Women, as we all know, hold the real power, whatever men say down the pub about being the master of the remote control and wearing the trousers in their relationship.
In the United States women controlled a startlingly high 85% of all purchases. (Women’s Marketing Inc.) At the Marketing to Women Conference it was confirmed that they made 65% of all car purchases, 66% of Computer purchases, 80% of Healthcare decisions and 93% of food purchases. It has become apparent that even if your target market is a male audience your product and marketing will need to appeal to women too.
Welding so much power, how best is it to market to them? With so many possible advertising and marketing channels, it’s easy for your message to get lost in the overwhelming cacophony of marketing white noise. So is it to be a scantily clad David Beckham wearing or promoting your product? That could certainly be an attention grabber, but highly unlikely and unrealistic for most business budgets. Or perhaps you could connect with them using a medium where it is convenient for them and easy to be heard, where you can speak their language and have a personal connection with your customers?
We all know the power of the internet, but is it now being taken over or enhanced by the power and ability to be mobile? Research suggests that the desktop computer is on the decline and mobile devices are now becoming more and more popular to scour the web. If your website isn’t mobile friendly then it’s time to give your web designer a phone call. In the United Kingdom 25% of the population have made a purchase on a mobile, which is a fair few million. When you consider that number has almost doubled since 2011 then you can really see the dramatic change in the way that people are making purchases. (Econsultancy).
There are now around 6 billion mobile phones in the world, (International Telecommunications Union) with Nielsen research saying the 91% of adults have their mobile phone within arm’s reach 24/7. So this hand held device, to which we are all so hopelessly addicted, can become a very powerful tool to your business. The humble SMS in particular is such an immediate and convenient way to communicate with customers. Frost & Sullivan say that 98% of all text messages get read, which is outstanding compared to its closest rival Twitter, where 29% of tweets get read. You might be wondering where email fits into the jigsaw. Their research states that only 22% of emails sent will get read. With the sheer amount of emails we all receive every day, the chance of your email getting through the spam filters, into the inbox and actually read by your target customer is now depressingly slim. Also with the popularity of reading emails on mobile devices, your marketing email has to be desktop and mobile user friendly. Frost & Sullivan also say that a text message will be read within 5 seconds of being received, this means that this medium can pass on your marketing message to your customers instantly and efficiently unlike any other.
Women’s Marketing Inc. researchers revealed that 46% of women will turn to their smartphone when they first wake up in the morning. Furthermore, Harris Interactive have stated that 63% of females won’t go an hour without looking at their phone. It’s widely understood that one of the most effective ways of growing your business and sales is by word of mouth; people talking about and interacting with your brand with others. This can be hard to achieve but with the help of social media sites it has been made slightly easier. However if you were to send out offers and deals via SMS, a whopping 92% of women will pass on the information to their friends and family (Mindshare/Ogilvy & Mather).
So is SMS really the medium on which to connect with your customers and get your messages across? All the facts and stats seem to suggest that mobile marketing is a sleeping giant waiting to take the marketing and business world by storm. SMS is a unique medium that gives you the ability to reach your customers in seconds with a personalised marketing message. Yet Text Marketer estimate that currently only 32% of UK businesses are using SMS effectively. If your business can start to use it wisely, you will certainly gain a competitive edge on your competition. So maybe it’s time to start making your business appeal more to women and to start using the medium of the future, SMS.
See the supporting infographic below.
