by Faith Popcorn, Lys Marigold
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| List Price: | $24.95 |
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| Lowest New Price: | $5.41 |
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Product Description
If men and women are different, why do we market to them the same way? Today, women make 80 percent of all purchasing decisions. The time has come, says Faith Popcorn, author of The Popcorn Report and Clicking, two bestselling books on consumer trends, for businesspeople everywhere to realize that you cant succeed in business without successfully marketing to women. Whether you make cornflakes or concrete, pillows or pixels, women should be your chief target. Popcorns prediction: within a decade, the companies that do the best job of marketing to women will dominate every significant product and service category. Popcorn calls this EVEolutiona trend that will redefine the way companies create profitable and lasting relationships with their key consumerswomen. Using business case studies, cultural signals, statistical data, and in-depth interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and consumers, Popcorn presents the eight essential truths about marketing to women.
Amazon.com Review
Faith Popcorn isn't shy about telling you who she is or what she can share with you: "I am a futurist. A trend-spotter. A cultural detective." Nor does she beat around the bush in relaying the importance of her theory: "Understanding EVEolution and implementing it ... means the difference between building healthy brands and profitable relationships with women ... or building a flimsy, fluffy foundation with no future." Her vision is large and her passion is palpable, and what she offers in EVEolution is an effective way to know and tap into the increasingly important and lucrative female market. After establishing men and women are biologically and "shop-ologically" different, Popcorn delivers her central message--that there's a huge difference between a customer who buys your brand and one who joins it. The former is good for the moment, while the latter is good for life. Popcorn believes attracting and engaging the lifelong customer requires rethinking traditional marketing methods using her eight "truths" of marketing to women. These include making your brand a contributing and worthwhile member of the community you create; acknowledging that women lead multiple lives simultaneously--marketing to only one at a time is limiting for you and annoying for them; and remembering to be subtle--women think laterally and notice things peripherally. These and the five other "EVEolutionary" truths are followed by dozens of companies, most of which have gotten the point and are reaping the rewards of an effective brand. Popcorn definitely has her finger on the pulse (or the popper), though this kind of slick analysis of our too-fast-paced modern age can sometimes get a little tiresome--like an extended session of navel gazing. But someone has to do it, and Popcorn's ability to spot the trends and spout the zeitgeist gives her a healthy leg up on the nonsavvy marketers out there. If you're one of them--and don't have a clue about the complexities of women and how to market to them--read this book. Popcorn will get you into shape in no time. --S. Ketchum
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Couldn't get through it, 2006-05-27
Let me start by saying that normally I'm a big Popcorn fan. I read any article that she's quoted in. I've read "The Popcorn Report" at least twice and loved it. The same for "Clicking." Great book. They're part of my permanent library.
So I was more than disappointed after the first few chapters of EVEolution. I hung in there as long as I could, but the male bashing that pervades the early part of the book overwhelmed whatever golden nuggets were in its way. I just couldn't tolerate reading any more.
Perhaps her comments about or against men are warranted in some people's view, but I didn't see how they fit in with the intent of the book. The comments seemed gratuitous and unnecessary.
So hopefully her next book will be better.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 A kick in the butt. . . , 2006-02-22
I loved Faith's first book. I found Evolution to be right on. Being a business owner, this new book was just what I needed to spark a fire in me. I couldn't read it fast enough. I have already put it into practice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
What Do Women Want?, 2006-01-22
If your new consumer product is selling like crazy, you may not feel you need this book. If, however, you feel you are not getting the response you should get, this book may provide some answers to your problem. Its cute title and subtitle "The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women" may mislead some, particularly men, into thinking this is not a serious guide to marketing. But consider Faith Popcorn¹s credentials. She is recognized worldwide for her successful predictions of trends. She anticipated the amazing success of sport-utility vehicles, the sales boom in alternative medicines, and the failure of New Coke. Her consulting firm has many premier clients, among them IBM, BMW, and Nabisco. The fact that her lecture fee is between $30,000 and $40,000 is also a strong indication of that this lady has something worth hearing.
Popcorn bases her book on eight key principles and devotes and entire chapter to each one. In Chapter One, she discusses the basic fact that women connect to other women. 70% say they learn the most about new products from other women. Women are 50% of the on-line population. The slick super hype ad of forty years ago no longer sells women on a brand. She cites the convincing power of the Rosie O¹Donnell and Oprah TV shows and suggests you click into iVillage.com, disgruntledhousewife.com, and wellweb.com to get a feel as to how your brand may fit in.
In Chapter Two, she observes an important gender difference, men focus, women multi-task and lead multiple lives. Her firm coined a new word to describe marketing to women at work: Perfessional. This describes the "ultimate blurring of the personal and professional." If you have female employees, this section is a must read. She cites, as an example, the invention of the Baby Jogger which allows a woman to keep her baby with her while she gets some exercise.
Chapter three answers the timeless question, What do women want?" The authors cite example after example of how men and women are wired differently. The key point made here is "Anticipating what women want." They recite how Sony, specifically Akio Morita, practiced "anticipatory marketing" with resounding success.
Chapter Four states the old in-your-face image advertising is dead as far as women are concerned. Again, women are wired differently and their massive buying power demands you understand the differences. She cites what she terms "a woman¹s Peripheral Vision." She suggests some new and unusual approaches. She gives the example of Carly Fiorina, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (83,000 workers, $42 billion sales), who is focusing on customers, not products.
Chapter Five examines the changes the large increase in women working has brought about and observes: "The idea that woman consumers need your product more than you need them is Neanderthal thinking." The new magic word is: Convenience. The time saving, convenience, and privacy of on line shopping appeals to women. Popcorn calls it the "Go to Her Truth."
In Chapter Six, Popcorn says over the years she has not seen one marketing and media plan dealing with the "Next Generation." Yet new generation customers often begin their selecting based on brands their parents favored. Martha Steward is given as an example of how to create instant heirlooms and instant traditions.
Chapter Seven introduces the concept of "Co-parenting as the best way to raise a brand." This means inviting suggestions and acting on them. Many companies cannot welcome help or share the credit. She cites why focus groups fail to elicit true opinions. Many examples on how true opinions can be solicited are given.
Chapter Eight deals with how to win the trust of women. The authors emphasize "Everything Matters." Successful companies today must have a conscience and their customers must be made aware that they do.
Chapter Nine is a case history study of how "Revlon has lost its mooring, lost emotional contact with its customers ..." She reviews the brilliant marketing at the start and suggests how Revlon could recapture their lead.
The seven page appendix lists a great many books, magazines, and web sites for further pursuing the subject. A glossary up front provides definitions to the many coined words created since the founding, in l974, of her marketing consulting firm "BrainReserve."
Will reading this book help you decide which color box your new widget should be packed in? Probably not. But if your widget falls among the 80% on the consumer products, in the United States, whose purchase is decided by a woman, reading this book will enable you to better understand the factors that determine her decision.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Powerful Truths Amid the Fluff and Arrogance, 2004-02-18
Faith Popcorn's EVEolution lays out some very important, practical principles (she calls them truths) for effectively marketing to women. How one would deliver on the truths of connecting women to each other, marketing to all of her lives, making sure she doesn't have to ask, marketing to her peripheral vision, etc. will be very different for a personal care brand versus money management brand. Nevertheless, if appropriately applied, these truths can make a brand more successful. I have seen results first hand.The key to getting through this book is keeping the above in mind while wading through what in the end should be considered several minor flaws, even though they tend to dominate the pages of the book. Notwithstanding several good case examples (e.g., Saturn), the book is filled with an array of very loosely thought out ideas that are so easy to poke holes into, they may leave the reader questioning whether or not following the truths really works. Faith also, based on my marketing experience, correctly claims that "women don't bond with brands that market to them in an overly aggressive way. A full frontal attack isn't the way to turn a woman on." However, the entire book is presented via an "in your face" approach, which will likely turn off some women (and some men for that matter). And finally, Faith attempts to make the case that women are superior to men... on all levels. I would agree that women are superior in many aspects, but they are neither superior nor inferior overall. This approach tends to diminish her credibility. Nevertheless, Faith has keen insight into the way women think and operate. It's really true that "women don't buy brands, they join brands." Therefore, we must do all we can to join our brands in every way possible. Faith's 8 Essential Truths provide unique insight on how to achieve this. Creative, appropriate application of these principles to your band or business is up to you. It actually takes hard work, but as I said before, it will deliver results. For this reason alone, the book is well worth reading.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Eveolution's Truth's Still Hold True, 2002-11-07
When you want to confirm "What do women want?" Faith Popcorn's book still holds true today. Her visionary view confirms what I as a woman, business owner and consultant to women want...sensativity to my needs and marketing that reflects a genuine interest. This book is an easy read and provides great tips and websites that capture a women's broad interests.
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