The challenge for marketers is not so much getting messages in front of her, but rather presenting messages that engage her attention, speak to her interests, and break through the profound sense of distrust she has for institutions in general, and businesses in particular. Her shopping is primarily shaped by conversations with her family and friends, Web sites she regularly visits, and coupons. Advertising and traditional media struggle to break through the clutter and win her trust.”
Clearly, whatever information sources are in the upper right quadrant score highest among women for 1) influence, and 2) frequency. It probably does not surprise you to see where the different forms of word of mouth (or “conversations”) line up. But what might surprise us (it did for me) is where blogs and social media sites appear – in the least important quadrant, the lower left. Actually, I recently saw the same finding in a client’s study of its customers and their purchase triggers.
So why are blogs and social media sites being labeled, by women in this case, as relatively unimportant for their shopping research? What we’re finding is that blogs and sites like Facebook are where women share information about their lives and their families, but not necessarily where they have conversations about brands. Instead, branded conversations happen primarily face to face and over the phone. But anyone who jumps to the conclusion that blogs and Facebook are somehow losing any impact – well, we know that’s not true. People who “like” a brand on Facebook also spend more money on that brand (see Mashable story), and Facebook refers more visitors to Groupon than any other site (thanks Leveraging Ideas). People who read blogs are your most active in social networks; they are the uber influencers and have tremendous influence. So the red circles feed into all that green activity in the upper right.
Take another look at the upper right. You’ll notice that coupons – yes, coupons – are at the top of the hill for frequency and helpfulness. So chalk one up for old school! (Also note where the other advertising channels line up, in purple.) Look at the mix in the sweet spot in the upper right, and you can see how the relatively new mashup of couponing and social networks (e.g., Groupon) has caught fire.
Ok, I’ve waxed on perhaps too much about this chart. If there is one thing to take away from it, it’s this: when it comes to effective marketing , it’s never just one thing. Consider the connectivity between difference channels of word of mouth, and strive for a blend that really moves the needle.
Do you have any other thoughts after reading our study or eyeballing this chart?
Jason Stone // Jul 22, 2010 at 11:45 am
Jeff -
Very interesting read, particularly valuable since women influence or make – what 80-90%?– of all purchase decisions. Definitely food for thought.
Thanks!
JS
kerry marrone // Jul 25, 2010 at 1:19 am
I am very interested in the consumer behaviour/purchase power of women from the Middle East/GCC. This is a good read.
Regards,kerry
Chris Englund // Jul 26, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I like the study, but I want to be able to fill in the following blanks:
1) “Women, unlike men, …”
2) “Marketers traditionally believe… about women because…”
Can you tell how your case compares to the background (population in general or males of similar demographic)?
Secondly, where does the Marketer’s Estimate come from? Is that pure conjecture or data-driven?
Jeff Davis // Aug 3, 2010 at 10:32 am
Jason and Kerry, I’m glad this was helpful information.
Jeff Davis // Aug 3, 2010 at 10:33 am
Chris, I’m talking to the people with the research company re: your questions. Hope to have answers back to you shortly.
Jeff Davis // Aug 4, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Chris, voila!, I have some answers for you. The following answers are from Steve Kraus from the Harrison Group, which prepared the study for Fleishman-Hillard:
“Women, unlike men, are now the CEO, CFO, COO and CPO of the American household. She handles the bulk of household purchasing on her own, and while big-ticket purchases are “joint” decisions, it is clear that her decision is typically the final one. For example, 79% of women agree “In the end, my opinion determines the family financial decisions.”
Our study sample included women with at least $25,000 in household income, and considered themselves to be “successful” (i.e., rated themselves a 6 or higher on a 10-point self-rated “success” scale). We set out to study today’s successful woman, and discovered that nearly all women today consider themselves successful – only 11% were eliminated from the study because they gave themselves a 5 or lower on the success scale.
In September 2008, we conducted a survey of 48 senior marketing executives at consumer-oriented companies. The results reveal that marketers’ view of today’s woman differs significantly from the reality. For example, marketers believe she is highly stressed, and unlikely to view herself as happy or successful. In fact, the majority of women consider themselves happy and successful, and although stress is clearly an issue in her life, she feels she is tackling it pro-actively and effectively. Marketers also tend to overestimate her interest in brands, fashion and celebrity, while underestimating her interest in culture passions such as books, music and travel.
We will have more data comparing men and women in a future blog post – stay tuned!”
Many thanks to the FH coordinator of this study, Nancy Bauer. She contacted Steve for answers to your questions.