There are plenty of industries that benefit from marketing to parents. From restaurants and children’s clothes to furniture and automobile, parents are the ideal audience to appeal to when you want to boost your sales. Imagine the needs they have to meet on a daily basis. There’s their children, their house, their work, as well as themselves. They’re continually seeking the next big solution to their parenting and career troubles. Just because they want these solutions, however, doesn’t make them easier targets.
In your journey to reeling moms and dads into your brand, you’ll find that they also have the most diverse consumer behavior. Some of them are meticulous, while some are ready to jump at any upcoming sale. They’re heavy on multitasking, too, which means that if your initial touchpoint isn’t good enough, there’s no way to retain their attention.
This all sounds overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be for your marketing team. Knowing exactly where to look and how to take advantage of the insights you glean will help you create a good foundation for any marketing campaign.
All Eyes on the Phone
Studying today’s parents will give you plenty of valuable knowledge about their preferences. One common observation you’ll make is that a lot of them are just as attached to their phones as single people are, although for a different reason. Parents are notorious for juggling three to four things at a time, and they’ve begun to take advantage of the latest breakthrough in smartphone apps to make their lives easier. They also like to research parenting tips in their free time and to scan for shopping options for their various needs. This increases their chances of preferring their phones over their computers in doing tasks like booking a hotel, scheduling a play date, or ordering food.
Regardless if you’re a seasoned music teacher or you’ve just taken a daycare franchise opportunity, you have to give a premium to optimizing your website for mobile phones. Invest in an app of your own if you can and go for popular e-commerce platforms like Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon. Streamline all the platforms so that parents can see the important things at once like the item, price, payment methods, and delivery options. Go for something simple but functional that parents can enjoy for its convenience.
All Focus on the Value
Parents’ shopping motivation can generally be narrowed down to three things. They want to save time, money, and effort. Their standard for a worthy purchase is based on the value they get for the price, the time they’ll save using their purchase, and the efficiency it will bring for the purposes it’s intended for.
Your job is to identify how your brand meets one or two of those reasons and to market that as your selling point. If you’re starting a daycare center, reiterate the amount of money they’ll save without sacrificing the quality of care their children will receive. It’ll be their second home where all their teachers will reinforce lessons their parents teach them. Your selling points here are finances and effort. The value you bring through these will appeal the most to parents and help convince them to try your services.
All Ears Listen
Recommendations are powerful for parents. They’ll heed the advice of friends, family, and other parents when it comes to certain products and services. Oftentimes, they won’t bother to do their research. They’ll get everything they need to know from this trusted source and proceed with the purchase. Remember that they’re operating with time constraints, and a recommendation is good enough on most days to get them through a shopping hurdle.
All Attention on the Clock
Responsiveness is how you’ll convert traffic to sales. Remember that parents seldom have more than five minutes to talk about a product or settle a transaction. This is especially true for those who are raising newborns and toddlers. Parents get their free time only when these little ones are either asleep or too busy playing to demand attention. Even then, they won’t have all day to spare for just one purchase. Make responsiveness, either online or in person, a priority. Delaying for as long as half an hour can cost you a sale because, by the time you’ve responded, they’ve already moved on to another vendor.
No Single Formula
These are the foundations of effective marketing to parents. There is, however, no single formula for every industry that targets this particular demographic. You have to do your research and learn as you go. What’s important is your start right by following these tips and you build up your brand to parents from there.
