There is more to being mum

We keep hearing it, experiencing and saying it – but it’s something that’s worth repeating. There’s more to being a mum than being a mum. Behind that title of ‘mum’ is an individual, a person who has her own set of wants and needs. She has to balance that with the needs of her family but her own (often strong) preferences play into her decision-making.

We’ve just carried out some research with our MumPanel of 10,000 mums across the UK and this is what is at the top of their mind at the moment (and some of their thoughts aren’t quite as mumsy as you’d think…).

• The election is a hot topic at the moment. We don’t tend to find mums discussing it in the playground but it’s definitely something they think about – both on a personal level and also how it might affect their family. 88% of mums said they’re going to vote in the general election but even at this late stage 45% haven’t decided who they’re going to vote for. That could mean that mums are the most influential group in determining who’s next in line for government.

• Mums have fun and ‘me time’ too. Mums might not have bags of free time but they still manage to fit in their hobbies and interests. When we asked our MumPanel, half play sport regularly (swimming, running, netball and bootcamp). One third said they regularly holidayed without their kids, two-thirds go to comedy shows or theatre, 40% drink alcohol every week and 75% do DIY (not sure that is always fun!).  It’s not just empty nesters that have ‘me time’, so don’t forget mums when you’re marketing recreational and escape products and services.

• Mums and kids share. Mums share products, experiences and wants with their kids.  They might buy breadsticks and yoghurts for the kids but find they like them. And so the next time they’re buying for themselves as well as the kids.  We found two-thirds of mums like the same music as their kids (Frozen sound track, McBusted, Ed Sheeran, Take That and Taylor Swift). Many go willingly (or suggest going) to concerts and shows with their children – enjoying them as much as the kids. Parents and kids share - whether consciously or not - and brands should look for opportunities for innovation and connection in this area.

• There are many dimensions to being mum. Brands need to see the wider influences, needs and values of mums. Why? So they don’t miss important factors when developing products and service. As a brand if you dig into these deeper factors you can create better, empathetic relationships with your audience and meet ALL the needs of ‘being mum’.

All figures from survey of 600 UK mums (completed 14-20th April 2015). 

If you have any mum or family insight, innovation or communication needs call us on 0161 413 4717 or email lynne@mumpanel.co.uk

Mum radar

We’re always listening to mums, asking for their opinions and understanding what matters to them at the moment. So here’s an insight into the latest hot topics and what we’re observing in the mum world.

The power of the photograph

If you really want to engage with mums on social media then photos are a great idea. Mums really take notice of friends and family conversations on posts, and of any photos that are included.

Just recently a friend posted a tour of their holiday apartment in Poole. I watched as 10 or so people asked where it was and were interested in booking. That’s pretty powerful stuff if you are trying to sell something.  Think about mum ambassadors who can show off real life videos and photos – we want to see things from a real perspective.

Storytelling

If you can find a way to tell a story in marketing that relates to me and my family then I’m interested. Make it real and you’ll have mums hooked. Forget falseness or something too contrived – keep it authentic for mums and show the benefits of that service or product within the story.

Fads & fancies

Any brand can offer a product, try and engage with me and my children. But if children don’t like the product (or have suddenly gone off it) then I won’t be buying it. This doesn’t mean that mums will never try again – after all children change their minds. So think about how you can stay in mums space and tempt them back with offers.

Being in two places at once

Most of us mums combine going online with out and about - we use online to find ideas for days out or holidays. And we’re often out and about when we are online (that could be anywhere!).  So find ways to link those two worlds together for mums and make it easy for us to go online when we’re out. Engage by helping us.

The mum recommendation is still number one

As our families grow we always want to know about the next stage. We’re always looking for new ideas, to understand the latest trends. So we listen to what mums have to say, both those who have been there and done it but also what they’ve heard on the grapevine. And mums are very good at telling other parents what we like and don’t like.  In the last week I’ve listened to 3 or 4 mum recommendations and acted on them.

If you'd like to know about mum insight drop us a line. 

      

Mums and grocery shopping - trends from The Big Mum Opinion

Over the next few weeks we'll be sharing trends we've drawn out from our large scale consumer insight report from 3000 UK mums - The Big Mum Opinion. This week we're talking grocery shopping

1. Mums 'multi-shop' for groceries. Over 78% of mums use more than one shop (including online) to buy their grocery shopping in a typical week. And 28% use three or more. 70% because of offers and 39% because of better quality fresh food and vegetables.
2. Mums love loyalty schemes, but rarely pick one to be 'loyal' to. Mums told us that their loyalty to stores is now shared - they are often loyal to two or three supermarkets.
3. It's not all about supermarkets. Although supermarkets are a staple, mums told us that they can shop in a bargain store (17%), farm shop (9%) and supermarket (80%) in the same day or week for their household groceries.
4. Offers and the quality of a product are not mutually exclusive. Don't be fooled into thinking that because mums love offers they are necessarily willing to compromise on quality, convenience or ethics. Quality of product is still incredibly important to many mums and they won't go for a cheaper product if they perceive it to be of an inferior quality.
5. Mums like a choice of communication channels too. In-store marketing is still very important to mums - they are in the shopping zone and think it is a good time for brands to talk to them - even the online and social media savvy mums say so. Mums multi-shop and they also use multiple communication channels to decide.

If you'd like to read the full Big Mum Opinion report you can get your hands on it here.

New report: The Big Mum Opinion

2013 was a significant year for MumPanel. We decided to undertake one of the biggest, indepth research projects into mums in the UK.

We set some tricky targets – speak to 3000 mums, gather a real understanding of where mums will be in 2014 – what they want, what they need, what brands are getting right and where companies need to work a little harder to make the right connections with families.  And finally ensure we spoke to all kinds of mums, not just online but in the community and at the school gate.

And the result of our work is The Big Mum Opinion – where you can find information on mums usage of social media, mums' trusted sources of influence, consumer engagement points, brand loyalty, and the impact of children on mums’ purchasing decisions, plus much more.

But most importantly it reveals how you can really connect with mums and capture that market. 

Here are our top five tips…

1. Give mums honesty, realness and transparency from product through to

communications. Know your values and be ready to evidence them.

        

2. Be genuine. Deliver products and services that really make a difference. That way you'll build trust and mums will genuinely recommend you through their own natural word of mouth channels.

3. Be there for mums as a trusted resource. But don't try to be a false best friend.

4. Offers. 88% of mums tell their friends and family about offers and 81% actively seek out offers. Why not get the mums to be the ones to share and hand out their offers with others.

5. Mums don't want to feel stereotyped.  33% felt labelled or patronised. Look at mums' real decision-making and purchasing journeys. Identify and map out key touchpoints, patterns and reasons for differing decisions. Focus on the mum

perspective and you will reach and connect with them better.

You can sign up for the full report (and find an info graphic) on the MumPanel website. 

5 ways brands can help mums fill lunchboxes

Last week the papers were full of news of schools banning packed lunches.

Behind the headlines was the release of a report called The Independent School Food Plan. The plan outlines a number of recommendations to change the eating behaviours of school children in the UK.

One of those recommendations is that 70% of school children should be eating school dinners. The idea is that schools lunches are healthier (although we know that not to be the case in many schools) and parents can’t fill lunchboxes with ‘junk’.

It would also provide a much needed source of income to schools which would then fund making school dinners better. You can read the whole report here.

The reaction from mums on twitter and in our facebook group wasn’t very positive – whatever the thought process behind the plan they wanted to have the choice to decide lunchbox or school dinner.

“It's taking the choice away from parents, what if you have a child on a special diet or a fussy eater? As parents are we not capable of putting healthy food in our kids lunchboxes?" Susan

And for many mums cost was an issue…

“My kids aren't at school yet, but when they go I intend to send packed lunches. Not sure we could afford school meals. If they were heavily subsidised and meet the needs of fussy eaters so kids aren't going hungry then may be convinced...” Natalie

We know from our research in The Big Mum Opinion that lunchboxes are a daily topic of conversation – how can mums balance the ‘rules’ that schools set about what can go in lunchboxes with what their kids like (and will eat) and healthy eating?

So how can brands help mums with lunchboxes?

1. Think about price 
Mums have different budgets for their child’s lunchbox but the cost can add up when you have to provide 5 meals (and more if you have more than one child) so mums are always comparing costs. Mums will balance health considerations with price but if it’s a ‘small treat’ (e.g. a chocolate biscuit versus a ‘healthier’ biscuit’) then price may win. Mums often buy in bulk so find special offers for lunchboxes attractive.

2. Provide choice 
Mums want to vary the lunchbox for different nutritional as well as taste requirements. Children have fads, allergies and different wants. Give mums choice.

3. Help educate mums 
Many mums would love to feed their children healthy, tasty, nutritious foods every single day. But we often need ideas and inspiration. Could your brand be that helping hand that mums need – offering great ideas that satisfy kids and school rules around what can go in lunchboxes? What’s the nutritional value of their lunchbox?

4. Appeal to kids but satisfy the parents 
Our mums tell us that they make the ultimate decision about what goes in the trolley. The kids don’t normally decide but we do want to keep them happy (and safe if they have allergies etc) so think about what appeals to kids but satisfies parents needs. At the end of the day if the child doesn’t like the taste it won’t be bought again.

5. Let mums know it is recommended for the lunchbox
It sounds really obvious but let us know it is good for the lunchbox (recommended and used by mums and kids) and whatever the product is make it lunchbox friendly, packaging, size, easy to find in store and easy to open.

If you want to know more about research with mums or marketing specific products to mums drop us a line.

First-ever major UK mum study goes back to the school gates

This week has been a very exciting one for MumPanel as we launch The Big Mum Opinion. You can find out more about the study in the press release below.

Specialist family insight and marketing consultancy MumPanel, has launched the first in-depth study of UK mums and their views on the products and services that brands offer them.

“The Big Mum Opinion will be the first large-scale qualitative and quantitative investigation of mothers’ purchasing attitudes and preferences in Britain,” said Lynne Barcoe, Founder of MumPanel. “This study goes way beyond number crunching and categorising mum types according to their household spend. We are going back to the school gates and the children’s groups to hear mums’ thoughts first-hand, and find out the real complexities of being a mum. Particularly, what that means when it comes to buying goods for themselves and their families,” she said.

The consultancy, which has so far helped many family brands to understand and connect with their mum customers, from Organix to Soreen, believes there is a huge opportunity for brands to really connect with mums out in their worlds, improving communication, products and services and giving them what they want.

Barcoe, who has more than 10 years’ senior marketing experience, said: “While brands now have more data at their fingertips and more touchpoints to connect with mums, it is not as helpful as it may seem on the face of it. Mums are telling us that brands are not always getting it right; we want to look at why this is and what they should be doing. The Big Mum Opinion is all about understanding the real face of mums and removing the risk of misinterpreting them by providing quality workable evidence and insight that brands can pick up and run with.”

Mums like Charlotte from London: “We’re not just mothers, we are friends, daughters, workers, partners. We have hobbies and pastimes, likes and dislikes. I feel like no-one quite gets me and that I’m still represented by the mum stereotypes of old,” she said.

MumPanel’s Head of Marketing, Nicola Cooper-Abbs, added: “Lately there is too great a reliance on online data but we know most mums don’t spend their lives online. This is creating a red herring for brands, as the opinions of mums are narrowed down to a small minority who are always online. We also see research that is much too biased on quantitative data and missing supportive in-depth qualitative data. So mums are labelled up and filed according to the box they ticked online.”

MumPanel’s Big Mum Opinion, which launched this week, will focus on getting the real views of mums out in the field, in their natural environment, from the school gates to the toddler and children’s clubs, as well as online – in fact the Big Mum Opinion promises to take in most mum touchpoints. The team will speak to around 4,000 mums in a variety of settings, including their Opinion Pods, and will track mums’ journeys from start to end.

Cooper-Abbs, said: “Where MumPanel really adds value is in our marketing skills and knowledge. We are not a parenting forum we are mum marketing specialists who gather quality research and insight from our mum panelists and combine it with authoritative analysis and commentary. This gives brands a real understanding of their customers and concrete evidence to work with at the end of it all.”

She concluded: “If brands want to attract their slice of the parent pound they need to understand the opinions of all their customers, not just a select few, and how to feed those opinions back into the products they are developing, campaigns they are planning and the services they’re delivering. The Big Mum Opinion, which will be published 22 May 2013, is a must read for brands who count mums as a primary customer.”

For more information on the Big Mum Opinion, visit: http://www.mumpanel.co.uk/projects-surveys.php

For more information you can contact Rachael Tilling at The PR Station: m 078 1111 9430 rtilling@theprstation.co.uk

What wins on the school run - style or practicality?

I think we can officially say that autumn is here. I’m pretty sure it is because I’ve got soaked on the school run every day for the last week. And as all our team are mums we’ve been sharing insight about what trends we’ve spotted in the playground. We also asked our MumPanel what they wear for the school run and whether style or practicality wins.

Lynne, our MD, was the first to spot that Hunter Wellies have made the transition from festival favourite to playground staple (check out this fab purple pair from Out of the City). Some of our mums told us that while their school run outfit needs to be practical they also don’t want to leave all sense of style behind.

But because MumPanel mums are so diverse we knew fashion wouldn’t be the whole story. Many of our mums our budget conscious, with them telling us fashion doesn’t come into the school run and they wouldn’t fork out for an expensive pair of wellies for themselves as they need to kit out their kids.  They also want value (and that doesn’t always mean the cheapest option ) – it’s worth remembering that mums will pay more for something if they know it will last.

What did become apparent from talking to our mums is that they want things that make their life easier – whether that’s wellies that fit around our less than slimline calves or boots that easily pull on so you don’t have to wrestle with shoes and kids. This is where opinion pods (our focus groups) can prove helpful when you are developing new products – we listen to what mums are saying and the tiniest insight can unlock a potentially life changing product.

If you’d like to know more about targeting and connecting with mums then contact us.