Email Marketing News and Tips

In the last issue of the
Boomerang Return, we explored what women do online. We identified the growing
opportunity for marketers to influence the purchasing decisions of these powerful
buyers and illustrated several key ways to reach them. They include:

1. Infiltrate their network 2. Make them feel understood 3. Build a relationship.

Now the key question: Once
you are firmly entrenched in their network and have built a solid foundation, how
do you sell them something?

If this is your goal, your
marketing strategy should address the four following factors: entertainment, a secure
and private environment, exclusive bargains, and convenience.

Entertainment Value
Compared to men, women place far more value on the entertainment aspect of an online
website or catalog. They want to feel like they are interacting with you when they
are shopping, and your website must cultivate this need.

Take Land’s End as an example.
Everyone knows they sell traditional clothing, luggage and products for the home.
But they sell things to women online in a very entertaining way.

They are the first apparel
company to offer My Virtual Model, a shopping tool that uses measurements
provided by the customer to create a 3-D model for her. The virtual mannequin gives
customers the capability to "try on" outfits in order to determine how
they look on their bodies. This spring they also introduced Swim Finder,
which allows women to search for swimsuits that deemphasize or emphasize "anxiety
zones" or certain parts of their body. Women simply can’t get enough of these
engaging online services. Land’s End has effectively enhanced the shopping experience,
while at the same time providing a unique and entertaining environment. This may
be why they currently operate the world’s largest (in business volume) apparel web
site.

Lowe’s Home Improvement
has also revamped its online services to provide women with an entertaining environment.
The Lowe’s online shopping experience includes a section on their website where
customers can read interactive tutorials on how to build things, view animated product
demonstrations, and utilize virtual planners and designers. With just a click of
the mouse, customers can use Lowe’s design tool to develop their gardens and landscape
them as they wish. Then they can use the project calculator to determine how much
it will cost.

This functionality far surpasses
that of traditional home improvement websites where customers must plow through
long lists of products with short descriptions and hard-to-see pictures. Women want
to see it all, but they must be able to envision what a product will look like in
their own setting and on their own terms.

Security and Privacy
A secure shopping experience is important to all online shoppers, particularly in
the wake of mounting concerns about identity theft, phishing, and other online scams.

Women in particular are
far more concerned with the online security of their financial information than
compared to men. According to a recent study by Forrester Research, 61% of young
women (under the age of 35) cited this as a reason not to buy online, whereas only
40% of men felt this way. Moreover, 72% of women aged 55 and older avoid online
shopping due to their misgivings about providing credit card information; only 59%
of men felt this way.

It is essential for you
to ensure your site’s security and privacy, and you must advertise this to women
at every opportunity. If they don’t hear it from you, then how will they know it’s
there? Here are some suggestions:

Bargains
Everybody loves finding a bargain and the Internet is perhaps one of the best places
to do so. Women in particular are notable bargain hunters and will often purchase
one product over another because they feel they are getting a better deal.

Since online retailers are
in direct competition with traditional brick & mortar outlets, it is important
to give women incentives to buy online. Women find real value in online discounts,
coupons, rebates, free gifts and free shipping. (But if they feel they are being
overcharged for shipping, they won’t hesitate to drive to a retail store to pick
up the product instead.)

Here are some suggestions
and examples for online-only offers:

Convenience
There is a reason women are shopping online and nine times out of ten it’s for convenience.
This includes: avoiding all the hassles of in-store shopping, including long lines
and large crowds; driving to and from the location; and the stress of not finding
a particular item. Females appreciate shopping online, at their own pace, and when
it’s convenient for them.

Here are five suggestions
to make shopping at your site more convenient for women:

Organize your site so items are easy to find and simple to buy. Allow women to "save" their grocery carts so they can come back later if they should choose to do so. Make the transaction short and to the point. Don’t ask for information you don’t need and allow them to painlessly purchase items without distractions, e.g., forcing them to register first. Oh, and follow-up with them. Thank them for their patronage and give them a receipt….women love receipts.

Conclusion
If you follow the recommendations about marketing to women we have discussed in
this series, then you will be on your way to breaking into their world and tapping
into their massive buying power. The Internet is no longer dominated by men and
the best marketers will recognize this and work to meet women’s unique needs.

Remember the seven steps
to success with women we’ve discussed in this series:

1. Infiltrate their network 2. Make them feel understood 3. Build a relationship 4. Entertain them 5. Ensure their privacy and security 6. Give them bargains 7. Offer convenience

Now is the time to take
a look at your current offerings. Consider what women want and fulfill their needs.
Then watch how they respond!

Let me leave you with one
final thought: Who ever said women were easy?