Survey: Female Shoppers are Influenced by Their Friends

November 19, 2008 · by Armando Roggio

Personal recommendations and coupons or flyers passed on by friends are key factors in how female shoppers select products, according to a survey of 2,000 women from SheSpeaks, a marketing agency and social network for women.

“SheSpeaks members are representative of influential and engaged consumers nationwide, and they want to be able to pass along the ‘wealth’ of being in the know,” said Aliza Freud, CEO of SheSpeaks in a release from the company. “Brands and retailers really stand to benefit from making women feel like they have access to a unique offer. This year it is especially important for marketers to engage women using direct marketing that gives them a personal incentive to shop.”

SheSpeaks found that “nearly 75 percent of women have purchased a product following the recommendation of a family member or acquaintance.”

Word-of-Mouth Marketing

The influence that the SheSpeaks survey results show is often called word-of-mouth and/or viral marketing. Word-of-mouth, of course, is when information is passed from one person verbally. Word-of-mouth and viral marketing are uses promotion, advertising, or other means to get potential customers talking about your products verbally, in emails, or by any means possible.

Five Tips for Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Later this week, Practical eCommerce will begin a series of five word-of-mouth marketing tips. They tips will be posted in our daily Ecommerce Minute podcast. Be sure to download the podcasts and find out what you can do to target both men and women this holiday season.