Customer Reviews

PrimeTime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders

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Those who have already read Marti Barletta's Marketing to Women will welcome this sequel in which she develops in much greater depth her core concepts with regard to the purchasing power of what continues to be "the world's largest market segment." Of special interest to many readers is The GenderTrends(tm) Marketing Model that reveals in her first book why and how women reach different brand purchase decisions. She shares in PrimeTime Women some revealing and valuable new insights from all-new research and DDB Worldwide which will be of substantial value to senior-level executives - including but not limited to those primarily responsible for marketing - in all companies, regardless of their size or nature. Barletta carefully organizes and then presents her material within ten chapters which are divided between two Parts: Understanding PrimeTime Women(tm) and The Field Guide for Marketing to PrimeTime Women(tm), followed by an especially informative appendix which identifies "The Best Resources in the Business."

I presume to offer an admittedly unorthodox suggestion: After reading the Foreword and Introduction, proceed immediately to the final chapter in which Barletta offers an Executive Summary which includes a brief but brilliant explanation of "the seven building blocks" for understanding, reaching, and then increasing share of "the world's largest market segment." My opinion is that reading this final chapter establishes a frame-of-reference and thematic context for absorbing and digesting the material that precedes it. One reviewer's opinion....

As is her custom, Barletta makes brilliant use of a number of reader-friendly devices throughout her narrative that facilitate and expedite reviews later of key passages. They include clusters of bold face items, bullet points, and checklists. For example, in Chapter Seven, "The GenderTrends(tm)Marketing Model Applied to Women, a systematic and simple tool which is designed to achieve three objectives:

"1. structure the complexities of gender differences into an organized view of female gender culture;

2. show how to use the principles of female gender culture to enhance each element in your marketing mix; and

3. apply the resulting insights to the five stages of the consumer's purchase path."

In the same chapter, when examining the purchase decision process, Barletta focuses on the differences between men and women, and, the differences between PrimeTime Women(tm) and younger women. Then in the final chapter, "Notes to the CEO," she briefly discusses the aforementioned "building blocks" and this material offers a value-added benefit to non-CEO readers who are senior-level executives: She provides them with a convincing, research-driven argument to support whatever changes must be made in terms of (a) how their respective organizations view women 50-70 years old, (b) how they position what they offer to them, and most important of all (c) how they nourish and thereby sustain a relationship with them.

How important are relationships to women? As Barletta observes, "Women think that people are the most important and interesting element in life, and they are oriented this way from birth...Women see themselves - and everybody, really--as part of an ensemble company. Their core unit is `we' (sometimes `we two,' sometimes a larger group). They take pride in their caring, consideration, and loyalty to and from others...Women's first instincts are to trust and share, and their mentality is rooted in revealing, not concealing."

While explaining "how to win the hearts, minds, and business of boomer big spenders," Barletta also obliterates a number of misconceptions about female consumers in general and those who are 50-70 years old in particular. Did you already know that women control an estimated 80% of all household spending and the percentage is even high for PrimeTime Women(tm)? Also, that women make 55% of all investment decisions, 55% of all decisions concerning consumer electronics, comprise 60% of all home improvement buyers and make 80% of all home improvement decisions, control more than 60% of new car purchase decisions, and 66% of decisions to purchase computers? With regard to income, between 1990 and 2003, women's inflation-adjusted median income grew 26%, while men's grew only 8%.

"PrimeTime Women are the healthiest, wealthiest, most educated, active, and influential generation of women in history. This is their PrimeTime. And it's your prime marketing opportunity." Because of Marti Barletta, that "window" of opportunity is rapidly closing. What are you waiting for?

I've always considered Tom Peters the guru of marketing. I bought Barletta 's book because of his comments on the cover -- that PrimeTime Women should be the centerpiece of every marketing/strategic plan. As always, I now agree with him wholeheartedly. This book makes an excellent case about why this is the market to go after, not the youth market. Barletta draws on statistics from the New Strategist, AARP, the U.S. Census Bureau and other organizations, and combines them with her consulting firm's own proprietary research to come up with a true "how to" book, with strategies and tips that companies can put into action right away. I've since bought her other book on marketing to women, and plan to spread her name as the consultant to hire before the competition does.

PrimeTime Women is a breeze to read - like sitting around with Ms. Barletta, chatting. And in the room are dozens of fascinating, ready-to-rumble women, chiming in every so often.

The overarching theme of PrimeTime Women really isn't the money they control - it's the fact that they are taking control of their lives. This is a phenomenon unique to Baby Boomers (and a bit older). After fifty is better than before fifty. There has always been a small percentage of women who bloomed in their later years. For Boomers it's become a generational ethos.

The second part of the book is nuts 'n bolts. I was swept away by many of her "word-of-mouth" marketing paradigms. She eschews the cheesy WOM tactics so often used today in favor of real, truly inspired marketing/PR/promotional techniques.

What I loved about this book was that it just exudes respect for customers. Unlike a lot of books in this area, Marti Barletta isn't trying to teach 'tricks' about how to pretend to please women. She's much more serious than that. She's deeply informed, highly thoughtful and utterly determined that no company can really succeed without taking women very, very seriously. And she won't let women be ripped off by anything second-rate. This means that companies that want to win women's business have to take seriously the research she's done and the care and insight she uses to analyze it. There are a lot of "sell stuff to women" books out there that don't respect women at all, but just see them as easy pickings. They're phoney. But this book - and Marti Barletta herself: they're the real deal.

I love this book! The author has Prime Time Women down to a tee. I'm in that age group and I see myself in every line. The data is there, the book is understandable and written in an interesting fashion. I'm wondering if Gen X and Gen Y women will show the same traits as they reach 50. I'll be watching for more books from this author.

I have this book and Marketing To Women and both are great and well worth the investment. I also have one by Brown and her's is likewise great!

Marti Barletta follows up her earlier book "Marketing to Women" with an in-depth analysis and prescriptive approach to selling to the largest, most powerful market segment in the US: 50- to 70-year-old "PrimeTime Women." Far from being an economically dormant audience of middle-aged or senior citizens, PrimeTime Women have come of age. They have money and the "moxie to spend it." Barletta analyzes how the life-stage changes women undergo in midlife affect the ways you should market to them. She offers a generous toolbox of strategies and techniques to help you reach this audience through its "social values, life/time factors, decision styles and communication keys." Her case studies illustrate how two companies integrate these sales principles with amazing results. Barletta often winks at her readers with wry parenthetical humor, and she sprinkles the conversation with lively consumer quotes. getAbstract highly recommends this worthy resource to marketers aiming for the hearts, minds and wallets of PrimeTime Women.

The power of the purse may be the most potent tool available to protect the environment. As Marti Barletta makes clear in her book, "prime time" women - those 50-70 - have enough clout to tell companies what to make, not just buy what manufacturers sell, all based on how they spend their money. "Prime Time Women" should make any producer quake: women want cleaner air and water, and as this book shows, they've got the marketplace muscle to get companies to pay attention!

Marti Barletta is simply one of the best business minds of our time. Her brilliant insights, in-depth research, and smart marketing tactics make her stand head and shoulders above the crowd. PrimeTime Women, as Marti calls them, are one of the most overlooked business opportunities - but after you read her business case, they won't be for long. I've never finished one of Marti's books without having learned at least 10 new things about marketing to women. And I am a woman! And when it comes to PrimeTime Women, I was amazed to find out how much there really is to look forward to. Society has relied on negative simplistic stereotypes for far too long. Marti Barletta shatters these stereotypes in style, and proves without a doubt that PrimeTime Women are the powerhouse target of the future. Recommended for CEOs/CMOs in categories such as auto, financial services, healthcare, health and beauty, housing and real estate, human resources, auto, packaged goods, travel, hotel, small business, health and fitness, pharmaceutical, retail, entertainment, gifts, toys, etc.

Check out these endorsements:
"Marti Barletta--the First Lady of marketing to women--is back; and she's done it again. Marti calls marketing to 'prime time women' a 'radical opportunity'--and proves it. I not only agree, but also I would call anyone who does not make this extraordinary book the centerpiece of their marketing/strategic plans very, very foolish."
--Tom Peters, author of Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age

"PrimeTime Women will no doubt change the way corporate America views and markets to today's Boomer women. Based on new research and her experience in the field, Marti Barletta opens our eyes to the immense power of this emerging marketing force. She reminds us that women over the age of 50 hold the power of the purse in their PrimeTime hands."
-- Lisa Bacus, Director, Global Marketing Strategy, Ford Motor Company

"Full of expert advice about today's PrimeTime Woman: who she is, what she cares about, where she shops, and what she buys--PrimeTime Women is a must-read for advertising and marketing professionals who are determined to reach the hearts, minds and wallets of today's most coveted consumers: women 50-70 who are in their prime!"
--Dana Anderson, President and CEO, DDB Chicago

"With wit and wisdom, Barletta has pulled off the seemingly impossible: made the prospect of becoming an `older' woman sound like fun. Marketers, take note: a horde of PrimeTime Babes, with passion, power, and bulging pocketbooks, is heading your way."
--Linda Tischler, Senior Writer, Fast Company

"Marti Barletta once again breaks the mold and takes us to the edge of a new frontier in consumer behavior. No one who gives this book serious attention will fail to shoot forward at warp speed in their understanding of the largest market on the planet -Prime Time Women."
--David B. Wolfe, Principal, Wolfe Resources Group

"Written in a conversational, story-telling style, Marti delivers a compelling business case and an engaging look at what drives this powerful yet underserved segment of buyers."
--Cathy Benko, National Managing Director, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP

hm, a book based on your sexist bias, good for sales, or for selling to a certain segment of humans i guess, the sadness of these pieces of crap is the closed off narrow attempt at expression being provoked to begin with, its like ok im going to write a book about anything i can express and i choose to write my name into a sexist regime, anyone who thinks a person who answered the question like this obviously should own and greatly enjoy such a novel,[...]to, check out such ground breaking sections as "why women need to plan for retirement more than men"....or "tax breaks for widows" or how women live longer than men in the "did you know?" section, how about the ultimately stupid fixation on how women get paid less somehow, all your ideas based on percentiles from unnoted sources like every other bull argument in that terrain, the 50s are over ffs, we all share our pay info cause we figured out it did nothing but make us more vulnerable, people like this need to stop listening to the first book they read, stupid feminist, power is for women and men, not little girls like this...ahem...ty...good day