The Customer Is … Queen?

The Customer Is … Queen?

As the mantra goes, "The customer is king." But maybe we should say instead, "The customer is queen."

Women control almost $12 trillion of the $18 trillion in global consumer spending. When it comes to spending decisions, women are in control, and their influence is only growing. As retailers, it's critical you understand the massive opportunity before you to better connect women with your stores — and your store brands.

Nielsen reached out to women in 21 countries, including the United States and Canada, to understand what women watch and buy. Here are a few highlights:

Empowered yet stressed. U.S. women surveyed are pressured for time (53 percent), feel stressed and overworked (36 percent) and rarely have time to relax (37 percent). They feel slightly less stressed than women surveyed in other countries, especially in emerging economies.

When marketing to women, you should consider highlighting ways your store brands can ease stress and provide convenience. Develop time-saving product innovations that deliver multiple benefits and satisfy various needs.

Make it social — and relevant. Women are connected. The majority of Canadian women, for example, use the Internet for leisure and social activities (88 percent), as well as to research things they want to buy (84 percent). More than half (55 percent) of Canadian women surveyed said the Internet is their primary source of news and current events, while 44 percent of them consider themselves active on social media sites.

The takeaway? To connect with women, strategies should be social and relevant. With social networking, women typically follow brands more so than men, making the social networking tool relevant for discounts, deals and coupons. Women are much more likely to engage with media that seamlessly integrate into and improve their day-to-day lives. Be available and informed. Offer online 24/7 customer support, Twitter accounts and manufacturer-sponsored forums. Listen and learn.

In the know. Nielsen found that the No. 1 place surveyed women in the United States, Canada and other countries prefer to get information about new products is television. After television? U.S. women prefer word-of-mouth, while Canadian women prefer direct mail. When it comes to getting information about stores, however, U.S. women prefer word-of-mouth, followed by direct mail.

Don't underestimate the power of word-of-mouth advertising; combine the old with the new. Combine digital platforms with traditional high-reach and frequency vehicles to spread positive awareness about your stores and your store brands.

Quality drives loyalty. The most important driver of brand loyalty in 20 of the 21 countries examined, across 12 factors and across generations, is quality.

Although price and value are important, particularly to attract an initial purchase decision, long-term positioning must emphasize quality to earn female consumers' trust.

A plateau of hope. Women in emerging markets believe their daughters will have even more opportunities than they did relative to their mothers. However, in developed countries, including the United States and Canada, women believe their daughters will have the same opportunities, not more.

Connect to the bigger picture and give careful consideration to supporting organizations that help and empower women and share women's views on corporate social responsibility.

The growing economic power and influence of women sit in the center of your big business opportunity. Younger female heads of household have a propensity to buy store brands, and yes, you might have directed your marketing to women in the past. But you need to maximize the opportunity by continuing to adjust to meet women's evolving needs.

Straight Talk delivers monthly store brand insights from Nielsen, New York. Todd Hale is Nielsen's senior vice president, consumer & shopper insights.

' Women are much more likely to engage with media that seamlessly integrate into and improve their day-to-day lives. '

Note: The Nielsen "Women of Tomorrow" study was conducted between February and April 2011, polling nearly 6,500 women in 21 developed and emerging countries.