I had a baby and joined a tribe

When I was pregnant with Mia I didn't worry a lot. I knew I had good friends. I knew I had great family support. Everyone I spoke to told me I’d easily combine a career working from home with childcare. I pictured long leisurely lunches with friends, I imagined gently rocking her to sleep, one foot on bouncer while I chatted away to a client. I read all the books. I knew what I was doing. I had this.

Then she was 11 days late. I was induced. I was in established labour for 24 hours. It ended in a forceps birth. She was horribly jaundiced and rushed back into hospital. I got a bad infection and ended up in hospital. I struggled to establish breastfeeding and then it turned out she was allergic to formula. We ended up in hospital again. Oh and I’d committed to delivering a project starting when she was 4 weeks old. I didn't have this. I didn't have a clue. The books didn't cover this. I had no friends with kids. My family, as awesome as they were, had their babies many years ago.

I was stuffed.

Then my antenatal ladies came to the rescue. They were my lifeline in those first few months. They were the people I shared my lows and highs with. The people I asked for recommendations from everything from bum cream to nurseries (and just about everything else in between).

So why did I go to them? Why did they replace my usual trusted network of friends (some of whom had been friends for over 20 years)?

Because they knew. They knew what it was like to wake up with a tiny screaming person 3 times a night. They knew you’d do anything to stop their tiny little stomach cramping if it meant you could eat a hot meal in the evening. They knew that having a small person utterly changes your life and perspective. And they were right with me in the moment, parenting at the same time and facing the same challenges I was facing. In some respects parenting never changes- your job is to raise a relatively normal kid that turns into a respectable-ish adult.

But then everything changes. In between having my two how you made a bottle up changed, the advice on using dummies changed. Between me and my mum having kids the landscape of raising children has changed beyond all recognition. In 1976 my mum didn't have to worry about the impact of technology on her child’s developing brain. Playing out in the street was totally normal and expected. We knew little about cot death. Brands were hardly on our radar. Antibacterial hand gel and aspartame in drinks didn't exist.

So the mums I met at that stage of my life became my tribe. The people I trusted most, whose opinions I listened to and whose advice I would take. I wanted to know what toys they’d bought, what foods they were feeding their kids and what product you could buy to wash away those mysterious orange food stains.

And even when I didn't want the advice I was always taking in what they said. I spent a lot of time with these people. And over the years although that group of mums has changed – as I moved towns and my kids moved from nursery to school  - the tribe remains integral to my decision-making.

My tribe is at the school gate, at my slimming world group, on facebook and on nights out. Each time the conversation might be different, so at holiday club pick up over summer we covered where everyone was buying school uniform, holiday destinations, kids’ hair chalk and shoes (each one coming with recommendations of where to buy). And on a night out at the pub we talk about where we’re going with our partners for nights away, new cars and beauty treatments. These are people I’d trust with my kids, so I’m likely to listen to their opinions pretty carefully.

It’s important for brands to understand that these are the people I turn to when I have to make every day purchasing decisions. I’m not thinking about what washing machine Kim Kardashian uses when my finally packs up. Think about the people your customers trust and how you can tap into that network.

We’d love to know whose opinion you trust most…

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.

Living socially - the next step in connecting with mums

A few months ago a conversation started in the MumPanel office about brands focussing a little too much on social media and in the process forgetting about where they could connect with mums every day. 

 

I’m an early adopter of technology.  Most of my friends aren’t. Most of my friends are mums. If you take notice of the media and rafts of marketing information coming your way you might be convinced that every single person (including mums) are spending their entire life on facebook and twitter. They’re permanently attached to their smartphone and asking all their parenting questions on forums. 

But this isn’t the whole story. I know most of the mums in my daughter’s class pretty well now and only about a third are on facebook (even less use it every day), I’m one of a handful on twitter and many don’t own a smartphone. Some even share an email account with their husband. 

Surprised? We aren’t.  We’re hearing the same story from mums across the UK, irrespective of their location, income or ethnicity. As the trend to push brands online has grown we worry that marketers have forgotten that mums HAVE to connect in real life, every day and in many different ways. 

If you have children, regardless of the amount of time you may choose to spend online, you have to do the school run, go and buy new shoes, do drop offs and pick ups at classes and organise outings to keep them occupied at the weekends. That doesn’t mean to say we don’t use technology – I’m often checking directions to somewhere on my smartphone or asking a question of mums on Facebook. 

But every single morning I stand with 10 other mums and we share information – this morning it was personal recommendations about where to buy a new kitchen table. And because I know and trust these mums then that word of mouth recommendation sticks. I’m much more likely to act on this than on a tweet. Mums take social media to the next level – they integrate it with their day to day social interactions – turning it into social living. But what does that all mean for brands? Firstly social media is great  - if your audience is there (and you should test this). Secondly don’t let social media or online activity stand alone – you are missing the opportunity to connect with mums on a wider and deeper level. Finally, never forget where mums are everyday – in the supermarket, at the school gate, living socially. Find ways to connect and build on natural word of mouth recommendation.

Drop me a line to me at nicola@mumpanel.co.uk if you’d like a copy of our Soreen case study on integrating spreading the word marketing online and at the school gate. 

Nicola