News and Information We’d Like You to Know
They have purchasing power and decision making authority. They work, they clean, they exercise, they cook, they go online, they drive their kids to soccer practice, they blog, they shop. They shop. They shop. They make money. In fact, the number of women earning $100,000 or more has tripled in the last 10 years and 43% of people with assets in excess of half a million dollars are women, (Business Week, February 14, 2005). How do you reach this powerful demographic?
Women are busy. They take their job as Chief Purchasing Officer very seriously – they research. Not only do they research online – eMarketer.com predicts that females will make up 51.8% of all U.S. Internet users in 2008 – they read magazines and want to know everything about the product before making the purchase. They talk to their friends, read reviews and are probably more influenced by their best friend than by your best salesperson.
Public relations, product placement and design, and sponsorships should be a part of the marketing mix used to reach these consumers. If Oprah endorses a product, you can guarantee the sales will spike! Design a product to meet a woman’s needs – then color it pink and watch it fly off the shelves! Women want respect, common courtesy and are smart consumers. They want someone they can build a professional relationship with, are value-oriented and will pay to get what they want.
Remember, 50 is the new 30. Today, women over 50 account for 19% of the adult population and 15% of the total population. Adults 50+ buy $2 trillion worth of goods and services each year (Gary Onks, SoldOnSeniors, Inc.) and spend 2.5 times as much as younger consumers on a per capita basis (Ken Dychtwald, Age Power). People 50 and older control fully 79% of the financial assets in this country!
With these statistics, there is no doubt marketers who ignore the all-powerful Boomer Women and focus on the younger audience will see sales decrease in the coming years. Take this knowledge as an opportunity to reexamine your products, plans and budgets, and fine-tune them to the ever-changing demographic of women consumers.