Do Moms Like Your Web Site?
A 2005 Lucid Marketing study found that your small enterprise can suffer if your business Web site doesn’t measure up with Moms.
“We found that 62 percent of Moms think less of companies with unappealing Web sites that do not speak to her interests,” says Kevin Burke, president of Lucid Marketing.
Why should you care? Because women hold the purse strings. In the United States alone, women collectively earn $1 trillion a year. They’re responsible for the majority of spending decisions – from groceries to automobiles.
If you’re not working on ways to reach Moms and other women consumers, then you’re not maximizing your business’s potential. Just look at the sales your small business could be missing by not catering to women:
Women are responsible for 85 percent of the consumer spending
Women make 70 percent of all travel decisions
Women complete 57 percent of electronics purchases
Women buy 65 percent of all new automobiles
Women are doing much of that shopping and spending online. They now account for 51.7 percent of Internet users.
So if you’re looking to boost your online sales, look to women.
What You Can Do
Follow these recommendations to wow the female shoppers who stop by your business Web site.
1. The Internet Research Group reports that 47 percent of female Internet users say they search the Web for product reviews and recommendations. The Lucid Marketing study found that Moms shop online for convenience, price and product selection.
That means your Web site must:
Be easy to navigate
Provide in-depth product information
Offer maximum product selection
Feature product reviews and recommendations
Maintain competitive pricing
2. In the Lucid Marketing study, 46 percent of Moms said that they found Web sites through search engines. So ramp up your search engine advertising and maximize your Web pages for search engine hits.
3. Moms in the Lucid Marketing study were clear about barriers to online purchasing:
60 percent don’t want to pay for shipping
44 percent wanted to see the product before buying
42 percent said that purchasing at a local store was more convenient
Remove some or all of those barriers and you’ll boost your online sales to women.
4. Once women find your Web site, e-mail proves to be an effective way of keeping them coming back. The Lucid Marketing study revealed that nearly half of Moms sign up to receive future e-mail messages from sites where they shopped.
5. To learn more about marketing to women, including Moms, check out the free online Success Skills Seminar “How To Market To Women” at www.entrepreneurialconnection.com.
