Marketing to Women Online

Webinar - How To Sell Credit Union Services to Women

Credit unions are discovering that focusing on women and their financial needs can be very profitable.

What can credit unions do to attract, retain, and get more business from their female members?  I"m glad you asked.

Find out in my upcoming webinar, How to Sell Credit Union Services to Women December 19, 2012 at 2pm EST.  In this webinar we'll cover topics like:

• Why focus on women
• How to attract, retain, and gain more business from your female members
• How to market to women without alienating men
• The differences in how men and women make financial decisions
• Why the cooperative "movement" is a perfect match with women's values
• The three reasons you lose a sale to a woman
• Marketing materials that work with women (including websites)

With every paid sign up you'll receive a free copy of my book Selling Financial Services to Women.

Register here.

Why Selling Life Insurance to Women Is So Important

Just in case you've had your head under a rock for the last decade or so, here's a news flash: Women are increasingly the main or co-breadwinner in their families.

In her article The New Breadwinners Heather Boushey shares some startling information and statistics:

Women have made great strides and are now more likely to be economically responsible for themselves and their families than ever before. In fact, for the first time in U.S. history, women are half of all U.S. workers and mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of American families  

In addition to their role as breadwinner, women are still carrying the majority of the load of caring for the home and kids.

This is just one of many reasons why women need life insurance now more than ever.  

How to Attract More Women Financial Advisers - Part I

It's a familiar refrain at financial companies  - "We'd love to hire more female advisers if we could just find more qualified women who are interested in the position."

Here's the thing...there are a lot of women who are interested in those positions, AND women bring a lot of natural advantages that make them ideally suited for the role of financial adviser.

So what's going on?  Where is the disconnect?  Why aren't there more women advisers in the industry?  And what can companies do about it?

How to attract women financial advisers

There are three secrets to attract and retain women financial advisers:

1. Create teams
2. Provide more training
3. Create a culture that values women and men

We'll look more at 2 and 3 in upcoming posts, but right now let's look at why creating teams can be a key way to attract not only women advisers, but women clients as well.

ING-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge Results

(ING-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge Winners with Girls Inc. President and CEO Judy Vredenburgh and ING Foundation President and Head of Corporate Responsibility Rhonda Mims)

How many of you out there would be happy with a 54.55% return on your investments over the past three years? 

Who could generate such impressive results?  Hedge fund managers?  The country's top stock brokers?   Super savvy financial advisors?  

Actually, these were the results of the most successful team in the ING-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge, the “NYC Investment Divas” based in New York City.

How Financial Companies Can Win with Women Business Owners

Women business owners face the same challenges that all business owners face. But how they handle those challenges, how they make decisions, and what they want from their financial partners can be different from their male counterparts.

For example, a recent American College survey found that small business owners prefer to work with financial advisors of the same sex.

Sixty-one percent of women small business owners prefer to speak to female financial advisors, compared to 24 percent of men. Seventy-five percent of men prefer to speak to male financial advisors, compared to 40 percent of women.

So for those 61% of women business owners who prefer to work with a female financial advisor, what can you do for them?  Do you have women financial advisors in your company?

Why Mothers Need to Put Themselves Financially First - New Study

Moms are famous for putting other people first, especially their families.  But when it comes to finances, moms need to put themselves and their retirement first.   It's actually one of the most loving things they can do for their family.

Here's why.  Women don't want to be a burden on their families, financial or otherwise. 

• 9 out of 10 women say they don't want to be a burden on their kids.
• Older Americans (age 44-75) are more afraid of running out of money than death. 

Women care deeply about NOT having to be dependent on others, and this includes moms.  The problem is, mothers face additional challenges when it comes to saving for retirement.

Retirement Revealed Study

A recent ING U.S. study Retirement Revealed found that mothers face additional hurdles when it comes to building their retirement security.  While the income gap between men and women has narrowed in recent years, mothers tend to spend more time out of the workforce due to caregiver responsibilities.  This reality reduces their earning and savings potential and also lowers Social Security benefits.  ING U.S.’s study found that:

• The majority (60%) of mothers do not feel prepared for retirement and almost half (46%) don’t know how to achieve their retirement goals. 
• Just over half (53%) of mothers have less than $25,000 saved in their employer-sponsored retirement plan. 
• Less than two-thirds (65%) of mothers are receiving their employer’s full company match compared to more than three-quarters (76%) of fathers.
• Only two-in-ten (20%) of respondents have a formal investment plan to meet their retirement goals.

How Banks Can Win By Marketing To Women

There are three key things banks need to do to be successful:

1. Attract new customers
2. Get more business from their existing customers
3. Retain their customers

When I work with bank clients, these are the three success metrics we usually focus on.  By marketing and selling to women, banks can move the needle on all three of these metrics.  Right now I want to focus on #2 and #3..

Get more business from your existing customers

One of the key factors for getting more business from your existing customers and for keeping those customers is to build a stronger relationship with those customers.

Does Marketing Financial Services to Women Really Work?

Some recent posts by myself and Roger Conant have sparked a really interesting conversation about marketing financial services to women.

I wrote Marketing Credit Unions to Women - Getting Men on Board.   Roger Conant wrote Marketing to Women Requires Cultural Change. 

Ron Shevlin at Snarketing 2.0 had a really interesting response - You Can't Market Financial Services to Women.

What's interesting is, I agree with some of Ron's points (not all, but some).   But I, of course, have reached a different conclusion.  

Marketing Credit Unions to Women - Getting Men On Board

I've talked and worked with many people in the credit union industry, and there is a lot of interest in reaching out to women consumers. In many ways credit unions are offering the kind of financial experience so many women are looking for.

And yet, there seems to be some hesitation, especially at the top,and often from men.  In my conversation with credit union board members, here are some of the concerns they have voiced:

• If we focus on women, will we turn off men?
• Will our efforts simply drive more women to us?  Will we end up with almost all women customers?
• Will we have to change everything we do?

The answer to all of the above is "No."

• When you do it right and meet the higher expectations of women, men benefit as well
• When you attract more women, along with the women comes the business of their spouses and familiy members
• You don't have to change things that are working for you.  Simple, specific changes to your customer service, sales process and marketing can have a BIG effect.

Why aren't more men getting on board with focusing on women?

Why Financial Companies Should Focus on Boomer Women

Many industries largely ignore boomer women. While this is not smart, the fact that the financial industry largely ignores boomer women is shocking.

Boomer women are going to control all the money - seriously.Three trends point to the importance of the boomer women market:

1. Boomer women are earning more money than ever. They are highly educated, moving up the corporate ladder and starting their own businesses (quite successfully I might add).
2. Boomer women are controlling more money than ever. Not only are they running the household finances, they are participating in long-term financial planning as well.
3. Boomer women are inheriting more money than ever. They're getting a double inheritance from their parents and from their husbands who they are outliving.