Monday Morning Memo

Ok, it's no longer monday morning, I know. But it's still monday, so it's still memo time! Here's a quick round-up of what's happening out there that caught my attention over the past few days:

About social Media, gender and a storm in a cyber teacup:
There's loads being said on the value (or lack of it) of social media out there right now, this post on Lipsticking being just one of them. What else is interesting on social media & gender? This McCann study is worth a read, as is this study on the effects of age and gender on blogging.
Definitively read the post on social media on my good friend Caroline's blog!

Boomer women online
For those interested in how the boomer generation uses technology, the internet and social media, read this post over on Lipsticking and bookmark 'The Boomer Blog'! It has loads of interesting information!
Interesting fact: 80% of boomers use computers, one third of them go on-line every day! (US statistics)

How are buying decisions made?
An interesting post well worth a read (check out this chart that documents the basic characteristics of life development stages!) Helpful reading in understanding what drives us as humans (and consumers) during various life-stages.

How to Shower: Women vs. Men

...because laughing at ourselves once in a while is healthy!

Flipping the funnel: turning customers into sales people

Seth Godin always gets it right: and he does it again in his new free e-book called "Flipping the Funnel", which you can download here.

In his related post "understanding the funnel" Seth makes the following controversial statement, which I am convinced makes most salespeople/CEOs' blood run cold:

"At this point, your job is not to make a sale. Selling is just one option in a range of things you can do to further drive him down the funnel. You can engage in a dialogue (by phone or email) that takes place over time and avoids the all-or-nothing cliff of "buy now or go away forever". You can further inform or entertain, all in the service of your goal of increasing the interest, education and value of this prospect."

I would like to point out one very important concept in this paragraph: The cliff of "buy now or forever go away".
Godin puts into words the key malady of many of today's publically listed, value-for-our-shareholders, result-driven companies out there: the BUY or DIE attitude.

Don't get me wrong: in the end it is about selling a product or a service. But it is not only about the sale - it comes back to the concept I have been touting all along: how about some respect for the customer? How about some appreciation, some interest, simple but real human-to-human interaction?

Ok, we're all marketeers, but all of us are consumers too. We have all experienced the frustration of bad service and we've all felt the blood-boiling anger of "Damn it, I'M the customer here!". To be a good marketeer one has to think like a customer - always. And I'm not talking the cliched "let's put ourselves in our customers shoes for a while" marketing spiel here...I'm talking about using your personal gut feeling, your instinct as a consumer OUTSIDE work and use that to help shape your marketing programs. Food for thought...

About brands, soulmates and online trends

As the week picks up speed on this busy monday morning, I'm picking up on many interesting developments via my Google feed reader. Much is happening in the world-wide marketing (and marketing-to-women) realm that is worth sharing:

I know I keep blogging about social media, but that's because I cannot emphasise the importance of social media enough as part of smart marketing to women campaigns.
An interesting podcast I found on PodTech that details the impact of social media on corporate marketing and PR functions and the latest trends in social media strategy and implementation.

Dating through brands? Now here's a very interesting concept from a marketeers' point of view:
BRAND-MATES is a site where people select as many or as little of the brands that are near and dear to their heart and then they can have some fun searching and connecting to other "like-branded people" to date, find a soul-mate, or maybe just find a friend.
Imagine the data and insights one can collect with this site!

Here's a title that made me stop in my tracks this morning:
"By 2012 women will outnumber men online by more than 8 million!"
Again, these are US statistics, but I think it is safe to assume the same trend will make itself felt here in Europe over the coming years too. Interesting in the excerpt below is the fact that 'women's community' was the most visited and fastest growing internet category! Marketeers, take note!

Author Kaira Sturdivant Rouda on why women are taking over the internet, so to speak:
"The important thing to realize is that women are natural networkers. We’ve been the community builders in the real world since the beginning of time. Think of the most important charities in your community. Most likely they were created by, and continue to be championed by, women. Now, there’s the web. “Women’s community” was the most visited and fastest growing internet category according to ComScore Media Metrix. Women are building community online as never before. And, they are using it for business. Social networking makes business more personal and intuitive. The formally defined lines in society are falling away - and finally, work and family can become more blended."

Weekly marketing-to-women wrap-up

Pyjamas and painkillers are good for something (don't ask..two words: wisdom teeth) -they allow you to get down and read through all the sites and blogs that one only manages to skim across during a normal working week.

This week's wrap-up of the most interesting articles on marketing, marketing-to-women and all matters related. Well worth a read!

"How Customers Think" - Neuromarketing article

Hypnosis brings groups into focus - want to know what people really think about your brand? Bring in the hypnotist! Interesting article in Brandweek

"Who do you trust?" Men and Women answer that differently.
A study found that men tended to trust people who were part of a group with them. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to trust strangers who shared some personal connection, such as a friend of a friend.
Not a new article but still very interesting - on ScienceDaily

Research report: Dove's "Beyond stereotypes - rebuilding the foundation of beauty beliefs"

"Men, you're outnumbered online" eMarketer article

La fille d'O celebrates 5th birthday!

Mark your diaries, ladies and gentlemen! This is going to be a wickedly wild party!

Date: April 12th
Venue: Handelsbeurs, Gent
More info: devilles@lafilledo.com or www.lafilledo.com

Naughty but NICE! Lingerie - A brand new collection of SHOES - Bikinis and more!

No respectable girl would miss this!

Advertiser vs Consumer

Spilling the facts (cause marketing - part 2)

As most of my friends / peers / clients know, I'm a big fan of cause marketing.

Why?
Because all the 'push' communication we put our there - the ads, the press releases, the direct mailings, the tv spots, you name it, are perceived by the public (and that's us too, folks!) as just that: pushy.

Now don't get me wrong: at Muse Communication we of course also help create all those communication tools for clients, so I'm not trying to be 'holier than thou' here. But over the past few weeks my mind has been brewing on the question: "what does the future of effective communication look like?" I'm not gonna answer that question just yet. My thoughts are taking shape and when it all makes sense, I'll be sure to let you know right here.

But back to cause marketing and why I think it is such an important business tool.
Cone Inc recently announced the findings of its 'Cause Evolution Survey'
Although the survey was conducted in the US, I think we can safely transport its main findings to consumers in Europe too.

Here are some key findings:
- More than 65% of Americans say they consider a company’s business practices when deciding what to buy.
- 85% of Americans say they would switch to another company's products or services if a problem with business practices was uncovered.
- 92% acknowledge they have a more positive image of a company that supports a cause they care about.
- 87% are likely to switch from one brand to another (price and quality being about equal) if the other brand is associated with a good cause! (now if that doesn't illustrate how cause marketing can help convert prospects into customers!)

Today’s informed consumers are now asking, 'Is this a good company?' and 'What does it stand for?'"

I think cause marketing is an often underrated, under-utilized yet potentially pivotal part of a brand's communication. To put it in plain business terms: the ROI of a carefully chosen cause marketing program will prove positive beyond a doubt in many ways: both in terms of new customers and proud employees, to name just two.

Oh, there is one very important prerequisite though: your cause marketing effort must be a part of the brand ethos and not just it's marketing plan. For if your customer (and prospective customer) even gets so much as a whiff that the cause you are supporting is no more than a clever PR stint, you're doomed to loose all credibility. Food for thought not only for marketing managers...

$100 Million for 10,000 Women (cause marketing - part 1)

Now there's a title that grabs your attention!

On Mar. 5, Goldman Sachs (GS), the world's largest investment bank, announced in Business Week that it would be pumping $100 million into educational projects to help thousands of women entrepreneurs in developing countries start (and succesfully manage) their own businesses over the next five years. Many female entrepreneurs in developing countries have already received financial help from local microfinance banks and nonprofits that issued them small loans and financial support. Most of the women however, have little, if any, formal education and lack the management skills and financial savvy to take their business to the next level.

Goldman Sachs is hoping to create a new model of management education designed to help these women learn everything from how to write a business plan to market their own business. The company will be teaming up with some of the world's top business schools, including Wharton, Columbia, Harvard, and Cambridge University's Judge Business School, to develop management education certificate programs at universities in countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. The programs will be flexible and of short duration, ranging from several weeks to several months.

Now that's a project that, as a 'marketeer to women', really warms my heart. What a wonderful, long overdue initiative! Not to mention that it's a great PR-able project that suddenly puts what we perceive to be a cold, distant financial behemoth such as Goldman Sachs in a completely new light!

Further reading: Here's a great article on how cause marketing can help improve marketing's bottom line.

Monday memo: gutsy women and great blogs

A short post on a busy busy busy monday morning:

1. this weekend I discovered 'Diablo Cody'....(It's a name, by the way). I know...it didn't mean much to me either when I first read it. Cody is the Oscar-winning writer of this season's big indy movie hit 'Juno'. Interesting thing is, Cody is 29 years old and as so often mentioned in press surrounding her: an ex-stripper. What's very intestesing is that this very outspoken girl (I won't mention her own description of her "occupation" here, for fear of offending more sensitive souls), but have a look at her blog on myspace to see the amount of support she gets from her mostly female fans! Young women are very obviously totally supportive of this girl...and so am I! Kudoz to Cody for living her life by her own rules!

2. Belgian blog awards - women's blogs win the top prizes!
These are the winners:
First place: zattemadammen.be
Second place: talesfromthecrib.be
Third place: asfaltkonijn.be

Happy reading!