Marketing to Today's Mom

What's the truth? Are all moms soccer moms who ride around in SUVs with five kids in tow, two of their own and three from friends of the family? You would think so the way the media markets to them. And yet, looking around me, I know it's not so.

I see my friends who are single mothers with one or two children, working hard to get by, driving their compact car, watching each nickel and dime. And that's it, isn't it? They don't have the disposable income of the soccer mom, so why pay attention to them?

However, according to the book Trillion Dollar Moms by Maria Bailey and Bonnie Ulman, if your organization is only marketing to soccer moms you're missing two-thirds of the mom market. And a recent survey by Florida-based marketing firm BSM Media found that of 3,500 American moms 65 percent feel they are underserved by advertisers. Their gripe? The mom-focused ads didn't resonate with them or weren't geared toward them at all. So either too much advertising is being developed by men or no one is bothering to check who the mom market really includes.

Know Your Target Mom Audience

When you think of your audience as being mothers, you have to keep in mind the diversity of this group. All moms do not have the same needs, wants or desires. Moms are as unique and diverse as the cars they drive.

They are baby boomers, Xers and Nexters. Some are employed outside the home on a full-time basis, some on a part-time basis and some not at all. They are from different backgrounds -- different ethnic groups, religions, marital status and, yes, economic levels.

To market to today's mothers means you need to understand what specific segment(s) of this vastly different and large market are most likely to be interested in your product or service.

In a recent interview with Today Show host Matt Lauer, Mike Duke, the new CEO of Wal-Mart, discussed what he sees in consumer trends and how Wal-Mart adjusts to those trends. What he indicated was that with the current economy they have noticed peaks and valleys in spending habits. Just before traditional paydays when families tend to have more money they buy big packages of items, whereas when they come to the end of that financial cycle they might buy the same item, but in a smaller package. He also mentioned that a lot of their customers are moms trying to get the family through these difficult times.

Wal-Mart is doing their homework to better understand their customers, something every marketer needs to do.

Understand Your Target Mom Audience

If you are interested in mothers with children over the age of six, you also might want to know that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates they are more likely to work than mothers with children under the age of six. So daytime advertising on television is more likely to reach families with younger children. Now while this may seem as obvious as the fact that more unmarried mothers (76 percent) work outside the home than married mothers (69 percent), if you don't do your research you may make wrong assumptions.

Another important tip is that according to the BSM Media research, nearly 55 percent of those surveyed indicated they rely on recommendations from friends and family regarding what purchases to make for the home and 64 percent do it when they purchase items for their children. Speaking of recommendations, Mom Central Consulting, an agency that targets moth­ers, released a 55-page trend report, which includes interviews with 300 mom bloggers and surveys of 495 moms and found that over 78 percent of mom bloggers review products and 96 percent of moms value the recommen­dations they find on these sites.

That's why Momprenuer columnist Lisa Druxman suggests that you use technology and focus on networks. "Moms love to talk about what they're buying, so if you have a good product or message, the word will spread." Lisa also suggests that you get to the point, educate your audience and save them time.

The best way identify your market segment among the vast mom population is to remember to do your homework. And you should probably eat all your veggies and wash behind your ears, too.

Research

http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/mompreneur/mompreneurcolumnistlisadruxman/article176978.html

http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/08/mother-marketing-gm-ent-sales-cx_ml_0108marketingtomom.html

http://www.dmnews.com/Blogging-moms-are-a-growing-influence/article/119910/