by Yvonne DiVita
2013 is on the horizon. I love this time of year. Our social media channels are overflowing with Christmas joy, everyone is vowing to eat just one more cookie and then no more!, and our businessfolk are either panicking because they aren't ready for 2013, or happy with the plans in place for this next year.
Let's talk about marketing in 2013 - some of it focused on marketing to women, and some of it focused on trends. I'm curious about the trends - will women drive these trends? Will we embrace them or ignore them? We'll see.
#1 - marketing to women is still a viable approach to all of your plans for 2013. Women not only love to buy - we love to share. If you are really in touch with your women customers (no matter what you sell, you have women customers - you know this, right?), you should be successful in bringing their voices into your marketing plans. Women are more than delighted to tell you how they want you to do things. Just ask your <wife> <sister> <mother> <aunt> .... or <girlfriend>. Better yet, get all your women 'friends' in one room and give them a whiteboard. Oh, the innovative ideas you'll get! Makes me tingle all over!
#2 - women may be a 'gender' and you may be looking at gender marketing but never doubt that each woman is a special person unto herself. Don't think you can market to Miah, my granddaughter, or Maggie, my middle child, or me, as one. And, here's the tricky part of marketing to women, don't think you can't market to us as one. Because we talk to each other. We ask questions about the latest, greatest... clothes, shoes, electronics, cars, and more. Find that special spot where you can tap into Miah's conversations to learn what I like - and you can ask me what Maggie likes. Can you say Twitter Pawty? (ok, that's a BlogPaws thing but... you know what I mean)
#3 - women are demanding more attention. We're not allowing brands to market around us, or through us. We're getting tired of the stereotypical woman?depicted in commercials,ads and business articles - women who don't reflect us, as a group or an individual. We aren't going to buy products or services that depict us as housewives who care for the family with a smile, always neatly dressed and manicured (let's get rid of the term 'housewife' in 2013, shall we?), or as a woman gone wild in some store or another, or as a harried working Mom, annoyed that her husband isn't pitching in. That's ancient history - if you don't get with it, we'll move on to your competitor, who is performing item #1 very nicely, thank you.
And now, on to trends. Rohit Bhargava has a great powerpoint on 15 Marketing Trends in 2013. I urge you to hop over and watch it. ?I'm borrowing from this powerpoint because it speaks to me more than other articles I've read.
2013 Trends to Consider
Rohit identifies this as Trend #2. Partnership Publishing. Got a book in you? I bet you do. No time to write it? No time to create a cover? Not feeling the writing vibe but really want to see a book with your name on it? Gather some friends and colleagues and make it happen. It's a win-win all the way around. There are a number of definitions of this new model, because it's so new - and, because that's true, you can create the process that works for you. POD is inherent - Print on Demand. My company, WME, has been doing POD for 7 years. If you have questions on how it works, let me know. (check out Seth Godin's Domino Project, also)
Trend #3 is Human Banking. I'm confident many of you have participated in Kickstarter programs, right? The new darling is Indiegogo - which I don't know that much about but see everywhere. Rohit isn't talking about these programs, however. He's talking about actual banking. One example is Ally Bank - which is customer friendly. Not something we usually associate with a bank. Imagine how great this could be for new women business owners. A bank that treats them like the people they are - instead of the numbers they're supposed to be (and will be, if the bank can help with funding!).
The #4 Trend is... crowdfunding, where Kickstarter and Indiegogo fit in. Check it out. Worth exploring if you need to raise money quickly.
And, Rohit's #5 Trend is... Powered by Women! w00t! I love it when folks 'get it'... and recognizing the power of the female presence in business is getting it big time. Check out The Athena Doctrine, The Girl Effect, and from me, Strong Women - Strong Girls.?
The real power, IMBO, the real trend to follow, is how you, all the ladies and men who read this blog and share their experiences, their time, and their commitments to each other, via social media, are accomplishing the impossible. Our desire to connect is growing exponentially - because we, the women of today, aren't waiting for someone else to solve the issues - we're out there doing it ourselves. And our men are right there next to us - partners in every way, and proud to be so.
It's time - 2013 is the year that women everywhere are recognized for their talents, their compassion, their leadership abilities, their focus on solving issues not complaining about them, and their willingness to work together - across all tables. It's up to us, ladies. Let's do it!
Source: http://www.lipsticking.com/2012/12/time-to-write-that-book-marketing-in-2013.html
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