How-To: Making "Mom WOM" Happen
5 Tips from Lucid Marketing's Kevin Burke
There are 83 million moms in the U.S. -- 4 million new ones each year. "They're involved in most purchase decisions in the household, across all categories," says Kevin Burke, President of Lucid Marketing.
Here, Kevin shares insights on these key word of mouth influencers.
Tip #1. Moms are your customers
Recent data suggests moms control 80 percent of household spending, and they are typically buying for themselves, their husbands, and their kids. Capture "Mom WOM" and you capture a huge market of valuable consumers for nearly every consumer business.
Tip #2. Moms are busy and discerning
Moms have more choices than in previous generations. They are pressed for time and often juggle a work-life balance. Moms multi-task skillfully because they have to. They're on the lookout for solutions to make life easier, which is one reason why they strongly embrace the internet. If stranded on a desert island and can only have one medium, they chose email over all others.
Tip #3. Moms are not classical influential profile
Moms value relationships to a greater extent than anyone else because they experience the strongest relationship anyone can have -- a mother and child. Moms are good at building relationships and enjoy sharing know-how. You can see relationships growing and word of mouth happening at ball games, bus stops, birthday parties, etc.
Tip #4. Moms are extremely credible with peers
Moms are big influencers in mom-to-mom dialogue. They are more likely to make personal recommendations to other moms, and they rank WOM from other moms as the most trusted means of finding out about new products and services. The thought process is as simple as, "she’s like me and knows what I face!"
Tip #5. Moms have widely differing behaviors
"Typical" mom activities? There are no such thing. Their busy lives lead them to all different places and experiences.
A recent Lucid study found moms who work full-time have the highest number of average daily contacts (46), while moms who are not employed have the fewest, at 18. But results switch with message board and chat room activity: 22 percent of moms not employed went on daily, while only 12 percent of moms who work full-time did. When asked about having their own blog, moms who worked part-time were much more likely to have one.
More about Kevin:
Read Kevin's WOMBAT presentation (PDF download)
