Women: Your Secret ROI Engine

Below is an excerpt of a post by Allison Goldberg that appeared on the Good Purpose Blog, powered by Edelman. You can read the post in its entirety here.

One of the exciting aspects of this year’s study is that it’s our fifth, giving us five years of data to explore. We’ve witnessed the rise of the “citizen consumer”: new, vocal consumers empowered by social media and 24/7 communications to support or punish brands. The study doesn’t, however, take a deeper look into the demographic split. The panel’s moderator, Rachel Sklar of Change the Ratio, noted some interesting statistics:

• 55% of Twitter and Facebook users are women.
• Women drive 62% of Facebook daily activity
• Women account for 71% of the daily fan activity on Facebook.

As was the panel’s intent, I was struck by the implications for business, and how they were corroborated by our study—if companies invest in women, women will give back by promoting or recommending their products and services. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that companies need to release more products for women; as our leader Carol Cone says, it’s about embedding purpose into an organization’s DNA. Companies must consider women in R&D, in product development, in advertising and marketing. In short, companies must—regardless of their business–take women into account across the spectrum, from start to finish.

One of the panelists, Cindy Gallop, Founder & CEO of If We Ran The World, delved into how taking women seriously can result in profits in a myriad of ways. “The day that a business publication’s editorial and event policy recognizes the power of women in business,” she passionately and eloquently stated, “They will have my undying loyalty and I will go to their events and pay for their products and support them, because it happens so rarely.” The message could not be clearer.