Moms are not what they used to be. They aren’t like those old-fashioned mothers portrayed on TV, where they had all the time in the world to stay at home and take care of the family. Nowadays, women want to have families, but they also want careers, social lives, hobbies, and more. Not only are women busier, more stressed, and unhappier than ever, more and more women are doing it all on their own, without a spouse or partner. Generation X and millennial mothers are substantially different from their predecessors. Having seen the women before them exhaust themselves trying to achieve the cookie-cutter ideal, these new moms are trying to "have it all" without actually doing it all.
Marissa Miley and Ann Mack report in an Advertising Age White Paper how these real moms are on the rise. As marketers we need to make things easier for them. They don’t have enough time in the day to take care of all that they need to, so imagine how little patience they have for shopping. They want to be in and out of a store and on to the next errand. We need to engage them fast, and offer them something worth their time. And right now during this tough economic time we need to demonstrate value as well (cheap can be chic).
Moms want products that will help them manage their lives, lessen the stress, and give them more time to focus on the important things like their kids. Moms want products and services that provide value to their families. Because moms really want to find value in what they are purchasing, they are weighing price with the benefits of the product. Price alone is still important though; these moms are buying based on sales and coupons. Some buy in bulk to lower cost and others comparison shop until they find the best deals. But a lesson to retailers – if you are going to sell something inexpensive to these mothers, it better be a quality product; they can’t be fooled.
Women do most of the shopping. They spend $4.3 trillion of the $5.9 trillion in U.S. consumer spending, and yet most women feel as though advertisers are not communicating with them. The problem advertisers are facing now is that these real moms don’t have the time to pay attention to ads, and over time, it will only become increasingly difficult to reach these women. Advertisers need to use media that is especially convenient for the multi-tasker. The content must be engaging and it must fit into their busy lives. What we are seeing now is a layering of media, so one way or another we can capture audience. Bravo is encouraging viewers to multi-task while watching, either by blogging, e-mailing, or texting about Bravo. They would rather have them looking at their screen than doing anything else.
Marketers need to remember that these busy mothers are not like they used to be, in real life or on TV. Moms do a lot of shopping, and if you communicate with them effectively, they just might buy from you.
This white paper is a great guide map that all marketers should take to heart.
Michael Morin, EVP, The Yaffe Group
