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What You Must Know About Marketing to Baby Boomers

March 13th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

As they enter their senior years, Baby Boomers are still one of the most powerful consumer demographics in the U.S. What do you need to know to target Boomers today? MediaPost recently spotlighted some research from Navigate Boomer Media on what Boomers are doing, buying and interested in. Here’s where the opportunities are:

Online Marketing

If you’re only marketing to Boomers in the newspaper or print media, you’re missing the boat. You might be surprised to learn that the average Boomer spends more time online than the average teenager (15 hours per week vs. 13 hours). Put your money into online advertising to reach this market.

Transition Time

Baby Boomers are currently experiencing huge life transitions as they enter their 50s and 60s. If you want to capture their emotions during these times, Navigate Boomer Media advises your marketing should include one or more of these three messages:

  1. We understand you.
  2. We make your life easier.
  3. We make your life better.

Wealth Transfer

Baby Boomers will be inheriting money from their parents and will spend it on luxuries including physical rejuvenation and health-related costs such as home gyms, trainers and spa visits; luxury travel; luxury cars (including Porsche, Mercedes and Corvette) and second homes.

Empty Nesters

As their children move out, Boomers will take advantage of the empty nest to pursue their passions, including traveling, pursuing education and volunteer opportunities, starting a business, and remodeling or redecorating the home, often including a home office. Many will also turn to pets (especially dogs) for companionship.

Boomers as Caregivers

With their parents living longer, many Boomers will find themselves in the unusual situation of caring for aging parents long past the time when prior generations were doing so. This creates opportunities for businesses that provide them with support, time off, or pampering to rejuvenate them to face the challenges of caregiving.

Divorce Means Change

For Boomers whose transition includes divorce, demands will include products and services to help them downsize their households and adapt to single life. Sales of condominiums and active adult communities will grow. Wealth management services will be in demand. Travel is popular with this group, with “girlfriend getaways” a hot commodity.

The Grandparent Life

Many Boomers are grandparents, and they’re ready to spend on travel with the grandkids (adventure or education-themed trips and cruises are popular). They also buy books and toys for their grandkids and start savings or college accounts for them.

Menopause and More

Menopausal Boomer women will seek products and services to help them learn about menopause, be comfortable and continue an active lifestyle. Information and education about menopause and solutions for its challenges will be a hot commodity.

How can your business market to Baby Boomers?

Image by Flickr user dannybirchall (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Business Development, Generational Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

Does Your Retail Business Need a Mobile App?

March 11th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Does your small business need a mobile app? If you’re a retailer or etailer, maybe so. A new study from Flurry measured the time consumers spent using more than 1,800 iOS and Android shopping apps between December 2011 and December 2012.

The study divided apps into five categories:

  1. Retailer Apps (such as Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Saks 5th Avenue)
  2. Price Comparison Apps (such as RedLaser and Grocery iQ)
  3. Purchase Assistant Apps (such as ShopSavvy and ShopAdvisor)
  4. Online Marketplace Apps (such as eBay and Amazon)
  5. Daily Deals Apps (such as Groupon and Living Social)

Time spent on all five types of apps grew quite a bit, but time spent with retailer apps skyrocketed the most (by 525 percent). That percentage far outstrips the overall growth in the use of both shopping apps (274 percent) and apps as a whole (132 percent).

The time consumers spent with Price Comparison and Purchase Assistant apps also grew significantly, by 247 percent and 228 percent, respectively. Even Online Marketplace and Daily Deals apps grew, though at 178 percent and 126 percent, respectively, the growth rate was far less.

The big winner in the growth of app use is retailers. Overall, in 2012 consumers spent 27 percent of app use time on retail apps (up from 15 percent in 2011). By contrast, the share of time spent on Daily Deals shrank from 20% in 2011 to 13% in 2012, and the share of time spent on Online Marketplace apps decreased from 25% in 2011 to 20% in 2012.

Flurry concludes that smart retailers will begin examining their customer relationships through the “mobile-first” lens. The rise in mobile app use—and especially in retail app use—shows that it’s more important than ever to extend your customer relationships to a variety of channels.

Instead of focusing solely on getting customers into your store—or even onto your website—you need to also focus on attracting them via their mobile devices. “In the new mobile app economy, devices are always with you, always on and always connected,” Flurry writes. Yes, 95 percent of sales still occur in physical stores, but mobile allows you to intercept customers in store aisles and affect their purchasing decisions before they ever reach the cash register. Consider tapping into apps that let customers save their credit card info, apps that let them ship an item to their homes, or apps that let them scan an item with their phones to place an order.

How are you using mobile apps to enhance your customers’ retail and e-tail experience?

Image by Flickr user Dru Bloomfield – At Home in Scottsdale (Creative Commons)

 

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Are You Marketing to Hispanic Men?

March 8th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

You know that Hispanics are a huge, and growing, market in the United States—but did you know that your business might be missing out on profits if you aren’t targeting an unexpected group of Hispanic customers? I’m talking about Hispanic men.

While conventional wisdom might suggest Hispanic moms are the primary decision-makers about household purchases, a new study from Mintel reports that 42 percent of Hispanic men and 55 percent of Hispanic fathers are primary decision-makers on household expenditures.

The older the men are, the more likely they are to be key decision-makers in the family or household. Among Hispanic men aged 45 to 64, 54 percent make the final household purchasing decisions; among those aged 35 to 44, 50 percent do; and among those 25 to 34, 44 percent do.

“Everywhere we look, marketers are directing their focus on Latinas, but brands are forgetting to talk to Hispanic men,” explained Leylha Ahuile, senior multicultural analyst at Mintel, in announcing the research. “Ignoring Hispanic men is an unwise mistake as this growing group, like most men in the U.S., has taken on a greater role with household chores, caring for children and shopping for the household.”

In addition to having the primary say in household purchases, Hispanic men from higher-income households were the most likely to actually take on shopping duties. More than three-fourths (78 percent) of Hispanic men in homes with incomes over $100K  report purchasing clothing or food products in the last year, compared to 67 percent of those with household incomes under $25K.

How can marketers more effectively target this niche market?

  • Don’t stereotype. Two-thirds of Hispanic men believe that advertisers unfairly stereotype them. In contrast, half of them believe that the media largely presents positive images of Hispanic women. If necessary, enlist an advertising agency or copywriter familiar with Hispanic culture to ensure that your ads are culturally sensitive.
  • Focus on value. Discussing how Hispanic men, and Hispanic dads in particular, can gain good value from buying your products or services can set you apart from the competition.  Value doesn’t just mean low prices; Hispanic men are more willing than Hispanic women to pay a little more for their favorite brands, so showing them how your product or service is worth the extra cost can pay off.
  • Use sampling. Some 44 percent of Hispanic men say they bought a new product after first sampling it in a store.
  • Market with social media. Word-of-mouth, both online and off, is important to Hispanic men. Some 42 percent say they made a purchase after a friend or family recommended the product. Make it easy for your target customers to pass on emails, share information about your product on social media or otherwise let their friends and family know what they think of your product.
  • Use niche media. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of Hispanic men say they are more likely to be influenced by ads on Spanish-language TV than on English-language TV. Also consider advertising in Spanish-language magazines, newspapers and websites.

Image by Flickr user Moodboard (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

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5 Key Digital Trends That Matter to Your Business

March 6th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

How will smartphones, tablets, social media and other digital trends affect the way you interact with your customers, market your business to consumers and sell your products and services in the coming year? comScore’s new 2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus report took a closer look at what trends will influence business in 2013 and beyond. Here’s what the study found:

  1. Social media matures: Social networking in the U.S. is still dominated by Facebook; consumers spent 5 out of every 6 minutes spent online on social media. In addition to Facebook, which is maturing by focusing on new ways to monetize, smaller social media players making waves in 2013 will include LinkedIn, Yelp, Zynga, Groupon, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram (which is now part of Facebook).
  2. Search flattens out: Although Google is still the strong leader in search engines, Bing gained some ground in 2012. That was also the year when more and more searches began taking place on mobile platforms, signaling a possible flattening of the desktop search market.
  3. Online video matures: comScore says the U.S. online video market is beginning to mature in terms of consumption, but still has a ways to go in terms of monetization. There is more demand for online video advertising space than there is inventory available, so comScore believes this advertising channel will continue to grow, and will become better at precisely targeting viewers.
  4. Smartphone and tablets gain traction: In 2012, smartphones finally surpassed 50 percent market penetration, and Android phones surpassed 50 percent of the smartphone market. Tablet use also surged; as of December 2012, some 52.4 million Americans owned tablets.
  5. Ecommerce and mcommerce grow: Despite continued economic uncertainty, retail ecommerce grew in 2012, outpacing the growth of brick-and-mortar retail by fourfold. Overall, U.S. retail and travel-related ecommerce rose 13 percent from 2011 to 2012, reaching $289 billion. In addition, mcommerce is starting to emerge, with comScore estimating that mcommerce transactions (both on smartphones and tablets) accounted for approximately 11 percent of ecommerce sales.

Is your business taking advantage of trends in social media, mobile device use, online video viewing and online commerce? If not, 2013 is the year to make your move. You can learn more about all of these trends by downloading a free copy of the 2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focusreport.

Image by Flickr user Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Innovation, Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Thought Leadership, Web Design | 4 Comments »

Target Market: How to Reach African-American Consumers

March 4th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

With Black History Month just behind us, multicultural marketing agency Ameredia took a look at the buying power of the African-American consumer in America. Here are some of the interesting statistics they cite regarding the power of black consumers.

  • The total African American population is 42.6 million, or 14,468,417 households.
  • Cities with a large proportion of African Americans include New York City (the leader, with a population of 3.2 million African Americans), Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Memphis, Detroit and Houston.
  • The median household income of African American families is $33,460.
  • Some 24 million African Americans age 25 and up are pursuing higher education. 18.3 percent African Americans have a bachelor’s degree or higher; 32.6 percent have an associate’s degree or have attended some college.

African Americans make more shopping trips than the average consumer. They are more likely than average to buy beauty and ethnic products, children’s cologne, toiletries for both men and women, frozen meats, and fresh vegetables and grains.

As shoppers, African Americans are influencers and trendsetters whose purchasing habits affect others. They set trends in their purchase of apparel, autos and food and in their use of social media.
Speaking of social media, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of African American adults have a profile on more than one social media network. Twitter is extremely popular with African Americans.

When they are using social media, African Americans are likely to be doing it on a mobile device. More than 54 percent own smartphones, and these consumers are heavy users of mobile data—they’re likely to be texting, emailing and surfing the Web, along with downloading music, videos and photos to their devices.

How can you reach this important niche market?

  • Be positive. Ameredia cites Nielsen research that 51 percent of African Americans say they are more likely to buy a product if its advertising portrays the black community in a positive manner.
  • Use niche media. A whopping 91 percent of African Americans in the Nielsen study say that black media is more relevant to them than generic media outlets. Advertise with cable TV shows, radio shows, blogs, websites and publications targeting the black community.
  • Don’t “lump” all African Americans into one category. As Ameredia points out, the black community in the U.S. comes from many different backgrounds, including Africans, African Americans, Afro-Latin Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. “Each distinct group contributes their unique diverse cultural experience, language, identity and migratory journey to the mix,” Ameredia cautions.
  • Know your market. Depending on where your business is located, you may have many different subcategories of African American consumers in your market, and you will need to understand how each group wants to be communicated with, sold to and marketed to.

Image by Flickr user Abode of Chaos (Creative Commons)

 

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Meet the Mobile Super-Shoppers

March 1st, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Is your small business reaching out to Hispanic consumers on their mobile devices? If not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. New research reported by eMarketer shows that Hispanic consumers are not only far more likely than non-Hispanics to use mobile devices, but are also far more likely to use them to shop.

A study from Acosta Sales & Marketing found that Hispanic consumers, in particular, are more likely than the average shopper to use a smartphone (51 percent of Hispanics vs. 41 percent of all consumers), regularly use text messaging (47 percent vs. 42 percent) and use mobile apps (19 percent vs. 14 percent).

According to a study from Leo Burnett and Lapiz, Hispanic consumers are 7 percent more likely than non-Hispanic consumers to use their mobile phones to shop (56 percent vs. 33 percent of non-Hispanics). They’re also more likely to shop with a tablet (43 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 25 percent of non-Hispanics).

The same Leo Burnett/Lapiz study reports that Hispanics are far more likely than non-Hispanics to make shopping a social activity, whether they’re shopping online or off:

  • Nearly half (48 percent) of Hispanics use social networking sites as part of their shopping activities, while only 31 percent of non-Hispanics do so.
  • Hispanics are twice as likely to share their opinions of products or brands and write product reviews on social media sites (36 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 18 percent of Non-Hispanics).
  • Hispanics are more than twice as likely to reach out to friends and family for help with shopping decisions (37 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 17 percent of non-Hispanics).

What do these numbers mean to you? First, with Hispanics a growing segment of the U.S. population, there’s scarcely a business out there that shouldn’t be reaching out to them. To attract these super-shoppers, consider:

  • Creating a mobile app for your business that lets customers do something more easily, whether that’s getting product quotes or making purchases directly on their phones.
  • Making it easy for consumers to share information from your website or ecommerce site or social media accounts with friends and family, whether via email, social media or text messaging.
  • Have an active presence in social media and make sure your business is represented on ratings and review sites.
  • Taking advantage of text messaging, since Hispanic consumers are actively engaged in it. But be careful: Don’t overstep your welcome or send too many texts.

Image by Flickr user moodboard photography (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Branding, Business Development, Email Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Technology | No Comments »

Women Step Up as Mobile Users, Customers

February 27th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

If you’re a woman small business owner, these figures probably won’t surprise you—but they could open your eyes to a marketing opportunity you’ve been missing out on. A study by VibrantNation of women aged 45-60 found that contrary to what many marketers may think, they are major buyers and users of technology. In 2012, VibrantNation reports, these women bought more new mobile and Web-enabled devices than ever before. In addition, they bought plenty of devices for the other members of their families.

Here’s some of what VibrantNation found about “younger Boomer” women:

  • 67% of them reported having purchased a new smartphone in the last 12 months.
  • 55% of them reported having bought a new iPad, tablet computer or e-reader in 2012.

VibrantNation divides 45-to-60 women into several overlapping market segments. While most women fall into more than one of these categories, all of them used their mobile devices to manage multiple roles and relationships in their lives.

  1. Active Empty-Nesters have plenty of disposable income. They like to spend money on tech toys, as well as on frequent travel. As a result, they love having the latest in mobile devices to stay connected on their trips.
  2. Multi-generational Caregivers use their devices to stay in touch with, schedule activities for, and keep track of up to four generations of their own families at all times.
  3. Midlife Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders live a life that requires them to be connected wherever they go (but I don’t have to tell you that, do I?).

The involvement of young Boomer women with their families is key to their mobile use. For example, women in the survey who had adult children were very involved in their adult children’s lives, to the extent of helping them choose or pay for technology devices. As younger adults struggle with reduced job opportunities and incomes, this trend is likely to continue. One-fourth of the respondents say they bought an adult child a smartphone or tablet computer in 2012.

Women who were involved in caring for multiple generations were also likely to invest in mobile devices for those family members. Some 8 percent of respondents reported buying a grandchild a tablet computer in 2012, and 8 percent had bought a desktop or laptop computer, tablet or smartphone for an aging parent.

Undoubtedly, as a woman entrepreneur, mobile devices from smartphones to laptops are an integral part of your daily life. So if your business’s target market includes women in the 45-to-60 age group, stop and think about how you like to interact with businesses, be marketed to, or research and buy products on your mobile devices. What do you like (and dislike) about way the brands you interact with approach mobile marketing or ecommerce? What kinds of information are you looking for that you can’t find? What would you like to do (buy, review, connect) on your mobile device that you can’t do?

Apply those lessons from your own life to the way you market to women Boomers, and you’ll be more likely to succeed at winning them over.

Image by Flickr user Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com (Creative Commons)

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More Women Business Owners Pass the $10M Mark

February 25th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

For a long time, the number of women-owned businesses whose revenues top $1 million has been far disproportionate to the numbers of women starting and running their own businesses. According to U.S. Census data, the number of women-owned firms grew by 28.6 percent between 2002 and 2012, outpacing the 24.4 percent increase the number of U.S. businesses overall. But while women are launching businesses in ever greater numbers, just 2 percent of women-owned companies have sales over $1 million.

But there’s some good news hidden in that statistic. Recently, American Express OPEN and Womenable decided to drill deeper into Census data about women-owned businesses that had over $1 million in sales. They broke the businesses into three revenue categories: $1 million to $4.9 million, $5 million to $9.9 million, and $10 million-plus. Their findings, published in Growing Under the Radar: An Exploration of the Achievements of Million-Dollar Women-Owned Firms, show that among the over-$10-million category, the number of women-owned businesses has surged by 56.6 percent since 2002.

That’s 47 percent higher than the 38.4 percent increase in all businesses (both male- and female-owned) with sales of over $10 million. And in addition to outpacing $10-million-plus firms overall in growth, women-owned $10-million-plus firms are growing at a whopping 98 percent faster pace than women-owned businesses overall.

How do the $1-million-plus women-owned businesses break down overall? Some 87 percent have under $5 million in sales, and 10 percent fall in the $5 million to $9.9 million range. Only 8 percent of the $1-million-plus women-owned businesses make $10 million or more. That’s similar to the way that the majority of all small businesses fall on the lower end of the sales spectrum.

There’s good news of another kind in the study’s findings. While in the past, Womenable president and CEO Julie Weeks says, most women with firms in the $10-million-plus category had inherited the businesses from fathers or husbands, today most of them are heading companies they started themselves. Womenable believes the greater visibility of and support for high-profile women in business and government is a contributing factor in the growth.

So in what industries are women most likely to head $10-million-plus companies?   Wholesale trade (20 percent of women-owned firms there have passed the $10 million mark), finance/insurance (12 percent), transportation/ warehousing (11 percent), and arts/entertainment/recreation (10 percent) topped the list. Womenable says the fact that these industries tend to be more scalable than most has undoubtedly helped the women-owned firms in them expand.

Image by Flickr user (Creative Commons)

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Angel Capital May Get Easier for Women Business Owners to Find

February 22nd, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you a woman business owner seeking angel investor capital? Harvard Business Review recently reported on a growing trend: More women are becoming angel investors. Studies show that women make up just 10-15% of angel investors and venture capitalists.

Why does this matter? Because angel investors tend to put their money where their comfort zone lies—and unfortunately, for most men that still means investing in businesses owned and run by other men.

The good news with the growth of women angels is that the trend works both ways. As more women become angel investors, they too are likely to invest where they feel comfortable—with other women. HBR cites data from the Kauffman Foundation showing that venture capital funds that include women invest in women business owners 70 percent of the time. As women-owned businesses grow, they create the next generation of women who have the potential to become sophisticated angel investors.

If you’re seeking angel capital from women angels, here are some networks to know about:

  • The Pipeline Fellowship program trains women philanthropists to become angel investors and helps connect them with businesses that have a socially or environmentally responsible mission.
  • Astiais a global nonprofit dedicated to building women leaders and accelerating the growth of high-potential women-led startups. The organization trains entrepreneurs and angel investors and helps bring entrepreneurs in search of funding together with investors.
  • Golden Seeds has an angel network of 250 men and women dedicated to investing in women-run companies. The angel network is the fourth largest in the country and was the third most active in terms of deals done in 2011. The Golden Seeds Knowledge Institute trains women to become angel investors and venture capitalists.

All three of the organizations hold events and pitch meetings where entrepreneurs can meet with potential angels to promote their businesses.

What else do you need to know? Although these networks are focused on accelerating the growth of women-owned businesses, they’re also focused on getting good returns for investors. That means your business model, business plan and ROI for the investors will need to be top-notch. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t automatically give you an edge. While there may be a perception that women angels are easier to get money from or will be more sympathetic and less numbers-driven, in reality today’s women angels will be just as tough on you as would any man—so you’d better know your stuff.

Image by Flickr user temari09 (Creative Commons)

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Is the Multitasking Myth Hurting Your Productivity?

February 20th, 2013 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you a mad multitasker? You know what I mean—switching back and forth between 12 open programs on your computer while simultaneously talking on one phone, checking texts on a second phone and eating lunch at your desk. Women business owners are particularly prone to multitasking mania, probably because many of us are used to juggling dozens of tasks (overseeing the kids’ homework while working on the laptop and folding laundry) in our home lives. But that doesn’t mean we’re better at it than men.

Studies on male vs. female multitasking abilities are many and controversial. For every study showing that women are better at it, there’s one claiming men are. But the real question isn’t who’s better at multitasking, but whether multitasking is helpful or hurtful.

A raft of studies done in labs have indicated that while multitasking actually decreases your productivity, people tended to believe the opposite—that they were more effective when multitasking. An Ohio State University study went one step beyond to find out why people think multitasking is more productive. Researchers found that:

  • People feel more productive because they are emotionally satisfied by multitasking.
  • People tended to multitask when they had a specific task to do (such as studying); in other words, multitasking provided a way to avoid focusing on something that was rather unpleasant.
  • As a result, people feel emotionally satisfied by multitasking, which leads them to keep doing it.
  • As they continue multitasking, it develops into a habit, and the positive emotions that come from it plus the habit-forming nature makes them keep doing it.

So what can you do to break your multitasking habit? Like any habit, it will take time (about 21 days) to break the old habit and institute new ones. Try setting rules like shutting down your email and only checking it a few times a day; letting calls go to voice mail and checking them at set times; shutting your office door for short periods when you need to concentrate; and using online tools like Freedom or Concentrate to keep you from wasting time on the Internet.

Yes, I realize that these habits may be hard to institute, but start small. You’d be surprised at what just a couple hours a day of not multitasking can do for your productivity—and your business.

Image by Flickr user deux-chi (Creative Commons)

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