Marketing to Mothers — The Power of Recommendations!

Brands of all kinds have one key target they all want to reach out to. From a hand wash liquid to a fashion brand; they are all itching to just make it to her list. Yes, we are talking about the key consumer that no brand can ever ignore — The Moms.

For generations, brands have recognised mothers as a crucial household consumer who has a significant decision-making and purchasing power in every home. Traditionally, ads shown in the consumer space kept moms as the key target to please. However, the advent of social media and the involvement of moms in the emergent networks such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have made ‘mom-centric’ communication a part of every marketing strategy. Brands that recognise moms as their potential consumer also see them as the best brand advocates they can ever have on board.

A mother is at the helm of every purchase decision, be it buying the right packet of biscuits for her child to choosing the right sanitary napkin for her teenaged daughter. These mothers are empowered, well-read, opinionated and care enough to share. It is the best proposition for any brand to have these moms who are also the users of the brand directly or indirectly, to be the voice of the brand. This is why most brands are turning to moms to be their brand advocates, and here are some reasons that will leave you convinced:

1. Moms turn to other moms for some ‘advice’: Go to any parenting or mommy forum on Facebook, and you would be surprised to see moms opening up to other moms and turning to them for some advice. There is no better teacher than experience and hence an experienced mom is the perfect source of advice for another mom. Right from discussing diaper brands to the right foods for kids, moms always have some advice or another to share. And, yes, it doesn’t matter if you are a first-time mom or a mom to a teenager; advice comes very naturally once you are a mom. This is a truth that brands love to leverage on and hence encourage mommies to talk, advice and advocate.
2. Moms ‘choose’ well and love to flaunt their choices: When you are a mother, everything you buy or choose for your family comes under your scrutiny. This works well for brands that these moms love. They are not only proud of their choices but also go all out flaunting them amid their social circle. Right from an apparel that a mom buys for her kid to the stuff that she feeds them, is most often on social media; with the right ‘tags’, thus encouraging organic advocacy for the brand.
3. With moms comes the ‘trust’ factor: What according to you strikes the chord: A mother talking about her experience with a particular skincare brand for her child or a celebrity endorsing it? Social media has made the common people a celebrity in their own right. Brand advocacy leverages these everyday celebrities to build brand trust.
4. Moms have the potential to drive great ‘conversations’: Moms are great conversation starters and drivers. When a brand has a talking point and it involves a mom, it sure can make for some great conversations and hence be the perfect advocacy that one aims to build. Be it about building the immunity for kids to which mosquito repellent seems to be ideal for them; moms can have conversations that could work far better than any form of advertising for a brand.
5. Moms are ‘techno-savvy’: Millennial moms rely heavily on technology to add value to their life. From understanding the various stages of pregnancy to tracking the milestone of their child, they do it all online or on various apps. Hence, a brand that can fit into a mom’s technological universe will have great potential of getting discussed and be talked about in the mommy circle.

Moms are a very sincere lot and hence have to be dealt with complete transparency. At WOOP, we have realised the power of moms and how they can be the perfect asset that a brand can engage and grow. In our journey, we have learnt two basic parameters that drive moms; one being learning, and the other being the want to help another mom for their own feeling of personal growth. After all, deeper engagement leads to more powerful and authentic advocacy. Right from educating moms on breastfeeding for Philips Avent; to inducing trial-based conversations for Huggies; to driving conversations for a new launch like Cipla’s ActivImmuno Boosters; WOOP has done it all with none other than moms. It is a known fact today that the days of push marketing are over, and brand advocacy is here to stay, and with that, mothers are the biggest opportunity that brands have to grow with.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of www.buzzincontent.com and we do not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)