Canadean reports that mums in Australia are responsible for $132 billion in spending every year. Mums are a diverse, sophisticated and experienced consumer group who are responsible for buying everything from clothing, holidays, healthcare, insurance, cars and accounting services. With 6,227,200 mums in Australia and a further 140,000 woman becoming mums each year this is a powerful consumer group which you cannot afford to misunderstand, undervalue, or ignore. Having said this, recent data from Marketing to Mums reports that 63% of Australian mums believe advertisers don’t understand them.
Why? Well over the past decade mums have undergone significant changes in the way they communicate and receive information for starters. Here are the top 3 mum trends your business needs to understand to keep up with their ever changing behaviour.
#1 – Technology
Mums have embraced the smartphone. Roy Morgan reports that 3 million mums in Australia are using a smartphone. They are using it to do everything from entertain their kids, run their diary, take photos, text friends, do the banking, engage in online shopping and access social media. Mum loves the convenience of running her life from her handbag. It gives her enormous freedom and convenience. You are far more likely to reach mum via her phone than on a desktop so ensure that you are building your website and newsletters for mobile, specifically the iPhone which is mum’s preferred smartphone with over 60% of mums identifying as iPhone users in a recent Australian survey.
#2 – Social Media
Mum’s use social media to stay connected with friends, amuse themselves and research products and prices. They consider it their little bit of ‘ME’ time. Latest data from Marketing to Mums reports almost 90% of mums are checking their social media accounts daily with 28% claiming to access eleven times a day or more. If mum is on social media you should be too. Facebook remains her social media platform of choice, followed by Instagram and Pinterest so ensure you are not one of the 64% of small businesses without a social media presence. Social media is a wonderful platform for gaining greater insights about mum and developing a stronger relationship. Post both engaging content (she loves some humour) mixed in with some sales messages. For best results schedule posts around when you are most likely to get her attention; on waking and after the kids are in bed.
#3 – Third Party Proof
Mums cite recommendations from other mums and ‘real’ testimonials as the two most important influences when making a purchase decision. This grossly outweighs any celebrity endorsement or advertising sales messages. Mums want to learn about your business through experiences from other mums. You can facilitate this by regularly requesting and publishing testimonials on your website and social media. Also turn on ‘Ratings and Reviews’ on your Facebook page and encouraging your community to post and comment here. You could also engage influencers to review your product or service. I have commissioned incredibly powerful and successful campaigns for clients using this method.
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