Having kids pre-internet, social media, Amazon.com, etc., was, for lack of a better word, different. There were no supportive social media groups to bounce ideas off of (or vent to), no Amazon customer reviews to consider about the products you bought for your child, no WebMD to research that weird rash that you just noticed on your kid’s arm.
Nope, all you had basically was your mom, sister, a pediatrician, and a small circle of friends at the mommy-and-me class or playground. That was pretty much it. If they didn’t have the answers to your questions or relate to your concerns, then you were pretty much on your own to figure it out.
By contrast, new moms today have it good. Answers to all the confusion, concerns and questions that race through a new mom’s mind are a few mouse clicks away. All those mouse clicks and touchscreens not only offer info to new moms (and hopefully some reassurance that everything is normal), but for retailers there’s all that data. In 2020, retail is borderless and the tipping point is technology.
Technology is a lifeline for new moms today, and brands and retailers now have the ability to understand or identify who she is through massive data intake and targeting abilities. They can identify when a woman is pregnant and when the baby is born by what they’re researching, and therefore know what their biggest concerns are. Their online behavior indicates that they’re ready to have a conversation about becoming a new mom, and what that means in both big and small ways. The question is: Are you ready to engage?
By engage I mean not just sell. New moms may want a coupon for formula or diapers, but what they need is to have an ongoing conversation with a trusted resource.
So what can retailers and brands do to better engage with new millennial moms? Consider trying the following:
- Engage when they’re in-store. Eighty-four percent of millennial moms reportedly use their smartphones while shopping in stores. Put that data to use by targeting brand messages while they’re inside your brick-and-mortar locations that literally guide them to the right aisle to ease their path to purchase.
- Cater to new mom’s life stage. Infants, toddlers, early adolescents … each life stage in a child’s development is unique, so be aware that you’re presenting the right products as solutions at the right time. Forging a strong brand connection during a time when a consumer is most likely to be responsive to a specific product can help create a lasting and trusted bond with young moms.
- Tap into influencers. Millennial moms want authenticity in the products they buy and they want to know that someone they trust also trusts a particular brand. You don’t have to partner with a celebrity to win with the mom influence army. Lots of influencers (and micro-influencers) are out there with approximately 10,000-250,000 followers. They can help you reach the new mom audience and drive traffic to stores in a way that even a useful coupon can’t.
If you recognize and understand the priorities and preferences of millennial moms, which are uniquely different than other moms, you can engage in an ongoing conversation that will serve them through every stage of motherhood.