A Marketing Miracle Cure: Gamma Women
October 03, 2008
With the economy turned on its head, marketers just don't know what to do anymore. But researchers may have discovered the cure to this ailing market—interconnected women. And marketing to a web of women might just stick.
By Karen Yi
With the impending financial crisis and the instability of the economy, marketers are starting to panic. Marketing researchers—such as Lisa Johnson, CEO of Reach Group and co-author of The Gamma Factor, and Aliza Freud, CEO of SheSpeaks—have diagnosed the ailing sales market and seem to have found the miracle cure—women.
Whether it's limited funding that is forcing companies to find alternative marketing strategies or the technological shift in the way consumers exchange information, marketers are slowly waking up to this trend. Statistics show that women make over 80% of today's consumer decisions. And with the loom of the Internet and technology, they are becoming much more connected and are communicating with each other at all levels—via blogging, texting and networking—in regards to their buying decisions.
Gamma "Buy"
This web of interconnected purchasing females is what Johnson calls "Gamma women." In fact, over 51% of women aged 18-65 are Gamma women, classified as those individuals who are highly involved in their communities and are constantly creating and sharing information. Freud describes Gamma's as "everyday women who understand the importance of [their] consumer role." They are everyday experts that collaborate and share with other women.
"Because of uncertainty in the economy, women are being more selective than ever as to where they spend their money," says Kelly McCormick, expert on selling to women and an online columnist for Sales & Marketing Management. "Today marketers and sellers have one chance to get it right with her or she’s gone." (McCormick recently covered a similar topic in her September column Gender Bender: The Power of a Woman's Testimonial.)
And companies seem to be missing that chance lately. According to research, women report that they are no longer seeing much brand differentiation, and that companies need to reach out to them in a more meaningful and powerful way. "The Holy Grail of Gamma women," says Johnson, "is when you're able to connect and inspire a woman to say, 'that's me.'"
Gamma women are about being authentic and making real connections. "She wants to see herself in an ad," says McCormick, "she wants to see her real situation in an ad."
The Pursuit of Loyalty
Creating an open dialogue and establishing a customer-to-brand relationship with Gamma women increases loyalty and company returns. From woman to woman, information spreads like wildfire, according to Nancy Weber, chief marketing officer of Meredith Publishing Group. "Gamma women are passionate, and passionate women are loyal," she says, "and they'll be bringing their friends."
But, for marketers, this could either be the incendiary spark or the disaster that scorches their reputations. "Women will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly," says Freud, "and they'll tell you more than you ever wanted to know." Freud says that with technology, there are "so many more ways for consumers to block out messages," and with both companies and consumers having limited budgets, "it is critical to really understand how to engage and build advocacy amongst consumers."
Four Points of Engagement
As the CEO of SheSpeaks, an online word-of-mouth network where women test products for direct feedback to companies, Aliza Freud says there are four strategies marketers can employ to engage Gamma women:
• Purpose. Marketers need to bring women together through a common purpose or a shared passion. Women look for value and want products that will make her life better.
•Connection. Connecting women, both socially and with the brand, will bring goodwill to the brand. It's all about direct dialogue. Women tell each other where to shop; they are common day experts that reference each other for quick information.
•Recognition. Women need to feel special about their participation and engagement with a brand. The relationship between sharing content and being recognized becomes their form of social currency. One way companies can make women feel special is by exclusive access to certain products or services.
•Impact. Companies have to let women know that they've been heard and that they have impact and influence. Companies need to tell women, "We want to know what you think."
"If the old paradigm of advertising is that the brand talks to the consumer, what's shifted is that these women understand they have more control in this new environment," says Freud. Gamma women are raising the stakes for marketers out there, demanding value and authenticity with their brands and products. "The Gammas are definitely rising in power and influence, they are raising the bar and holding companies to the fire," says Weber.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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