In a majority of American homes, the mother makes the everyday, mundane buying decisions. Maybe the father works too late, or is not interested in the small things that make the house run smoothly. That is not sexist, but fact. It works that way in my home, as well. Why should my wife interrupt my work day to consult my opinion on things she is capable of handling herself? What that means is a shift in marketing strategies for some companies. Where do today’s moms turn to learn about new products or technologies? The Internet.
Here are six facts for companies to consider when looking to market to moms:
- Social media, text messaging, instant messaging and gaming are now used by the majority of digital moms and are no longer niche activities.
- Moms with children 12 or older are more likely than moms of children under 12 to use gaming and video. Marketers have an opportunity to respond to these trends by acknowledging that a “one-size-fits-all” strategy for moms may not work.
- Marketers should recognize the dual purposes (communicating with peers and monitoring their kids) moms of older children have for engaging with emerging technologies, particularly social channels. They should learn more about the challenges moms face when embracing technology and provide them with better resources and information to help them guide their children.
- Marketers have an opportunity to utilize communications channels such as social networking, text messaging and gaming to facilitate conversation among moms and influence decision making.
- Marketers should consider marketing to mom as both an interconnected woman and a mom, as her interests extend beyond parenting.
- Among digital moms, the gap is closing between TV and other channels in creating initial awareness about products. Marketers should consider the penetration level and relative influence of each channel when determining how, when and where to reach digital moms along the purchase funnel.
Has your company began to focus on moms? What is your strategy to capture this market?
