Top 5 tips for marketing to mums

With Mothers’ Day on the horizon we thought we’d put together our top five tips for marketing to mums.  The biggest issue we encounter when companies market to mums is that they don’t really seem to understand where mums are right now  - what is going on in their lives, what plays on their minds when it comes to making purchases, where budget would be best spent to get mums to buy. 

1. Know mums. That may sound an incredibly obvious statement but think about it for a minute. If you are a marketing manager and not a parent are you really sure you can relate to mums – do you understand their fears and worries? Do you shop in the same way they do? Do you know what they want from your product or service? Do your research – use focus groups, social media and surveys (on and offline) to dig into what mums want. 
2. Mums don’t always follow the rules. The common approach when it comes to research and marketing is to break down a target audience into segments – often working on the basis that they will purchase in a certain way based on socio-economic or geographic factors.  But it’s different for mums – we’re hard to segment.  Mums 'with money' can be penny pinchers who shop in charity shops because they don’t have their own income. Mums with little income will go without so their children can have the best.  It can be useful to look at targeting mums based on grouping such as having children of a similar age but segmenting might not always give you the best insight.
3. Be aware of where mums are. We’ve seen some statistics this year that have told us all mums are online, spending hours on facebook. This isn’t a true reflection of what’s happening out there.  Mums over 35 often don’t use social media at all. Think about where mums HAVE to be everyday – schoolgate, children’s clubs or in their own social circle.
4. Word of mouth still rules. Whether it’s face to face or amplifying through social media, word of mouth is still the most powerful and long lasting way to connect with mums.  That’s because mums trust other mums.
5. Give mums what they want. The easiest way to get mums to buy is by giving them what they need. You can identify gaps in the market by carrying out research and then sense checking concepts with mums. That way you’ll know you are on target to a good product.

If you’d like to know more about research or marketing to mums give us a call at MumPanel.

Lunchbox battles - does mum always win?

Last week Lynne presented at the Market Research Society Kids & Youth conference on food propositions for the children’s market.  We wanted to talk about what kids want in their lunchboxes versus what parents want to see them eating and what influences parents’ decision making. 

We asked our MumPanel for their views by survey and also using our facebook group for further qualitative discussion. And because we always wanted rounded views we also asked mums at the school gate. The overwhelming message we heard from mums is that they are in control of what goes in their child’s lunchbox, 99% of our parents say they have the ultimate decision. Their child might pester and ask for certain things (and reject things they don’t like) but the parent still sources products. 

 

We wanted to know what influenced parents when they were buying. It was no surprise to us that mums have lots of factors to consider when purchasing snacks – from their child’s preferences to including healthy foods, allergies, what school wants and budget.  It’s important when you are developing products for snacks that you take all of these points into consideration. A character on a packet may appeal to a child but if mum feels it is an unhealthy choice (and she knows school will agree) then it’s unlikely to make it into her trolley.  It’s a good idea to have a clear idea of what makes your snack a good choice and clearly communicate this to busy parents. 

When it comes to marketing snacks the question companies ask us the most is “do we market to parents or children”? Our survey results showed that parents think information and marketing of snacks should primarily appeal to both parents and children (56%) or parents (42%), with just 2% thinking it should be aimed at children.  How then do you begin to develop for a dual audience? 

• Start by looking at what parents give as snacks (so cheese, yogurt, fruit) and use this for inspiration.

• Don’t forget other external forces such as school healthy eating guidelines.

• Kids are savvy, they understand healthy messages too (41% of mums said that healthy messages appeal to their children).

• Appeal to both parent & child by messages that they can easily relate to. Sense check as you go with research and focus groups.

You can see Lynne’s full presentation here.

You only know what you know

If you want to target mums, you need to understand what they want. To understand what they want you need to ask questions. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But getting to the RIGHT questions can be a trickier process.  If you don’t ask the right questions then you never get the answers you need to truly connect with mums.

When we’re developing questions and doing insight work at MumPanel we use the mantra ‘you only know what you know’. We know questions are just as important as responses and the best insights come from the questions you might not have asked or didn’t think you should ask.  As mums we have a bit of a shortcut – there are things we understand because we have experienced them. Recently Asda trialled a new shopping trolley. Their existing trolleys (along with most supermarkets) were difficult to see over and control once you put a car seat on the top. This might seem an insignificant issue but the small changes they have made can boost brand loyalty (I’ll choose that supermarket because they accommodate my needs) and increase sales (I can see what I want and I’m less stressed so I’ll spend longer in the supermarket). What is important is that someone in their research team asked the right question – they thought to ask about trolleys and then to dig deeper and understand what the real issue was.

One of our big bugbears as mums is cordial fruit juice. Most of the products on the market are sugar free. We know at some point brands must have asked mums what they wanted and of course, they don’t want drinks full of sugar that rot their children’s teeth. So that market has become all about ‘NO ADDED SUGAR’ drinks. But what we’re hearing from mums is that they’d rather have natural sugar fruit juices or other alternatives over aspartame-filled drinks.  There’s been a missed opportunity to take the research full circle instead of using a linear approach that stopped at the first response.

Last week we were chatting with Julie from Child Seat Safety, they train retailers to fit car seats correctly, accrediting them to a scheme endorsed by Which? What came out of our conversation was that stores often focus on the quality of the product and forget to ask questions that really matter – is that car seat right for their car, their needs, and their child. This is partly because retailers haven’t been trained to ask the right kind of questions. Because safety is such a hot topic, it’s vital we identify the questions that NEED to be asked so that brands and retailers get it right.

Questions are ignored, we all so busy rushing to the response and it’s about time we put the brakes on. If you want to really start to understand mums then it’s time to start digging deeper, get involved in their day to day journey and have your ears open for when they drop those little nuggets of insight that can revolutise your brand. 

If you’d like more information on asking mums the right questions then drop us a line.

MumPanel - One Minute Insight

At MumPanel we're constantly asking our mums for their views and ideas. There's some fascinating insight that comes out of our research and conversations and we want to share it with you in a one minute snippet.

Mums Favourite Brands

We asked mums to name their favourite brands. The response was enlightening - there were two supermarkets (Tesco and Asda) in the Top 5. They were joined by three 'heritage' brands - Johnsons, Heinz and Fairy. Just over 5% of mums specifically mentioned 'own brands' as their favourites.

 
What does this mean?

Mums connect with those brands they see day in and day out. If you want your brand to appeal to mums, you have to be where they are and what they want - that's why we're seeing good value 'own brands' being recognised in their own right. *Insight snippet - MumPanel survey 2012, over 800 respondents, mums with children 0-16 years If you'd like to receive our One Minute Insight by email then drop a line to lynne@mumpanel.co.uk

Is in house research enough?

We approach companies to talk to them about research, innovation and product development. One regular reply we hear is ‘we do all our research and development work in house’. It’s a reasonable response, after all who knows your products, processes and customers better than your company? You probably think in house R&D is easier to control, cheaper and gives you the insight you need. 

Of course we’re going to disagree with that because we’d like to work with the companies we’re approaching. But there is a very important discussion that should take place around whether in house research is giving you what you need to push your company forward. 

We see lots of brands setting up their own research panels and groups to work with mums and we think that’s a flawed way of doing research. Why? 

If you’ve asked mums to sign up to test your products (especially if that’s done using social media where they might already follow or like you) then you are testing people who already like your product. To gain real insight and get a more balanced viewpoint you need to ask consumers who might not even know or yet have an opinion on your product.  We also know that certain brands might attract a certain demographic and provide you with skewed results that will only appeal to a narrow audience. MumPanel consists of all kinds of mums, from all kinds of backgrounds (and was grown organically) which means our research takes into account the views of lots of different kinds of mums. We’re also impartial, no one wants to please us but we know mums might want to ‘please’ a brand because they like them (or hope they might get something out of it). 

One of the great things about internal research is that you are totally immersed in your product and probably know a fair bit about your competitors.  You can add to this by using an external agency that is completely immersed in the world you want to speak to (for example mums) because they can reference not only your industry but also other things that affect consumer decision-making and buying decisions.  We have been working with mums for over three years and as professional researchers and mums we know how to connect and ask the right questions to get the most rich and rewarding replies. 

Often it’s the little nuggets on information gathered during insight that can be the most significant and make the most difference. Sometime in-house research is so focussed on a specific answer that they miss the ‘background chatter' or key decision making points. In our experience innovation often comes as a result of an offhand comment by one mum. Because we have an overview of the mum world and an objective perspective we can spot these comments and then go and sense check them with other mums. 

And our final piece of advice if you are going to do in house research is to make sure you understand the ins and outs of research. It’s vital you know what influences respondents, how to ask the right questions to get the information you want and to know which answers have meaning. 

If you’d like to know more about mum focussed market research will MumPanel then email lynne@mumpanel.co.uk

The Baby Show - what's changing but really staying the same

This weekend saw The Baby Show hit Birmingham so Lynne and I went down to see the latest innovations and trends in the baby and mother world.

The show was very busy and we managed to squeeze in a chat with Mamas and Papas who were showing off their fantastic prams including the Urbo and Mylo (we worked on a spreading the word campaign for these two pushchairs last year and it's great to see the changes suggested by our mums being implemented).

The biggest thing to come out of the day for us is that although there are always innovations and new products coming to market things essentially stay the same for mums - we want to feed, clothe, protect, entertain and care for our kids. And mums will find the best products for that.

It's always interesting as both a mum and a marketer to watch buying behaviours at the baby show, as it is an environment where mums are exposed to so many products and ideas in one place. It's very clear from observing mums on the stands and watching their shopping bags that what works for one mum won't work for all mums. In my case I made a beeline for the Close stand (makers of the newly branded Caboo carrier, formerly the Close Baby Carrier).

I was a bit of a sling addict with my two, purchasing and trying about half a dozen before I found (and loved) the Caboo. I'd tried so many different slings because I'd taken advice from different places, other mums, friends, internet forums and review sites. At MumPanel we know if brands want to influence a mum's buying decision it's important to connect with her in these different places. But as well as connecting you need to show mums WHY your product is right for them and that's about understanding a mum's journey and creating appealing messaging.

We spotted some products that we thought would have mass market appeal - the compact, mobile Milton dummy steriliser, for any mum that has ever recovered a fluff covered dummy from her handbag (excellent gap in the market identification by Milton). We also thought the VeraTemp no contact thermometer (initially developed by a pharmaceutical company for healthcare industry use) was fantastic - no more messing with in-ear or forehead thermometers, plus it works alongside a mother's natural instinct to check a child's temperature by putting their hand on their forehead.

As mums we were particularly impressed with The Gro company. They had lovely products to buy but also offered helpful safe sleep advice, making the shopping and brand experience about more than just buying another piece of baby kit. We'd love to see Gro develop sleep sacks or another sleep bag solution for older kids.

And while we're on the subject of stands, it was great to see stands staffed by team members from the actual companies (Superdrug instore staff were particularly lovely and introduced me to their own range of nappies, which I didn't even know existed). Sometimes companies have no choice but to use outside staff or PR companies to man exhibitions but it's worth bearing in mind that a mum to mum (or parent to parent) connection that's honest is incredibly powerful.

Finally a big thank you to Plum for supplying my ticket for the day (and for the very friendly welcome on their stand).