Word of mouth and Women from authors of The Soccer Mom Myth
Michele Miller and Holly Buchanan are the authors of the new book "The Soccer Mom Myth: Today's Female Consumer: Who She Really Is, W... Based on extensive research and work with businesses and corporations around the globe, Michele and Holly show why marketing to women has gone mainstream and is here to stay; the physical, environmental, and psychological factors that play a critical part in how and why she buys; and the importance of four different types of female consumers. Here, Michele and Holly share five tips for understanding word of mouth and women.
Do women and men differ in they way make recommendations or share information?
Women are three times more likely to share personal stories with a friend than men. Ask any woman how she found her hairdresser, doctor, or favorite wine, and she is likely to tell you that it was from a friend. Women are natural word of mouth spreaders. They are wired that way – with four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, women tap deeply into that area that is responsible for bonding and connecting with others.
What can you do to make increase women’s word of mouth?
Here’s the wrong way to do it: “Sign up three friends and we’ll give you a 15% discount.” This feels like you are asking her to sell out her friends. Instead, change the offer to “You and every one of your friends who signs up will get a 15% discount.” Now she has special access to a discount that she can pass along to friends. You’ve made her the hero. She can offer value to her trusted network. She has just increased her trust and standing.
What about asking women for referrals; good idea, or bad idea?
This is tricky. Because women are such great referrers, it seems logical. If you are doing business with her, and she values your relationship, it may seem perfectly acceptable to ask her for a list of friends who might benefit from your services. But that may not be a good idea, even if she thinks you’re the best thing since Starbuck’s drive-thru. She is the gatekeeper of her relationships. She’s not being stingy, she’s being protective. A better idea might be to give her a few of your business cards and say, “if you know of anyone who might benefit from my service, feel free to give them my card.”
If women talk more than men, how do we avoid bad word of mouth from them?
The “duh” answer is, meet or exceed expectations. The other answer is, communicate clearly and often. If something goes wrong, explain to her exactly why, then do your best to make amends. Basic, fundamental communication can go very far to deflect bad word of mouth.
How can you delight women?
Give her the personal touch. It does not have to be fancy or extravagant (though that’s always appreciated). A personal thank you note mailed the old-fashioned way may be enough to get her attention and touch her heart. Remember her kids’ names, and even more importantly, the names of her pets. Give her a gift she can pass along to family members. A financial advisor for my friend Holly knows Holly has two dogs. Every visit, he sends Holly home with two dog biscuits. He even knows their favorite – Snausages. Holly likes his work but what really endears him to her are the Snausages. It’s a personal touch that makes life better for those she loves.
Interested in a free copy of the book? Add a comment expressing your interest to this forum post. Deadline for the book giveaway is Friday May 16 at 5 pm CDT. We'll give 5 copies away (to be drawn randomly).
Want to read some of the book right now? A free chapter is attached as a PDF to this forum post.
Do women and men differ in they way make recommendations or share information?
Women are three times more likely to share personal stories with a friend than men. Ask any woman how she found her hairdresser, doctor, or favorite wine, and she is likely to tell you that it was from a friend. Women are natural word of mouth spreaders. They are wired that way – with four times as many connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, women tap deeply into that area that is responsible for bonding and connecting with others.
What can you do to make increase women’s word of mouth?
Here’s the wrong way to do it: “Sign up three friends and we’ll give you a 15% discount.” This feels like you are asking her to sell out her friends. Instead, change the offer to “You and every one of your friends who signs up will get a 15% discount.” Now she has special access to a discount that she can pass along to friends. You’ve made her the hero. She can offer value to her trusted network. She has just increased her trust and standing.
What about asking women for referrals; good idea, or bad idea?
This is tricky. Because women are such great referrers, it seems logical. If you are doing business with her, and she values your relationship, it may seem perfectly acceptable to ask her for a list of friends who might benefit from your services. But that may not be a good idea, even if she thinks you’re the best thing since Starbuck’s drive-thru. She is the gatekeeper of her relationships. She’s not being stingy, she’s being protective. A better idea might be to give her a few of your business cards and say, “if you know of anyone who might benefit from my service, feel free to give them my card.”
If women talk more than men, how do we avoid bad word of mouth from them?
The “duh” answer is, meet or exceed expectations. The other answer is, communicate clearly and often. If something goes wrong, explain to her exactly why, then do your best to make amends. Basic, fundamental communication can go very far to deflect bad word of mouth.
How can you delight women?
Give her the personal touch. It does not have to be fancy or extravagant (though that’s always appreciated). A personal thank you note mailed the old-fashioned way may be enough to get her attention and touch her heart. Remember her kids’ names, and even more importantly, the names of her pets. Give her a gift she can pass along to family members. A financial advisor for my friend Holly knows Holly has two dogs. Every visit, he sends Holly home with two dog biscuits. He even knows their favorite – Snausages. Holly likes his work but what really endears him to her are the Snausages. It’s a personal touch that makes life better for those she loves.
Interested in a free copy of the book? Add a comment expressing your interest to this forum post. Deadline for the book giveaway is Friday May 16 at 5 pm CDT. We'll give 5 copies away (to be drawn randomly).
Want to read some of the book right now? A free chapter is attached as a PDF to this forum post.
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Soccer Mom Myth.pdf, 416 KB
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ann Wendell on -
Great post Jackie! I'm a Nurse Talent Scout for Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, WA and am working on positioning Swedish as the employer of choice for outstanding nurses. A large percentage of the nursing community are women and so I was particularly interested in the points you made. Our referral reward program is one area where we've been learning a lot about the emotions involved with asking for access to someone's trusted network. One option we're using is to run our program through H3.com which allows the referent complete control over how and to whom they send information about the program. If someone a couple of degrees away from the original referent (having received the info from someone she knows and trusts) is hired, everyone along the referral path shares in the monetary reward (which can be donated to the charity of her choice.)
I'm heading over to your blog to see what other gems I can find!
Ann Wendell
Talent Acquisition
Swedish Medical Center
ann.wendell@swedish.org
www.swedish.org/referralreward
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on -
Hi Ann,
So glad you found the tips to be helpful. Your referral reward program is an excellent template for others to follow. Giving the referring party complete control and giving everyone a piece of the reward is the right kind of momentum to create for a successful word-of-mouth strategy. The biggest mistake people make when trying to create referral programs is in rewarding a woman for "handing over" names of her friends. Everyone has to win!
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Permalink Reply by Jean Sexton on -
Interesting and helpful info. I work in marketing for Biltmore Estate and we know how important women are in making/influencing travel decisions for not only their own families, but also friends, co-workers, on-line communities--whatever the group, women are sharing their experiences.
We have a "Mom-WOM" program that has been successful, and these five tips correspond to what we've discovered in building relationships with mom influencers over the past year. Good to see a book out on the topic, and thanks for posting the insights. Supportive research is always helpful in building a case for social media.
Jean Sexton
Marketing Communications Manager
The Biltmore Company
www.biltmore.com
jsexton@biltmore.com
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on
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You have a great job at a gorgeous location, Jean! I'd love to talk with you some more about your "Mom-WOM" program. Holly and I mention more than once in "The Soccer Mom Myth" that when you market to women, it's not always direct marketing. Especially in the case of vacation planning, her own needs often come last - the family's wants and needs come first! You're also not just marketing to her, but to generations beyond - give the children in her group a memorable time, and they'll bring THEIR children to the Biltmore estate. Excellent long-term strategy.
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Permalink Reply by Karthik Murali on -
Amazing article....It just comes to show much marketing expense can be reduced , if marketed to women , provided the wording is right.....
and i'd love to read ur entire book..
looking forward to it..
thankss
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on
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Hi Karthik,
Word-of-mouth is definitely a powerful marketing tool, especially when it comes to women. And you're right, it can't be utilized with the tiniest of marketing budgets. Just by giving your customer a great and memorable experience, it could be all the advertising you'll ever have to do!
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Brown on -
Brilliant! Good to see that someone understands us! Bravo! I help automotive sales people improve their skills. They NEED this book!
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Permalink Reply by Laurie Brown on
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Actually come to think of it every sales person needs this book
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on
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I'm SO glad you said this, Laurie! Great customer experience and smart marketing to women knows no boundaries when it comes to industry. There are certainly some who need help more than others, and the automotive industry is one! I imagine you're going great guns if you're smart about dealing with female customers... hope the book will help you with your consulting.
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Permalink Reply by Jan on -
Jackie -
It's nice to see what I know in writing. This fits my personal "word of mouth" to a T. I have never sent a list of my friend's emails to anyone, no matter what the incentive. But if I really am impressed with the product or service I'll tell my friends and if they are interested I'll send them a link to get in on the goods on their own. Even though we sell sports collectibles and memorabilia I think most of our buyers are women. In the next few days I'll look at our customer list and see if that's the case... if so, it will totally change the way I word our eflyers and sales promotions in the future!
Thanks!
Jan
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on
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Thanks for reading, Jan. You're dead-on about how women connect with friends and family when it comes to product/service recommendation. It's fascinating that so many of your customers are women, given your business category. See? Even I fall into the trap of stereotyping from time to time! Keep us posted on what you find in your database - and good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Michele Miller on
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Thanks for your comment, Callie. And you're right - evangelizing is what marketing to women is all about. Isn't it amazing that more businesses don't get this?
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