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Featured In
92%
Of women pass along information about deals or recommendations- Girl Power Marketing
89%
Of women report adding unplanned purchases to their in person shopping trips – Lexington Law
75%
Of discretionary spending in the US in 2028 will be from women consumers.- Capital One Shopping
78.2%
Of women are primary shoppers in the household- Finance Buzz
Introducing WCR4™ The Women’s Consumer Research 4 Step Method
An innovative research method that goes beyond the typical consumer research process. This method uses a holistic approach that incorporates the emotions, gender socialization, intersections, and legacy of women consumers to create a life-long commitment to your brand that is passed down for generations.
Your organization is losing its relevance in today's SOCIAL, POLITICAL, and ECONOMIC climate.
Your established women consumers have moved on to new competitors.
Your brand reputation is tanking and the gap between your sales goals and marketing investments is growing everyday.
The truth is you need an adept research model that anticipates and forecasts the evolving needs of your women customers. Research that allows your sales and marketing teams to thrive.
Here’s how WCR4™ does just that.
Emotions
Emotions: The Line Between Empathy and Exploitation
Marketing gurus love talking about emotions. They know women make purchasing decisions from the heart. The problem? Most brands weaponize this insight, launching campaigns that systematically exploit insecurities about body image, domestic performance, and self-worth. It works, briefly. Fear-based manipulation drives short-term sales while destroying long-term trust.
We’re calling bullsh%t on this approach.
The WCR4™ Method treats emotions as a diagnostic tool, not a manipulation tactic. We excavate the root cause of emotional responses, moving past surface-level feelings to understand what women are actually experiencing when they encounter your brand.
Here’s the difference in practice:
A luxury kitchen appliance promises to save an hour daily on meal prep. Traditional marketing creates an ad featuring a frazzled mom failing at dinner, drowning in domestic chaos. The subtext screams: You’re inadequate. Buy this to stop being a bad mother.
Our research reveals something entirely different. The dominant emotion isn’t guilt. It’s bone-deep exhaustion coupled with hunger for personal agency. She doesn’t want the appliance to perform domesticity better. She wants that recovered hour for her neglected hobby, her relationship, herself.
The messaging transformation is radical:
Traditional: “Stop failing and start winning at dinner time!”
WCR4™-Informed: “Reclaim your hour. This is time for you.”
One exploits shame. The other validates reality and celebrates possibility.
This distinction isn’t semantic. It’s the difference between transactional manipulation and transformational loyalty. Women know when they’re being seen versus being targeted. Our method ensures you’re doing the former.
Gender Socialization
Gender Socialization: Why Women’s Sales Cycles Look Different
Social standards that influence and aggrieve women don’t disappear at checkout. They show up as hesitation, abandoned carts, and immediate buyer’s remorse. Traditional consumer research misses this entirely, treating longer conversion times as friction instead of what they actually are: the weight of lifelong conditioning playing out in real time.
Here’s what most brands don’t understand. Women may take longer to convert, but once they do, they become your most valuable evangelists. The key is recognizing what’s happening during that extended decision window.
We call it Purchase Panic. It’s imposter syndrome manifesting at the cash register. For women, clicking “buy” on high-value purchases triggers an internal interrogation rooted in gender socialization: Do I deserve to spend money on myself? Should this go toward the household instead? What if I fail?
Consider a $997 online course designed for career advancement. A woman reaches checkout, hesitates, and either abandons the cart or completes the purchase only to immediately request a refund before logging in. This isn’t price sensitivity. It’s financial self-sabotage driven by invisible scripts about self-sacrifice and worthiness.
The fix isn’t aggressive sales tactics. It’s validation.
Smart brands intervene with messaging that acknowledges the panic: guarantees positioned as “Risk-Free Investment in Your Future,” testimonials from women who felt the same fear but pushed through, simple statements like “It’s okay to invest in yourself.”
By neutralizing internalized doubt instead of ignoring it, you transform Purchase Panic into confident commitment. The result? Loyal customers who don’t just buy. They advocate.
Demographics
Demographics + Intersectionality: Why Context Outranks Categories
Age, income, education, location. Every consumer research project collects these data points. Most stop there, treating demographics like isolated facts instead of intersecting forces that shape how women navigate the world.
The WCR4™ Method refuses that laziness.
A single demographic variable tells you who she is. The intersection tells you how she experiences reality and why she makes specific choices. This distinction separates superficial segmentation from actual understanding.
Take a financial wellness app targeting women across income and age brackets. Traditional research creates a broad segment: “Women aged 35-45 earning over $75,000.” Clean. Useless.
Our intersectional approach reveals two radically different realities:
Woman A: 40 years old, $80K income, graduate degree, high cost of living urban area. The intersection exposes the truth. High earning potential, yes. But also student loan debt and crushing rent. Her discretionary income is a fraction of what that salary suggests. She needs complex debt restructuring tools, not generic budgeting tips.
Woman B: 40 years old, $80K income, high school education, low cost of living rural area. The intersection tells a different story. Strong financial management skills, likely a homeowner. Her challenge isn’t survival. It’s wealth building and retirement strategy. She needs accessible investment education, not debt management.
Same age. Same income. Completely different needs.
Marketing both women with identical messaging based on surface demographics guarantees failure with both. Intersectionality isn’t progressive theory. It’s practical accuracy. Without it, your consumer profiles are fiction.
Legacy Consumerism
Legacy Consumerism: The Grandmother You Can’t See in Your Data
Women’s purchasing decisions aren’t purely rational. They’re haunted by generations of inherited beliefs about money, worth, and what “people like us” are allowed to have.
Did your grandmother use Pine-Sol or Lysol? As a child, you couldn’t distinguish between them. But she had fierce brand loyalty, and somehow that allegiance transferred to you. This is legacy consumerism. The financial autobiographies passed down through mothers, grandmothers, and female mentors that create powerful, often unconscious consumer inertia.
We investigate what campaigns, cultural narratives, and personal stories influenced her original choice. More critically, we uncover why she needed you to inherit that loyalty or aversion.
Consider a millennial woman with comfortable income who refuses to buy premium cookware despite being able to afford it. Traditional research sees frugality. We see inheritance.
Our digging reveals her Depression-era grandmother operated under an unspoken rule: “Nice things are for guests and special occasions only.” The good china stayed locked away. The family ate on chipped dishes daily.
Today, that rule manifests as consumption guilt. High-quality purchases on herself feel wasteful, extravagant, morally wrong. She buys the mass-market version and feels a twinge of shame even considering the expensive option.
For premium cookware brands, marketing durability misses the point entirely. You must disrupt the inherited script and grant permission. The message shifts from product features to daily ritual and self-worth: “Life is the occasion. Your everyday deserves quality.”
Legacy consumerism lives in the deepest layers of purchasing reluctance. Address it, and you transform inherited hesitation into empowered brand adoption.
Meet your Women’s Consumer Expert: Shampaigne Graves
Shampaigne Graves calls out the marketing industry’s dirtiest secret: most brands are still running manipulative campaigns that exploit women’s insecurities instead of understanding their actual needs.
As a Women’s Consumer Research Strategist, she created the WCR4™ Method to help organizations decode the $31.8 trillion women’s economy by examining four critical pillars: Emotions, Gender Socialization, Demographics and Intersectionality, and Legacy Consumerism. Her work challenges companies to replace pink-washing with precision, stereotypes with data, and manipulation with empathy.
She’s the researcher who identified “Purchase Panic,” the phenomenon where imposter syndrome manifests at checkout, driving cart abandonment and buyer’s remorse. She’s the strategist who revealed how legacy consumerism (the financial beliefs inherited from grandmothers and mothers) creates invisible barriers to purchase that traditional research completely misses.
Her methodology starts with a signature 100-hour organizational deep dive she calls Research Accounting, aligning C-suite narratives with frontline customer reality. She audits data blind spots, trains teams in empathy-forward techniques, and equips organizations with strategies that transform hesitant leads into confident buyers and retention challenges into evangelism opportunities.
Her insights have reached over 10,000 people across 60+ speaking engagements nationally and internationally. She’s been featured in Newsweek, Scripps News, WCPO ABC, MSN, and Observer as an expert on consumer psychology, AI ethics, and women’s purchasing behavior.
Before consulting, she bootstrapped Boldifi with twenty dollars and a theory that authentic community outperforms aggressive marketing. She secured major corporate sponsorships and packed a launch event with 120 women, proving her core belief: true brand loyalty isn’t built through manipulation. It’s built through empathy and understanding.
Now she helps organizations build those same authentic connections, transforming their research, marketing, and sales strategies into sources of enduring loyalty.
The 100-Hour Deep Dive: Where Assumptions Meet Reality Now that you know what I do, let's talk about how. I start with 100 hours. Not because it sounds impressive, but because that's how long it takes to dismantle your organization's assumptions about women consumers and replace them with actual truth.
Stakeholder Discovery & Narrative Alignment (20-30 Hours)
Great conversion strategy requires clear goals and KPIs. But before looking outward at customers, I look inward at your organization.
I interview stakeholders from entry-level support staff to C-suite executives, uncovering the story of who they believe your women customers are and how your product fits into her life. This reveals the top-down narrative driving your current strategy.
The disconnect is always significant. The Boardroom’s perception rarely matches what the Customer Service team knows to be true.
Example: A fitness apparel brand’s executives believe their customer is a “High-Powered Athlete” motivated by competition and elite performance. They want marketing that screams “Dominate.”
Meanwhile, customer service and retail staff report the actual buyers are women returning to fitness after childbirth or injury. They aren’t seeking domination. They need safety and recovery.
This phase identifies the internal gap. You’re marketing to an aspirational phantom instead of the woman actually paying your bills. Now we can fix it.
Research Accounting & WCR4™ Audits (40-50 Hours)
This is where I connect the dots between your women customers and company goals through Research Accounting. I audit existing data and gather real-time intelligence to generate research-backed reports.
The scope includes reviewing previously collected feedback (surveys, reviews, ratings) to reveal the story you already know but haven’t interpreted correctly. Plus real-time observation through social listening, brand reputation scores, CX analysis, secret shopping, and immersion days with evangelists.
Example: A meal-kit service has high churn despite excellent food quality reviews. Surveys say “Great taste,” yet retention stays low.
I secret shop the cancellation process and discover the “Skip a Week” feature is buried in the UI. Customers feel trapped, triggering Purchase Panic. Rather than struggle to find it, they cancel entirely.
The audit reveals the product isn’t the problem. The interface triggers loss of control, a socialized emotional response.
We stop asking “Why doesn’t she like the food?” and start solving “She loves it, but the process makes her feel powerless.”
Research Report & WCR4™ Action Plan (20 Hours)
Now that you have clarity on who your women customers actually are, you need a plan to reach, reassure, and retain them.
I generate research reports that inform a final action plan, bridging the gap between your organizational goals and her needs using the four pillars of the WCR4™ Method: Emotions, Demographics and Intersectionality, Gender Socialization, and Legacy Consumerism.
These aren’t temporary fixes. I build evergreen systems. Your sales, marketing, and CX teams get trained (or retrained) to anticipate objections and understand long-term customer needs based on expected life changes, economic shifts, traditions, and evolving social values.
Example: A bank loses female clients after divorce or spousal death. The sales team is trained to push “Aggressive Growth” strategies that worked for husbands but alienate wives now managing legacy wealth.
The WCR4™ Action Plan implements a new protocol. When a “Life Change” marker appears in the CRM, marketing automatically switches tracks. Instead of growth charts, she receives content on stability and security.
Teams stop selling products and start offering partnerships.
Result: 40% increase in retention of female clients post-life-event because the system was pre-built to empathize with her new reality, not ignore it.
Continued Strategy Hours to be Determined: Turning Insight into Instinct
Don’t want to shoulder the burden of training your teams yourself? I do that, too.
My passion lies in implementation: taking theoretical insights from the WCR4™ Method and converting them into daily habits for your sales and marketing teams. After training with me, your teams won’t just follow scripts. They’ll engage authentically with potential and current customers.
I transform your team from “sellers” into “trusted advisors.”
My Sweet Spot: I work best with corporate entities ready to move beyond pink-washing marketing and genuinely committed to reaching women-centered markets with depth and precision.
Marketing Teams: From Guesswork to Precision
Marketing teams rely on broad, stereotypical avatars that result in lukewarm interest. I equip your professionals with data-backed strategies derived from the WCR4™ Research Report, targeting specific emotional drivers and legacy behaviors instead of generic demographics. The result? Campaigns that generate scalding hot leads. Women feel so understood by your messaging that they enter the sales funnel already trusting you.
Sales Teams: Closing with Empathy
Traditional high-pressure tactics trigger Purchase Panic and cause women to ghost. I train your sales teams in empathy-forward techniques, replacing “overcoming objections” with “validating concerns.” We teach teams how to read silence, interpret hesitation, and offer reassurance. The result? Seamless checkout where customers feel great about spending money, leading to higher conversion rates and lower remorse or returns.
CX Teams: The Retention Engine
Customer Experience often functions as damage control. I work with CX teams to map emotional pipelines of each customer segment, developing anticipatory response scripts that validate life stage and stressors. The result? Turning potential complaints into moments of brand loyalty through sustained legacy experiences.
Hypothetical Case Study: The "Pushy" Sales Team Transformation
The Scenario: A luxury home renovation company has high lead volume but low close rates with female decision-makers. The sales team reports women “just can’t make up their minds.”
The Intervention:
Research reveals the women aren’t indecisive. They’re experiencing Legacy Consumerism guilt about spending family money on “luxury.”
I train the sales team to stop pushing and start validating.
Old Script: “If you sign today, I can get you 10% off. Don’t miss out.” (Triggers panic and pressure).
New WCR4™ Script: “I know this is a big decision for the family home. Take the time you need. Here’s a breakdown of how this renovation adds long-term value, which might help you feel more confident in the investment.” (Builds trust and partnership).
The ROI: The sales cycle extends by two days, but close rates double. Women feel respected rather than pressured, leading to a 50% increase in referrals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How is the WCR4™ Method distinct from a standard marketing or consumer research agency?
A: The WCR4™ Method is not just a research service; it’s a strategic framework for cultivating generational brand loyalty. While traditional agencies might deliver data, we provide a proprietary method that integrates psychological, social, and cultural factors unique to women consumers. This approach goes beyond a single campaign, providing your teams with a repeatable, evergreen system for anticipating and addressing customer needs.
Q: My organization is already conducting market research. How will this complement our existing efforts?
A: Our process begins with a “Research Accounting and WCR4™ Audit,” where we analyze your previously collected data—surveys, reviews, and market reports. Instead of starting from scratch, we build upon your existing insights, connecting the dots between your current research and the four pillars of the WCR4™ Method. This audit identifies blind spots and uncovers untapped opportunities, ensuring your current investments are fully leveraged.
Q: What is the typical timeline for an engagement?
A: The core WCR4™ engagement is designed as a focused, 100-hour project. This includes:
- Stakeholder Meetings (20-30 hours): The initial discovery phase.
- Research & Audits (40-50 hours): The in-depth analysis and data collection.
- Report & Action Plan (20 hours): The final deliverable and presentation.
You can expect a final, data-backed action plan within approximately 3-4 weeks from the project’s kickoff.
Q: Is the 100-hour engagement a one-time project, or can we retain your services?
A: The 100-hour project is a comprehensive foundation. Many clients choose to continue our partnership with an “Optional Continued Strategy Training” retainer. This ensures your sales, marketing, and CX teams are not only equipped with the WCR4™ Action Plan but are also continuously trained to adapt to evolving market dynamics and customer needs.
Q: What is your background and why are you the right expert to lead this?
A: I bring a unique blend of academic rigor and real-world experience. I’ve spent years working with over 200 women-centered businesses, and my insights are informed by this extensive, practical work. My credentials include:
Certified Research Expert (International Institute of Procurement and Market Research): Demonstrates advanced expertise in consumer research, data analysis, and ethical best practices.
Certified Sales Force Professional: Enterprise CRM knowledge that informs my strategy plans.
ICF Professional Certified Coach: Highlights my ability to not just deliver a report, but to help your teams implement the findings and apply them to their day-to-day strategies.
Featured Speaker & Industry Advocate: My work has been vetted on national and international stages, speaking to audiences of over 10,000, and I am an active member of leading professional organizations like Women in Research, and QRCA.
Q: How is your pricing structured, and what is the typical investment?
A: Pricing is based on the initial 100-hour project scope and the option to work with me on continued strategy training for your teams. The investment is provided during our initial consultation, once we have a clear understanding of your organization’s specific challenges and goals.
Fixed Cost: Initial 100 Hours
Variable Costs: training retainers, research collection, travel and accommodation based on facilitation modality.
The value is not in a single cost, but in the long-term ROI you will see from:
Increased Lead Quality: The WCR4™ Action Plan provides your marketing team with strategies to generate “scolding hot leads.”
Improved Sales Efficiency: Sales teams are equipped with empathetic techniques that reduce “Purchase Panic,” leading to a seamless checkout process and lower abandonment rates.
Enhanced Brand Reputation: Proactive CX strategies result in higher customer satisfaction, reduced returns and chargebacks, and a stronger brand legacy that translates to a higher Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Q: What is the ROI an organization can expect to see from this engagement?
A: The return on investment is multi-faceted. The WCR4™ Method helps you:
Regain Market Relevance: Re-engage with women consumers who have shifted to competitors.
Bridge the Sales & Marketing Gap:Strategize to ensure marketing efforts directly translate into measurable sales outcomes.
Cultivate Lifetime Customers: Build a brand legacy, and move beyond one-time transactions to create a loyal customer base that becomes your most significant evangelist.
Ready to present this to your leadership team?
Let’s schedule a call to craft a compelling, data-backed proposal that speaks directly to your organization’s pain points and growth objectives.
They BRAGGED so I didn't have to
Don’t need a full training program but still want to inspire your teams to think outside of the box when working with women customers?
Good thing for you that I’m a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator as well.
I adore working with conferences, events, and the media to create keynotes, workshops, and contributions that give audiences a deeper understanding of the surprising social, political, and cultural forces that shape women’s buying behavior.
Check Out my Latest Media Appearances
Notable Speaking Opportunities
Keynote at The Holistic Festival of Life Facilitator at CUTX Business Program Keynote Speaker at Dallas Startup Week Keynote Speaker at Business Lounge Dallas Keynote Speaker at Inspire U Fest Dallas Professional Women’s “2020 Woman of the Week” TV Guest on Courtney Benson Property Group TV Guest on Good Morning Texas Keynote at The Girl Cave Business Tribe Panelist on The Girl Cave’s #WorthaLook Live Talk Show Keynote at Bright Girl Media’s 2020 Business Summit Speaker at Junior Achievement Dallas Keynote Speaker at Girls Inc Facilitator at Dallas Startup Week Expert Panelist on Credit Union of Texas Business Basics Panel Facilitator at First United Bank Marketing Mixer Panelist at Dallas SBA Entrepreneurship Expo Speaker at Southwest Airlines BOLD Summit Workshop Facilitator at Sustainable Brands Brand Culture Led Change Conference Keynote at Sustainable Brands Turkey Conference Workshop Facilitator at Our Power Summit
Workshop Testimonials
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As your keynote, panelist, or facilitator, your audiences will walk away with…
The understanding of the growing power of values-driven behavior in women customers– Learn how shifting consumer priorities are influencing brand loyalty, purchasing behavior, and market trends.
The ability to identify the risks and rewards of thinking differently about “why women buy.” – Explore the unheard phenomenons of “Purchase Panic: How imposter syndrome shows up at the cash register,”
“The Breakup Theory: what happens when a break from your products becomes a life without them completely,”
and “Pinesol v Lysol: how the legacy of buying behavior is passed down to generations.”
Learn How to Take a Bold, Unapologetic Stand Without Fear – Discover why brands must move beyond neutrality and fully commit to their mission, vision, and values to reach and retain women customers. Get equipped with strategies for confidently navigating crisis management, retaliation, and backlash while maintaining the trust and brand integrity your company is known for.
Keynote Speaking and Workshop FAQs
Q: What is the core message you deliver in your keynotes and workshops?
A: My core message is that understanding women consumers requires moving beyond outdated, transactional approaches to embrace empathy, authenticity, and courage. I use compelling stories and data-backed insights to reveal the deeper psychological, social, and political forces that shape women’s buying behavior. Audiences will leave with a new perspective on how to build genuine, lasting connections with their customers.
Q: What makes your speaking topics different from other consumer behavior speakers?
A: While other speakers may focus on market trends, I dive into the underlying “why” behind them. My talks are built around proprietary concepts like “Purchase Panic,” “The Breakup Theory,” and “Pine-Sol vs. Lysol,” which are not found in typical business literature. These fresh, memorable frameworks help your audience see familiar challenges in a completely new light, inspiring them to think more creatively about their strategies.
Q: What specific takeaways can my audience expect?
A: Your audience will walk away with actionable insights, including:
- Understanding the Power of Values-Driven Behavior: How to identify and align with the shifting priorities of women consumers who increasingly choose brands based on their social and ethical values.
- Identifying Risks and Rewards: They will learn to recognize critical consumer phenomena like “Purchase Panic” and “The Breakup Theory,” and understand how to transform these challenges into opportunities for building trust.
- Taking a Bold Stand: I provide a framework for why and how brands can move beyond neutrality to confidently articulate their mission and values, even in the face of potential backlash. This helps them attract and retain a loyal customer base that values authenticity.
Q: Are your talks more inspirational or practical?
A: My talks are a powerful blend of both. I start by inspiring a new way of thinking. I challenge conventional wisdom about women consumers; Then provide clear, practical takeaways and frameworks that teams can immediately apply to their work. The goal is not just to motivate, but to equip your audience with a new lens for problem-solving.
Q: What formats do you offer?
A: I am available for a range of formats to suit your event’s needs, including:
- Keynote Speeches: Inspiring, high-energy presentations for large audiences.
- Workshop Facilitation: Hands-on, interactive sessions for smaller groups and teams.
- Panelist Contributions: Providing expert insights and dynamic discussion on a panel.
- Media Contributions: Interviews and expert commentary for podcasts, articles, or other media.
Q: How can we book you for an event?
A: You can schedule a consult by using the embedded calendar below. We’ll start with a brief discovery call to discuss your event’s goals, audience, and specific needs to ensure a perfect fit.
