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Tapping into Today's Consumer-Driven Parents

With an increasing proportion of mature moms becoming pregnant for the first time, sales forces are experiencing first-hand the phenomenon of the consumer-conscious parent. These are the moms and dads who enter the store with a serious, almost grim look on their faces, and who have already scoured today’s info world to form sometimes entrenched opinions about what’s safe, what’s not, and everything in-between before they make their final baby-product decisions.

These are the question-askers, the ones who want detailed specs on products, as though they were buying a car and not a car seat. They don’t ask but they assume that it’s all right to pull products down off the shelves in order to test drive them. They arrive already knowing the difference between a 3-point and 5-point harness system, and have strongly-formed opinions about strollers they will or will not consider based on the clear mental picture they’ve formed from delving into consumer books and magazines.

One of the most annoying traits of these shoppers is their obsession with details. They may milk you for all of the objective product information they can, only to turn on their heels and walk out of the store without purchasing anything, only to drive down the road to a big-box outlet to close the sale. Or they even surf the Web for the identical model displayed in your showroom just to save a few bucks.
Once the parents of generation “why” have formed their opinions, they can be difficult to sway. So, even though you may know that stroller X isn’t the best deal you’re likely to talk yourself blue in the face trying to convince these independent thinkers that your product knowledge is solidly based on years of experience and hundreds of products.

It helps to step back and reflect that even though the “stubborn” shopper you’re facing doesn’t appear to be open to your overtures, that doesn’t mean that he, or she, won’t benefit from your help and input. The art lies in delivering your presence and hands-on skills in a way that comes across as non-threatening and easy to digest.

Initially, keep a discrete physical distance from the consumer, so you’re not infringing on her personal space, may help her to warm up to you. But use your body language to signal in a friendly way that you’re poised and ready should she need your help.

Rather than turning your usual, pre-rehearsed spiel about a particular car seat that you’re trying to move, try stopping to observe what interests her first. Then, try asking intelligent questions – such as the size of the backseat of her car where her baby will be riding, how harnesses adjust as her baby grows is important to her, or how far down she would like the stroller’s seat back to recline.

The main rule is to form your relationship with this customer based on where SHE is coming from, rather than trying to impose your own sales agenda upon her. Most consumer-conscious parents are usually avid hands-on shoppers. Invite her to try out buckles, the reclining mechanisms, the music and volume switches. Play into her opinionated nature with: “Would you like to try this yourself?” “What do you think?” “Here’s another (product) you might want to COMPARE.” Invite her to use the product with her baby so she can see for herself whether it’s what she wants. “How is that working for you?”

Getting her to express her ideas about product qualities can help you to lead her to products that best suit her needs And letting your customer guide your interaction, surprisingly, is more likely to make her feel that YOU are well-informed and receptive. Go with her to try out your car seats in the car. Allow her to borrow a floor sample overnight so she can test how it works at home.

Your ultimate goal is to have this active (and often well-connected) customer leave your store feeling that she’s met a mentor, someone she can trust. And, before she walks out, make sure that she’s aware of your store’s generous return policy, the fact that you’re willing to deliver the product to her front door at no charge, and always close with: “We want you to be happy and your baby to be safe and comfortable.”

In truth, cueing into consumer-conscious parents isn’t a bad thing. They’re the wave of the future, and being skillful at relating to this type of shopper may help you to attract other parents who want a more intelligent, secure way to shop, rather than getting lost in big-box bedlam.

To jumpstart your store’s consumer-conscious stance, consider writing a “choosing safe baby products” article for your local newspaper. Host a special baby-product fair offering informative, objective panels sharing important baby-product information. Enlist the help of manufacturers’ reps, lactation consultants, babyproofing experts, and certified carseat inspection technicians to do the job. Consider hosting in-store, dad-only events on carseat safety where you also display a range of male-centric strollers and diaper satchels. Pull in mature, baby-boomer grandmothers into the store through mom-and-daughter teas with invited speakers and demonstrations.

Always, the emphasis should be on conveying valuable consumer product information without being overly coercive. In other words, take steps now to transform your store into a “Home Depot,” a virtual, product-information hub. That’s just the ticket for attracting this generation’s “consumerati” – those deep-pocketed, serious shoppers who can give your sales a boost.

Sandy Jones is the co-author of, Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy & Childbirth by Sandy Jones and Marcie Jones (Sterling Publishing, 2004).