Why do Marketers still fear Marketing to Moms?

I have a favorite saying and one that stirs my business philosophy as much as my personal actions. It’s attributed to the bright man or woman referred to as Anonymous and goes like this: “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” I wish I knew who Anonymous was because I’d give him or her the gold medal of marketing intelligence. If he or she only knew how many times I repeat their quote to a marketer who is exploring the mystical world of marketing to moms.

One would think after all the thousands of articles written on the buying power of moms that we would be well beyond companies “exploring” whether or not they should speak to mothers. Unfortunately we aren’t. Even with the $2.1 trillion spending power attributed to moms, brands are still hesitant to turn the conversation from child to gatekeeper.

So why write about fear and marketing to moms now? Having just returned from Toy Fair in New York, I have been pondering the question most frequently asked of me, “if we market to the moms, will we become uncool to the child?” It’s a question asked out of fear. The fear of talking to the financial gatekeeper- Mom. It’s a fair question. But I wonder if this same fearful marketer has asked, “who is paying for our product at the cash register?” My guess it’s not the tween, teen or toddler in the house. It’s the mother. So if your sales are flat or falling and you are debating whether or whether not it’s time to turn your marketing focus to the mother, I fondly quote Mr/Ms. Anynomous. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” It’s time to change the plan to include the Household CFO also know as mom.

Imagine what could happen to your sales if you purposefully set out to establish a relevant and valuable dialogue with moms about your product? Certainly you aren’t going to approach it the same way as you would her teenager or tween but can imagine if she knew you recognized her as your customer?

There are excellent examples of companies who successfully speak to moms and remain hip to the child. Nintendo Wii comes to mind. They did a wonderful job in teaching moms to play Wii while marketing to their entertainment-centric children. Build a Bear Workshop creates a fun experience for the child while speaking to the mom about values and philanthropy via social media. And of course, Zhu Zhu Pets engaged moms in hosting MommyParties while running commercials on Nick and Disney Channel.

Did any of these brands chase away their core target audience- the child? Not at all. In fact, I would argue that the engagement of Nintendo with moms made it a whole lot easier for Junior to convince his mom to fork over the $300 for a Wii. I also bet that the kids who got the first Zhu Zhu Pets because their moms had access to the product before anyone else, thought their blogging mom was super cool!

Fortunately for marketers gone are the days when one commercial had to fit the entire family. There’s a style, strategy and tactic for every segment of consumer. A conversation that a brand can have to multiple people with multiple interest via multiple platforms all at once. That’s the magic of social media and consumer generated content. With the magic of online marketing, social media and consumer generated content, marketers have the opportunity to get over their fears of marketing to moms and do something they’ve never done before in order to get the results they’ve never gotten before.

Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media, the leading global marketing with moms firm. She is author of “Marketing to Moms”, “Trillion Dollar Moms,” “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Moms by Leveraging New Media and Technologies,” and “Ultimate Mom.” She is Founder of Bluesuitmom.com, www.momtv.com , National Mom’s Nite Out and host of MomTalkRadio, www.momtalkradio.com, first nationally syndicated radio show for moms. You can follow her @momtalkradio.

When Virtual Playgrounds Collide With The Mom Next Door, Marketers Win

Ask any marketer who has been around for a while what the greatest form of marketing is in the mom market, and he or she will undoubtedly answer "word of mouth." Some may even cleverly call it word of mom.

A decade ago, a marketer's dream was to have a mom tell other mothers about their brand or product on the playground. We jumped for joy if moms sitting in focus groups told us that they heard about our product from another mom at a play date. It was difficult to quantify this "word of mouth," but we knew in our guts it was either building brand awareness or driving sales. Then, almost miraculously, the mom blogger was born and suddenly marketers could see and track word of mom in comments, tweets and blog posts.

Today, brand managers clamor to have Mom bloggers write up a product review or tweet about their product. However, in the rush to connect with Mommy bloggers or Social Media Mom Influencers, as I prefer to call them, marketers have forgotten that a mom's influence doesn't live on her hard drive alone. The sphere of influence of a true Mom Influencer transcends her virtual world into the physical community she inhabits on a daily basis. The best word of mom agent is the mom who is active on the virtual AND physical playground.

To support the need for marketers to look at moms in a multidimensional, BSM Media surveyed 1,000 moms who are active in social media online blogging, tweeting or Facebooking. According to the survey, 65% of moms feel they have as much influence offline as they do online. Fifty-two percent of these mothers admitted to sharing product information with an offline friend regularly with another 32% saying that they usually share information they find online with offline peers.

These social media moms not only socialize online but offline as well. Fifty-four percent of them belong to at least three mom-/women-related organization or groups in their physical community with over 35% belong to more than five such groups. Examining the lifestyle of today's most active mothers and most prolific influencer, it should come as no surprise that mom's two worlds become much intertwined.

Today's mothers see few boundaries between the virtual playgroups she socializes in and the moms she chats with in the carpool lane. In the same survey, when asked how she feels about her "offline" and "online" friends, mom tells us that she values them equally -- 48 % responded that she felt equally close to both sets of friends. In fact, over 68% of moms have a virtual friend they desire to meet in person.

So what does this mean to marketers who want to engage mom influencers to create a buzz about their product? It means you must look beyond Technorati and all the impression measurement systems online and look at Social Mom Influencers in a more holistic manner. You need to measure not only how many readers she has on her blog but to examine the number of moms she touches via Twitter, Facebook, PTAs, Girl Scouts, church groups and other offline branding initiatives she might have going on.

There are many mom bloggers who don't show up on lists of the most-read bloggers who are now doing local television segments while writing for their city newspapers. These mothers offer marketers greater reach and a wider sphere of influence than a singularly focused online blogger.

Word of mouth marketing is still alive and well in the offline world even though marketers have shifted their attention in recent days. The most successful marketers in the future will be those that identify the right mom influencer for their brand and facilitate bringing her online playground into her physical neighborhood.

New Year- New Trends in Mom Marketing

With every New Year come waves of change. We make resolutions to do things differently, whether it’s changing our eating habits or the manner in which we manage our money. For marketers, January presents the opportunity to evaluate the goals of the year past, test new initiatives in the coming year and re-evaluate insights of their target market. When it comes to mothers, I’ve tracked consumer behaviors that the team at BSM Media feel will lead to the Mom Marketing Trends of 2010.

Marketing to Moms becomes Marketing WITH Moms: Resolve in 2010 to marketing “WITH” moms rather than “to” moms. Gone are the days when brands can push out marketing messages to moms and expect that moms will regurgitate it to their peers. Social media has given rise to a new generation of mothers who customize and personalize everything from coffee to your product information. These empowered moms want to share in spreading the word about your products; however they want to be partners in this relationship, hence the “with” rather than the “to.”

Video Puts a Face to Bloggers and Mom Mavens: Skype, VID and Vlogging have opened the door to a whole new dimension to the relationships mom bloggers and podcasters have developed with other mothers many miles away. With webcams and Flips in hand, moms can now communicate face-to-face with other friends, family members and companies. For marketers this means that it’s time to come out from behind your brand and put a face to your product. You can do this by engaging moms to be online “spokesmoms” or by uploading product videos to mom video portals such as Newbaby.com, www.newbaby.com or Facebook fan pages. More ambitious companies such as Logitech have found success in hosting shows on MomTV.com, www.momtv.com and doing product placement in mom produced shows as well.

The MomFrugalista is the New Chic of 2010: During 2009, the economy forced moms to explore coupons and discounts like never before. In fact, 60% of moms who claim to have never used coupons prior to the down economy admitted to now using them while compiling their grocery list. Saving money has become chic and cool among moms, even those with disposable income. It’s a game and in some circles of moms, a badge of honor. Stockpiling, insert previews and blog posts highlighting sales will continue to be a growing trend . Companies launching new products or attempting to increase sales will have to entice moms to try their products with coupons , samples and special offers. Moms have felt the excitement of saving money at the grocery store and few intend to give it up regardless of the economy.

Taking Online Mom Mavens Offline: Moms have enjoyed making friends online, in what I call the virtual playground, for several years; however they are now looking to bring these friendships to life in the physical world as well. This means great new opportunities for marketers because, as these online influencers expand offline, their networks and influence will expand as well. A recent example of this was the 300 Mommy Parties, www.mommyparties.com. BSM Media orchestrated for Zhu Zhu Pets. Moms across the US invited moms and kids into their home to play with Zhu Zhu hamsters making it the #1 toy of this holiday season. Attendance of mom bloggers has also spiked at local Mom Mixers. Companies can capitalize on mom’s desire to interact face-to-face with other moms while creating a platform for them to experience products and brands in an intimate and fun manner by sponsoring Mommy parties, Mom Mixers and local meet-ups.

It’s a new year and as a marketer it’s up to you to stay up with the times. Push aside your old CPM models and online impressions benchmarks and explore what can happen when you engage moms as your marketing partner.

I Love Twitter. You Should, Too!

I love Twitter. Absolutely love it and as a marketer you should too. As the mother of four, I use Twitter much in the same way I used to use Google or Yahoo!. When I need a recipe for a quick kid-friendly snack, I tweet it. Looking for a great gift idea? I tweet it. Once I even tweeted my search for canned pumpkin and found it, thanks to Twitter.

For many moms, twitter has become a search engine on steroids because of its ability to return recommendations from a peer group you trust and who knows your preferences, lifestyle and lifestage. This personalized delivery of relevant content is a dream come true for both consumers and companies trying to connect with them.

Unfortunately, companies have entered the Twittersphere haphazardly and without any real thought to how best utilize this powerful marketing channel. It’s not enough to just set up a Twitter account and tweet out the promotion of the week or newest press release. In fact, there’s been much tweeting about this lately among moms on Twitter. “Why do companies flood my Twitter account with garbage I can’t use?”, tweeted one mom last week. Another tweeted, “I spent 4 hours blocking companies who send me only marketing messages.”

A marketer can do a very effective job in connecting with moms in 140 characters or less as long as they follow a couple key strategies in mind. So to support these points, I did what I do most when I want to gain the prospective of moms, I tweeted this question out to my 13,000 followers: “What would you tell marketers about using Twitter when marketing to moms?”

1) It’s called Social Media because it’s social. For a woman, this means speaking back. Moms will quit following you if the dialogue is not a two-way conversation. @Gomominc tweeted: “Companies shouldn’t ask your opinion and then just go off …..”

2) Twitter shouldn’t be a platform to only broadcast promotions and sales. @ameladramaticmommy tweeted: “Be a person first and a company second. I would follow more companies if they tweeted out something interesting about them first”. If you want to see how a company representative can support a brand AND allow their personality to shine through, follow @comcastcares or @babycenterPR.

3) Take part in Twitter events. If you are surprised that there are “events” on Twitter, you probably aren’t using Twitter to its greatest potential. There are lots of events in this virtual space ranging from #FF (Follow Friday) and Twitter Parties. @Resourcefulmom created the former which have proven successful in gathering thousands of moms. Just last week BSM Media and @Resourceful hosted a Twitter Party for Zhu Zhu Pets. The event attracted over 1,000 moms and generated almost 9,000 tweets with the hash tag #ZhuZhuPets.

4) Don’t wait for moms to find you. Timing is important in delivering relevant content. Pick a few key words that fit your brand and search for twitter conversations on Summize.com, www.summize.com. In maintaining a Twitter account for one of my toy clients, we search daily for tweets that contain the word, “birthday”, “gift” and “toy”. Often we will find tweets that say” Need a birthday gift idea for 5 yr old boy”, to which we reply, “have you seen the new (insert appropriate toy) which is on sale at (insert retailer)” Relevant content delivered when a moms needs it.

5) Fear not! The conversation will happen with or without you, so you might as well join in. Many companies tell me they fear setting up a Twitter account. “ What if moms have something negative to say and say it to me on Twitter?” Well, guess what? They are going to say it whether you are there or not, but at least if you are Twitter, you have the chance to engage in the conversation.

Think back to the 80’s before social media existed and moms used to talk about products on the physical playground. Marketers were often blindsided by guerilla consumer chatter and only had the opportunity to react after it had reached the masses. With Twitter, if you see a mom complain about your product, you have 140 strokes of the keyboard to rectify the situation almost immediately. Customer service at its best.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter. I’m @momtalkradio. You can DM me or List me and if you don’t know what I’m describing, it’s time to learn. Today’s moms are doing more than just talking about brands, they are tweeting them too.

Maria Bailey is the author of “Marketing to Moms”, “Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing With Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology”. She is CEO of BSM Media, the premier marketing to moms s firm connecting companies around the globe to mothers. Maria is also Co-Founder of BlueSuitMom.com, Newbaby.com, and MomTV.com and host of Mom Talk Radio, the first Nationally syndicated radio show for moms. You can follow her on Twitter @MomTalkRadio or email her at maria@bsmmedia.com.

Capturing Mom's Holiday Shopping Dollars

This article appeared in MediaPost Publications:

Just in time for the holidays and mom's rush to cross gifts off her list, the Marketing to Moms Coalition, a nonprofit industry group, has released the results its "Moms Holiday Spending Trends 2009" report.

The group surveyed 1,225 moms with children under 18 living at home. Some might predict that in a recovering economy that moms would be condensing her gift list and tightening her budget. Just the contrary, most moms plan to spend the same amount this year compared to last year. In fact, moms with older children expect to spend more than last year. This is good news for marketers and brands with the right marketing plans in place to capture holiday sales.

Let me share some of the highlights:

Gifts Vary by Kids' Age Groups - Teens Top Spending

Overall, moms will spend $672 this year, consistent with last year's spending levels with the top hot gifts for young children being toys (51%), clothing (29%), books (26%), movies (23%) and video games (8%). Top gift choices for children aged 7 to 12 being video games (30%), toys (29%), books/clothing (tied at 28%), movies (25%) and music (20%). Popular gifts for teens being music/music electronics (28%), clothing (27%), gift cards (23%), beauty products/video games (21%), and movies (19%). Compared to the total sample of moms, moms of teens plan to spend the most on holiday gifts.

Big ticket electronics like computers and cell phones will likely see a decrease in holiday sales this year. Of moms who plan to buy a gift for 7-12 year olds, 15% fewer will by computers, while 5% fewer moms plan to buy computers for teenagers this year.

Where Mom Will Shop

The majority of Moms plan to shop at mass merchandisers/supercenters for the holidays (85%), although that is down 2% from 2008. Anticipated holiday shopping this year has increased significantly for department (up 10% to 47% in 2009) and electronics stores (up 13% to 41% in 2009). Of all retailers, shoe stores are taking the hit the most in 2009 -- down 8% versus last year.

Moms with higher household income ($75,000+) plan to shop at more places, including department, specialty clothing, club and sporting goods stores, while those with lower income skew to dollar stores. Compared to other ethnic groups, English-speaking Hispanic moms are more likely to shop at electronics stores, while African American moms are more likely to hit dollar and shoe stores.

Buying Online Still Part of the Plan

Consistent with last year, most moms will do a lot of their shopping online this year as 16% of Moms plan to do 50% or more of their holiday shopping online. Moms with higher education and higher household income are consistently planning to do more of their shopping online than other moms. Toys (41%), clothing/clothing accessories (38%) and music/movies (34%) are the top three items Moms plan to buy online for the 2009 holidays.

Capturing Mom's Holiday Dollars

Marketers who want to capture mom's holiday dollars need to remember a few of the key principals of marketing to moms.

Help moms simplify her life. Make it easy for her to purchase your product. This means offering her complimentary accessories for products, suggesting hot sellers and sending her sale emails between 10 p.m. and midnight when she's online shopping.

Nurture a relationship with her through social media. Seek out moms who are looking for product by searching www.summize.com for moms tweeting about your product and then respond with information or answers.

Multitask with the multi-minder. She's on the move so make sure she finds your marketing messages along the away. Social media is great but it's only one piece of an integrated marketing plan. Don't forget to utilize local mom mavens offline, radio, couponing and peer reviews.

Engage her in a relevant conversation. It's called social media because parties socialize. Join into holiday conversations with moms via interactive online videos on sites like Momtv.com, Twitter Parties such as GNO (Girls Night Out events) or Facebook groups such as 24/7 Moms or Circle of Moms.

Now is the time to set your strategy for the holiday season. Moms will spend their money somewhere this year, shouldn't it be with you?

Beyond the Mommy Blogger

A lot has been written about "mommy bloggers" -- a term, by the way, that most moms who blog dislike. Marketers clamor to sites with trips, product samples and incentives by the thousands. Rightfully so, marketers recognize the powerful influence these women have on their peers. It is a 180-degree move in the right direction and a long way from where companies were when Marketing to Moms was published a decade ago.

However, there is risk involved in extremes, and focusing too narrowly on mom bloggers as your moms strategy can be dangerous. Before I go any further, I want to say that I believe wholeheartedly in the power of mom bloggers. In fact, I proudly count myself among the population of mom bloggers. But beyond being a blogger, I am a mom Vlogger, a Mom Tweeple, a Mom Webmaster, and a Mom Podcaster.

Successful marketing in any segment of consumers requires an integrated approach of delivering relevant messages through multiple channels of communication. It is no different in the mom market. Marketers solely focusing their efforts on mom bloggers not only execute a partial marketing plan, but also miss two-thirds of the overall U.S. mom market.

Consider the numbers. Respected social media groups estimate between 23 million and 26 million moms are in the blogosphere. Sounds like a huge group; however, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 83 million moms in our country. This means that only about one-third of all U.S. moms participate in blogging. If marketers are speaking to mothers only via bloggers, they are leaving two-thirds of their target audience untouched. To be successful, marketers must utilize a variety of channels to create a meaningful dialogue with mothers:

1. Video and Vlogging: According to BSM Media research, 90% of mothers have watched an online video in the past week. Yahoo says it's even higher. Moms visiting Newbaby.com, www.newbaby.com, a YouTube for moms, view 11-15 videos per session and they currently have over 500 mom Vloggers. Video is fun, and a mom can watch a three-minute solution-based video while cooking chicken tenders. Brand videos don't have to be fancy. They can even be B roll. Simply upload it to one of many mom video sites, or while you are sending product to bloggers, look for mom bloggers who do video.

2. In-Home Parties: Moms love to socialize and share. In-home parties or mom mixers are a great way to put your brand in the conversation. Moms invite their peers to share in themed gatherings that include product samples and fun activities. We've found that 80% of the moms who attend will tell three to five other moms about the sponsor brand. Another 10% will tell five to ten other mothers. That's powerful word of mouth at work.

3. Radio and Podcasts: There is no other communication medium that keeps up with the pace of mothers better than radio. Moms spend up to 75 minutes a day in their cars with radio. Podcasting takes it even one step further because it allows moms to enjoy selected programs as they push strollers or shop for groceries. Producing a podcast allows a company to connect with moms on iTunes or other podcast directories. If you aren't into broadcasting your own branded show, there are plenty of great Mom shows out there to sponsor.

Today's mothers are carrying on hundreds of conversations a day and receiving information from numerous sources along the way. As a marketer, it's important to establish a meaningful dialogue with your consumer through multiple channels -- in blogs but also in their homes, in their cars and even face-to-face.

Mom Vloggers Creating Powerful Online Presence

There is a rapid emergence of mom vloggers and it’s time for marketers who want to stay ahead of the game to take notice. Let me give you an example. Just three short weeks after launching MomTV, this online video destination for moms has over 30 live weekly shows booked on their 24/7 Mom TV online network. Moms, many of whom are popular bloggers, are creating shows on everything from cooking to fashion to travel. It’s amazing to watch these moms “broadcast” live from their laptop with the help of a HD Webcam to hundreds of mom viewers. The audience then has the ability to chat, submit questions or even appear via video and ask questions. It’s truly addictive.

There is another example with Newbaby.com, the sister site to MomTV, where over 500 moms are now vlogging their daily thoughts on parenthood. Think blogging on video. Moms who view the videos can comment back to the moms via video as well. It’s bringing the personality and passion of mothers to life for her readers. Yesterday in a webinar titled "The Emergence of the Mom Blogger" sponsored by BSM Media, Maria Bailey, author of Mom 3.0: Marketing WITH Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology, facilitated a virtual panel of mom vloggers. Panelists included Danielle Smith (ExtraordinaryMommy.com), Jendi Pagano (JendisJournal.com), Stephanie Piche (co-founder of MomTV.com ) and Stacy Nerdin(www.treerootandtwig.com).

Here are some of the highlights and insights from these moms who are leading the way for other mom vloggers:

• Moms find creating videos easy with plug-in video cameras;
• Moms like to watch video because they enjoy seeing the passion of other mothers;
• Moms enjoy vlogging because it allows the authenticity of the mom come through;
• For marketers, it allows for the opportunity to demonstrate and educate the viewer;
• Newbaby.com and MomTV.com are growing because it allows moms to interact during video shows.

For more information on video and moms, email Maria@bsmmedia.com or visit www.momtv.com to see it live!