|
Subscribe Now!
 Events Calendar
Online Product Catalogs
Manufacturers Directory
Product Update Pages
eBabyShop newsletter
Baby Shop Flipbook
|
Marketing
to Mom:
Eleven Ways to Infuse Your Business Establishment
with “The Mom Factor”
By Nora Lee
Washington, DC (May 2005)—Listen to your mother. It’s good
advice for practically everyone. But if you own or manage a store, restaurant,
amusement park, sports arena, museum, or any other location where families
go to spend money, this friendly little admonishment takes on a whole
new meaning. Simply put, mothers control America’s purse strings.
And that truth, according to a compelling new book from the Urban Land
Institute, is reason enough to get them firmly in your corner.
“It is estimated that women engage in 80 to 88 percent of all consumer
spending in the U.S.,” says Nora Lee, author of The Mom Factor:
What Really Drives Where We Shop, Eat, and Play (Urban Land Institute,
2005, ISBN: 0-87420-944-7, $19.95). “Now, consider that three-fourths
of America’s 108 million adult women are mothers. It doesn’t
take a mathematician to see that Moms make well over half the consumer
buying decisions in this country! That is staggering financial power .
. . so why don’t businesses bend over backwards to attract us?”
It’s a good question, and one that is thoroughly explored in Lee’s
book. She explains up front that The Mom Factor is not “Encyclopedia
Maternica” but is “one Mom/businesswoman’s analysis
of a very complex subject, based on a decade of professional scrutiny
and careful thought.” Considering that there is almost no hard data
on Moms, per se, this is a strong reason for retailers and others to take
note. The fact that it’s well written and overflowing with commonsense
ideas is another.
The Mom Factor is rich in real-life observations and anecdotal evidence
of what happens when companies ignore Mom and what happens when they acknowledge
her. And Lee has helpfully concentrated her findings into what she calls
“The Mom Factor Checklist,” eleven elements that make a store,
restaurant, or other family venue appealing to mothers. Here, condensed
from the book, is her list:
1. Health and Safety:
Moms can see danger around every corner. Spills in the aisle, cholesterol-laden
food, inedible decorative plants, rickety roller-coaster wheels, bad sightlines
at the arcade, and nasty restrooms at the stadium all represent a very
slippery slope. On the other hand, if a business provides quick cleanups,
appetizing healthy alternatives, barriers to overinquisitive little fingers,
evidence of regular safety inspections and maintenance, a clear view of
the little ones, and sparkling restrooms, it might well have a customer
for life, or, even more important, the beginnings of a customer dynasty
with Mom at the center.
2. Customer Service:
Mom says, “Pay attention to me,” but often in a soft, self-deprecating
voice. Snooty waiters who prefer adults lose both tips and repeat business,
but the waiter who brings the toddler some crackers and the first-grader
a set of crayons—without being asked—is golden. In good mall
design, service and safety include a well-marked pickup and drop-off location
for the teens who don’t want to be seen with Mom. The clerk who
is empowered to make a decision on a return or a sale price beats the
heck out of “Duh, I’ll have to get the manager, who might
be back after lunch.”
3. Value:
.
Some of the wealthiest among us could be found at Target on a Saturday
afternoon. Mom’s idea of value translates to a balance of reasonable
prices, decent quality, and good selection. Just as Mom will pay more
for good customer service, so will she pay more for good quality, but
it’s always a balancing act. Cheap flip-flops make sense for one
summer of beach-going. But it might be worth it to get a good, warm, more
expensive coat (maybe a size too large) to last her youngest the whole
winter.
4. Efficiency:
Efficiency is why grocery stores now have banks and Jamba Juice, and banks
have a Starbucks, and ATMs sell stamps—for those moments when time
is of the essence. It’s often a little thing. For instance, there
are grocery chains in the United States and the United Kingdom that actually
listened when Moms asked them to remove the gum and candy impulse items
from the checkout areas. Moms were tired of ending their trips to the
store with a battle with the kids over the “I wannas!” Grocery
shopping instantly became more pleasant and more efficient.
5. Social and Community Conscience:
Giant discounters that hire the differently abled or give a set portion
of their profits to local schools are more likely to see Mom repeatedly
than those that do not. Products displaying pink ribbons attract attention
and dollars because Mom’s mother or aunt or sister had breast cancer.
She’ll drive the extra miles to take the kids to the family entertainment
center that is holding a fundraiser for the Humane Society because then
her role as cheerleader and as a purse with legs has some meaning. And
if she is so inclined, she has an opportunity to give one of those Mom
speeches about putting your money where your mouth is.
6. Story:
At a zoo, establishing a personal connection with an orangutan named Clyde,
who’s 22 years old, loves blueberries, and has a jealous mate named
Audrey, helps both Mom and child immerse themselves personally in Clyde’s
story and, more broadly, in the story of a Southeast Asian forest habitat
in danger. Story helps not only in theme parks, zoos, museums, and attractions,
but to a lesser extent in malls, stores, restaurants, and sporting events.
Even the flashing lights and thunder that accompany the misting of produce
in many grocery stores represent a kind of storytelling.
7. Comfort:
OK, my feet are killing me, and I’ve spent $213 for bags full of
stuff that are now dragging me down. Where do I sit for a minute? How
about my kids, who of course have all the energy I lack? Mom wants to
be comfortable. She wants clean restrooms and plenty of them, good ventilation
and smoking control, effective queue management, tables that don’t
smash Dad’s knees when he sits down, room to maneuver around racks
of merchandise, and maybe even a peaceful place to retreat to for a few
minutes, before tackling the to-do list again. Invest in her comfort and
she will invest in you.
8. Learning and Teaching Opportunities:
Mom looks for education everywhere: the milking display at the county
fair, the furniture factory tour, the traveling display on the life of
Ray Charles at the mall, the hayride outside of town, Great Moments with
Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland, and Hall of Fame displays at the football stadium.
Even restaurants can offer lesson opportunities, if Grandpa draws on the
paper tablecloth while the little ones watch, or the décor consists
of World War II flyers’ memorabilia.
9. Fun:
Whether the destination is a family entertainment center, museum, local
mall, sporting event, or the beach, Mom aims for the most fun for the
most people, and all too often sacrifices her own enjoyment for that of
others. After all, she knows firsthand the cost of disappointment; it’s
written on the faces of those kids. The destination that helps her in
her quest will win her dollars and her loyalty. The one that considers
her own pleasure and then delivers will win her devotion—and a small
shrine on which she will place generous offerings of chocolate and comfortable
shoes!
10. Continuity and Change:
The paradoxical appeal of both change and continuity has a special fuzzy
place in the Mom Factor. Mom likes variety and a degree of cool, to keep
the kids interested. So the new ride at Disneyland is a good thing. So
are an array of choices on the café menu, and spring fashions,
and the new joey at the zoo. But you’re in peril if you mess with
the Tiki Room and its animatronic birds, or white Jockey Classics in the
boys department, or the meerkat habitat that has always been at the entrance
to the zoo. A balance between change and continuity is necessary to keep
Mom and her family happy. If change is for the better, then make sure
better is really better.
11. Connection to the Heart:
Care, concern, conscience, community, wonder, engagement, love, comfort,
fun, enjoyment, loyalty, pleasure, delight, and passion. These words all
denote a personal, emotional connection between Mom and her world. In
an increasingly impersonal, technology-addicted society, Mom is the touchstone
for matters of heart. Even in commercial transactions, Mom takes things
personally. If a business demonstrates disregard for the safety of her
kids, or inattention to its own responsibility to her community, or disrespect
for her or her family, she won’t just turn away—she’ll
get angry. Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.
There’s one more undeniable reason to cater to Mom: she has lots
and lots of influence. She’s doing the purchasing not just for herself
but for an average of three additional people. Make her happy and she’ll
see to it that those additional people continue to be loyal customers
for years to come.
“You know the old adage, ‘If mama ain’t happy, ain’t
nobody happy’?” queries Lee. “Stitch it on a sampler
and hang it over your desk. Mom should drive every business decision you
make if you want to entertain her and her family. It’s simple. If
you build it so that Mom will come, she will bring everybody else with
her and they will love it, too. If it’s good for Mom, it’s
good for others. And it’s especially good for your bottom line.”
Article provided by Dottie DeHart, Rocks-DeHart Public Relations.
|
