Moms are the only ones who will keep on shopping during the crisis

Every year moms spend $2.1 trillions in the US, with projection of reaching $3 trillions by 2012, informs Maria Bailey, CEO at BSM Media.

This Group growths and is loyal to products and services. Now more than ever it’s important to understand this group, which is the one that will keep on shopping despite the crisis.

Mothers control 85% of household spending and 70% of them feel that companies don’t know how to talk to them.

Following data is also meaningful:

• 90% of mothers use the same products at home and the office
• 88% of mothers feel entirely responsible for the household budget
• For the first time in history the market comprises four generations of mothers

Sara Moore and Betsy Westhoff, the founders of MomWise spoke to mothers around the World and they reached the following conclusions about how to get with marketing to moms. Here comes a brief manual:

Understand their priorities
Satisfying family´s needs is the priority for moms. Little rewards will come later on.

Economic home
81% of mothers have cut back eating out and 72% have reduced out-of-house entertainment. This means that mothers now interact with brands in a different way, so companies should think how mothers could enjoy their products without leaving home.

Celebrate savings
Sales work, but lately everything pretends to be a bargain. It’s a high time to convert shopping experience into something positive, and not try to save on quality or service.

Help her
Facing the crisis, in order to cut some spending, mothers will undertake new tasks at home: manicures, hair coloring… This means that brands should try to simplify their products.

Ecology
Moms want both: economic and eco-friendly products. They won’t pay extra to be green any more.

However, Lisa Druxman, Mompreneur´s columnist, stands out the importance of realizing that not all moms are the same. She describes three moms´ generations: baby boom moms, Gen X moms and Millennium moms.

One of the most important common characteristics of all moms is the amazing power of word of mouth. As points out BSM Media, mothers love to talk, compare and share. Once you win one mom’s trust, you can be sure that she will talk about the brand all around. But it works the other way round as well: once you disappoint her with the product, she won’t hesitate to do a black PR.

This segment is the only one that, despite the crisis, will keep shopping. After all, children have to eat, wear clothes, go to school… The only thing that has changed is the way they buy, and here is the gap for marketing. Understanding mothers is the only way for companies to insert their product into mom’s basket.

What other factor marketers should take into consideration when talking to mothers?

Source: AdAge, Marketing Moms, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Istock.
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