The Soccer Mom Myth

By Holly Buchanan and Michele Miller

Book Overview

The room was a marketer s dream, filled with educated, savvy women with money and the urge to spend it. Holly asked a pointed question: "How many of you in the room consider yourself a Soccer Mom?"... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932226796
• ISBN13: 9781932226799
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Wizard Academy Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Worth reading...and re-reading

I read this book when it first came out and thought it was great. I underlined ideas within the book that I thought were especially helpful. Ironically, I picked it up again about three weeks ago and noticed that so much of what I underlined had found its way into our work. I judge a business book as successful if it provides at least three ideas you can actually use to your advantage. In this book I found over a dozen.

A solid primer about marketing to women

If you are in marketing, advertising or PR, this should be a must-read. While most marketers have thought about the differences when communicating to women, very few really understand what women find persuasive in the marketplace. Miller and Buchanan do an excellent job in demonstrating (with real life examples) what nuances you need to master in marketing to women. They take the reader on a survey of successful strategies about marketing to women starting with an explanation of the differences about how women tend to view an effort to communicate with them versus what most marketers THINK are the best ways to communicate. Many copywriters and communicators will find their work on using personas to develop a communications strategy and message very useful. The personas give the communicator someone to communicate to rather than just trying to create concepts and messages in a vacuum. This is a great book and if you are in marketing, advertising, sales or public relations, it is a must read. And I suspect that women in those industries will find as much valuable data as the men do. Worth every penny.

I am so not a Soccer Mom...

Michele and Holly have done an outstanding job with this book. Yes, I'm a Mom but I hate that moniker "Soccer Mom." And frankly, I wish that term would disappear! Yes, I am the primary decision maker in our household about what we purchase - and I'm also a marketing expert. I have to laugh at most of the commercials on TV - I mean really - have you seen the ones where the computer generated cartoon animals are peddling household fragrances?? I seriously don't identify with an ironing octopus... and I don't know anyone that does either! Michele and Holly have a lot to teach you about marketing to women - especially the chapter on Stereotypes. This book takes solid marketing concepts and matches them with today's woman - what we want from companies, and how we want to hear the messages.

Insight-based Marketing

Hit-you-between-the-eyes memorable. The personal anecdotes and business case studies that both Michele Miller and Holly Buchanan bring to this material will do more than cause chuckles, they'll create ah-has and take-aways for every major point in the book. Whether it's a personal story about shared tequila shots in the bathroom or a business story about Victory Lady Gyms, each anecdote displaces the "white bear"/stereotypes the reader couldn't help but think about with even more memorable - and more accurate - mental images. But let me be up front, I'm a colleague of Holly Buchanan's at Future Now, so I'm not exactly unbiased. On the other hand, Michele and Holly had some things going against them when I opened the cover, as well. While I expected fabulous insights into marketing to women (and got them), I also expected to experience a been-there-done-that ennui when reading about my stock-in-trade of Persona-based marketing and business/consumer research. Boy was I wrong on that! The section on third-wave research techniques alone is worth the price of the book. And the chapters on Personas and Scenario-planning offer a unique understanding of both these tools. The material was not only first rate, but was a delight to read, even for a jaded SOB. Highly recommended.

Sound Research, Well Written and very helpful insights for anyone trying to reach women in the marke

I sat down to read this book thinking I might pick up an insight or two, but nothing more. I mean, I've been selling to women for nearly 18 years so how much more could I possibly learn. Well after 3 chapters I realize how much more there was to know. Especially when it comes to selling to women over the internet. And yet, this book is more than just about selling. It explains why the quality of your product is the most important aspect in reaching the female audience as well as specific suggestions than any business can incorporate. This is a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to understand what women REALLY want from a company and/or website.