The other day, my husband, bored with my countless tales of marketing to women asked, “What’s that statistic about women making decisions?”

I quickly responded, “Women make 83% of all consumer purchases. And, our influence over the rest of the purchasing decisions far outreaches that number.”

After a moment of silence, he said, “I’ve made a decision. I’m going to give you the other 17%. You are now COMPLETELY in charge of all of our decisions.”

“No.” I whined. “I don’t want the other 17%.”

That’s not fair. I love being in charge at our house, but I don’t want to make all the decisions. That’s too much pressure. He needs to keep his 17% or I might explode. Why is he saying this? Is he making a power play? Does he want to say he made the decision to let me make the decisions?

But, his moment of regret was not to far away.

Later that same night, we sat down to watch a little television. He grabbed the remote control and I held out my hand.

“I’ll take that.” I said with a smile.

My nine-month old daughter, Madeline, has had an ear infection for the past 8 weeks. After several rounds of antibiotics including shots, the poor thing is still fighting fluid in her ears. She’ll probably need tubes. During this process, I came across a product called EarCheck which uses sound waves to detect if fluid is present in a child’s ear. It was a great tool for me. (I’m that mom who to takes her kids to the pediatrician for every sniffle.) It gave me peace of mind because I could scan her ears and see if there was still fluid present. I believe in a mother’s instincts, this product just helped to verify.  

One point we always hammer home at our marketing to women seminars is that manufacturers would do best by women (and their company’s bottom line) by developing products that are convenient and cut down on life’s everyday hassles. My favorite product line right now that accomplishes just that is from Eye-Fi. Eye-Fi offers a series of three memory cards for digital cameras.

Ladies: you know how you take all those photos but put off loading them to the computer or to your photo sharing service because it’s a hassle and takes so much time? These cards are for you.

Here’s how it works: First, synch up your Eye-Fi card to your wireless network or computer. Then, shoot your heart out at Grandpa’s birthday, or little Johnny’s baseball game, or your company’s bring-your-dog-to-work celebration. Finally, (and here’s the great part), return your camera within range of your wireless network and all those photos will automatically upload to your computer or to your online photo sharing service automatically! Genius.

Congrats to Eye-Fi for solving a problem for so many of us who already spend way too much time in front of our computer screens!

A national survey of 1,000 Americans conducted online by GFK Roper Public Affairs in April revealed some interesting insights about status symbols.

Status used to be about getting and having. Now, status can be achieved by giving.

• 52% of people surveyed said owning a hybrid vehicle was more of a status symbol than owning a luxury car (48%).
• 1 in 4 women – and 1 in 3 affluent women agree: “Plastic shopping bags are the Styrofoam peanuts of the new millennium – it’s embarrassing to be seen using them!”
• 94% and 93% of women, respectively, say being “emotionally healthy” and “physically healthy” is what personal success means to them.

Health is the new wealth.

Leading a disciplined, healthy life and giving back to the community are all growing personal forms of achievement.  Brands need to look for ways to support a woman’s need to give back and live a physically and emotionally well-balanced life.

Walmart’s personal sustainability campaign is a great example of a brand working hard to help women balance consumerism and philanthropy. The campaign message is about how making small changes can have big impact on the environment. www.walmart.com/green

Can’t afford a Hybrid?  A Finnish company has developed a way to convert gas-guzzlers into electric cars. Instead of building a new model from scratch, they’ll retro-fit existing Toyota Corollas.

If you haven’t seen the new Electrolux campaign with Kelly Rippa, I’m curious what your opinion is.

From a marketing to women standpoint, Electrolux is doing something right. They are focusing on saving you time. I would actually really LOVE it if my stovetop boiled water in 90 minutes.

But, to me, it falls a little short because it’s incredibly unbelievable. Come on…. Kelly Rippa has like 20 jobs and billions of dollars. I really don’t think she spends that much time cooking. And, if she does, it’s completely unrealistic that her house is that clean, that she looks that perfect and still has time to make hot fudge for a slumber party.

Now, I know Electrolux has something to offer me. But, this “superwoman” approach isn’t valid. I’d rather see a “real” picture of a “real” woman. If you are using a celebrity in your campaign, show your consumers what she has in common with them.

American Express really did it right in this spot featuring Tina Fey:

Can I vent a second about punch card rewards programs? My hair care products store has one. They give me punches until I have spent something ridiculous like $750 at their store and then give me $1.00 off my next purchase.

Okay, I’m exaggerating . . . maybe I’m just cranky about the punch card itself. It’s larger than a business card (so they can fit more punches on it) and because of that, I never carry it in my wallet. Which means EVERY time I go in, they ask me for my punch card and frustrate me immediately. Because of course, I’ve forgotten to bring along one of the 1,702 cards I have at home.  To add insult to injury the cashier then proceeds to remind me that they’d “be happy to consolidate the cards next time you (I) remember to bring them in.”

And this is the same company that asks me for my home address each visit because they have such a great tracking system that they can pull up every single item I’ve bought the past 13 years.

Which leaves me with one question for retailers who rely on paper or plastic reward cards of any kind:

If you know on the spot how much and how many purchases I’ve made as a returning customer, why can’t you simply give me the reward WITHOUT a card?????

When you don’t, it only leads me to believe that you don’t really want me to have the reward in the first place.