Who Are Baby Planners?
And How Can They Benefit My Business?
Strategic partnerships between baby planners and retailers are emerging across the United States. Baby planners are personal consultants to new and expecting families. They provide in-home antepartum and postpartum support offering a variety of services to include: custom baby gear selections, nursery preparations, baby shower planning, personal shopping, birth consulting, eco-friendly family options and more. Baby planners' services have come to fill a need for numerous expecting families who desire additional support. As the landscape of America is changing and families are living farther from one another, baby planners have come to provide essential services to expecting families in need.
Nationally, baby planners and retailers have formed beneficial partnerships in an effort to provide uncompromising support to expecting families. Baby planners provide retailers greater access to their customers through strategic partnerships, collaborative gear recommendations, and a higher level of service beyond in-store support.
As an essential part of parent preparation, in addition to working with retailers, baby planners create a local network of maternity service providers to support and serve their clients. From massage therapists to birth educators, retailers who work with baby planners are able to expand their reach to customers beyond the store entrance. With shared website links, creative in-store promotions and maternity networking events, retailers and planners reap the benefits of mutual promotions within the local community and beyond their immediate reach. As a result, retailers who partner with a planner access an extended base of customers through their partnering baby planners' network.
Allison Abrams, owner of Isis Maternity (www.isismaternity.com) a Boston based retailer who operates four locations within the greater Boston area, works closely with baby planners and praises the success, "…we've partnered on several successful special events and increased awareness for our gift registry." With exceptional product knowledge through hands on testing, manufacturer partnerships and tradeshow attendance, baby planners provide vital feedback to retailers regarding products and direct client feedback. This feedback has benefited Isis Maternity and other retailers, allowing buyers additional insight and assistance with product selections, feedback and increased sales of reputable new and trusted maternity and baby products. Stephanie Moore, owner of Becoming Mothers (www.becomingmothers.com) a Colorado based maternity boutique partners with a baby planner as well. Stephanie claims that knowing the feedback on products and therefore, being able to "collaborate with the baby planner in choosing products that are functional, practical and meet the requirements of the specific family are amongst the benefits of working with a baby planning professional." Product recommendations from baby planners in partnership with retailers are trusted and appreciated by families, as sales revenues are not a deciding factor.
For retailers who desire to offer all-inclusive maternity and new parent support, working with a baby planner is an excellent option. Angela Davids founder and owner of Keep ‘Em Cookin' (www.KeepEmCookin.com), a web-based organization that provides information and online support to women with high-risk pregnancies who are on bed rest, states that nearly 1 million women in the United States are put on bed rest each year due to pregnancy complications. Yet, according to Ms. Davids, "no one expects it when it happens to them, and they soon discover that the days on bed rest are long, lonely, frustrating, and frightening. There is a desperate need for support for these women." Baby planners are the answer to this desperate need, not only for women with high-risk pregnancies but for professional women, first time mothers, parents expecting multiples and those simply desiring assistance with the overwhelming new world of life with baby. Daily, retailers come in contact with these expecting families and through strategic baby planning partnerships can now offer support beyond their store's reach. Enabling the retailer to become an all-inclusive maternity destination increasing customer loyalty and ultimately sales.
The baby planning industry has bridged the gap between products available and customized family preparation, and offers promising partnerships to retailers who desire to offer additional maternity services. For retailers, choosing the right planner with whom to partner is critical to success. Retailers should look to work with a planner who compliments their store's brand and reaches their specific target audience.