Women rule the world or at least the bank account. A survey just released by The Boston Consulting Group says that women are responsible for $12 trillion in global spending and 70% of all consumer purchases worldwide. And, their economic impact will only continue to grow.

This information comes as no surprise to me knowing my wife is responsible for $1 trillion of that spending. However, I do think many businesses and marketers are surprised. Mr. Silverstein, a senior partner with BCG, adds, "Companies are failing to meet the needs of women in five key ways: Poor product design and customization for women; clumsy sales and marketing; inability to address the need for time-saving solutions; inability to provide a meaningful hook and differentiation; and failure to develop community."

A female friend of mine tells the story of walking into a car showroom and the salesman asking if he needed to wait for her husband to arrive before they looked at cars. Wrong question!!! Do you understand the needs of your largest and fastest growing market?

The BCG survey asked women what values are most important to them – love 77%, health 58%, honesty 53% and emotional well-being 48%. The survey then asked what things make you extremely happy – pets 42%, sex 27%, and food 19%. Only 5% said shopping made them happy.

What a great opportunity for businesses to make the shopping experience a happy one for the other 95%. Learn what women want from your product, your marketing and the buying experience. Then make them happy.

You may not pass puppies, kittens and goldfish, but at least you’ll move ahead of food.

Growing up in rural Mississippi, we only had one TV station – CBS. That meant watching Captain Kangaroo in the mornings, playing outside during the soap operas and coming in at night to watch Gunsmoke or The Wild, Wild West. I thought we were really big time when we added NBC.

Today there are hundreds of channels to watch. And much of our viewing is moving online. According to a Pew Internet report, 62% of all adult internet users have watched an online video, which is up from 33% in 2006. In addition, 35% have watched a television show or movie online.

And here’s even more exciting information…another study by Yahoo and others found one-third of all videos are shared online. What an incredible opportunity for marketers and fundraisers to take advantage of the internet’s viral potential to share their message.

Put on your director’s hat and create a comedy, drama or action video about your organization. It doesn’t have to be as riveting as Captain Kangaroo. Just tell your story using a customer as the star and let the internet do its thing.

When I was in the third grade, my mom got me a Bonanza lunchbox. In the ‘60s, Hoss and Little Joe were okay, but they weren’t nearly as tough as Zorro or the Green Hornet. Likewise, the girls leaned toward a Monkees or Bobby Sherman lunchbox.

After all, your lunchbox was a part of your identity. No self-respecting boy would go to school with a Brady Bunch lunchbox. While the contents and features of a Brady Bunch lunchbox may have been the same as a Zorro lunchbox, you would never win a sword fight at recess carrying a Brady Bunch lunchbox.

We all make buying decisions based on how the product makes us feel more so than its functionality.

For example, if you need to get from one place to another, most any car will do. Then why don’t you buy just any car? Some people want to feel in control, so they buy an SUV. Some want to feel safe, so they buy a Volvo. Some want to feel like they’re helping the environment, so they buy a hybrid. Some have a need for speed, so they buy a sports car. All these buying decisions were first based on a feeling or emotion.

Having a Zorro lunchbox didn’t give me any greater sword fighting skills, but I believed it did. Marketers need to tell stories that touch a feeling or emotion within their customers. Porsche’s story is one of speed and handling. Yet, as long as Porsche owners follow the traffic laws, they will never drive any faster than a Prius owner. But, they will always feel faster.

Discover the feeling or emotion that creates a buying response in your customers and give it to them. If your car makes people safer, stop trying to sell to customers who are looking for speed. Focus on those who want a feeling of safety. You will be much more successful.

Do you have a need for speed? Don’t buy a Porsche. Ebay has vintage Hot Wheels lunchboxes selling for a lot less.

Growing up on a farm, I always had fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs and milk. This past weekend I was back home enjoying fresh tomatoes, plums, peas and some of mom’s hot cornbread.

According to the National Gardening Association, 7 million more Americans plan to grow their own fruits, vegetables and herbs this year. Compared to 2008, that’s a 19% increase. The economy is certainly driving some of this behavior, but there are other benefits besides saving money – fresher, tastier and healthier food to name a few.

A word of warning: growing your own does require work. There are no magic beans. You can’t toss seeds out the window like Jack and expect a garden the next morning. So, that brings up the question: would you rather do the work and get the benefits listed above or just stop by the grocery store and buy your vegetables?

As a leader, you need to be making similar decisions about your organization. Is it better to use internal resources to perform certain functions within the organization or rely on outside help? You may need to focus your staff on core functions and outsource everything else to experts in those respective areas.

Many times an outside resource can do the job faster, better and at a lower cost than you can internally. In other cases, you may have the best solution in-house. Make a list of all the functions that take place in your organization. Then decide what’s the best approach for each function. Finding the right mix pays off in any economy - good or bad.

By the way, you can’t grow cornbread. You need a sweet mom or dad to teach you the trick to making it.