Dear Doctor: How To Market To Moms

I recently completed a four-article series on marketing to moms for Bentson Clark reSource, a quarterly publication dedicated entirely to orthodontic practices. Why orthodontists, you may ask? This particular healthcare category is all about moms and their children, of course. For the back story, I have Chris Bentson to thank for the opportunity to contribute to his newsletters and reach this audience. Chris asked me to keynote at a conference way back in 2011, and we have worked together many times since then. It goes to show the power of…

5 Ways Mom Consumer Communities Help Grow Your Bottom Line

There was once a time when most of us were listening to music on cassette tapes, when brands interacted with consumers only in focus group facilities and information was gathered via phone surveys. Today, the options to engage with customers are boundless. Technology’s rapid growth birthed a new wave of advancement. Everything from our dog’s collar to our refrigerator is “smart” and while technology continues to advance, it begs the question, “Are brands any smarter in the way they are growing their bottom line?” The truth might hurt some. When it…

Four Marketing to Moms Tactics for 2017

There’s been a lot of debate around the death of the mom blogger. Regardless of what side of the fence you fall on in the argument, the good news is that mom bloggers have given birth to social media influencers with greater reach and more channels to deliver your message. Yesterday’s mom blogger has extended her reach to Instagram where she showcases her favorite brands. She’s also come out from behind her laptop in order to share her opinions with peers on Facebook Live. All of this has changed the…

A Different Kind Of Shopping Experience: Marketing To The Moms Of College-Bound Children

While most mothers are focused on the holiday shopping season, there is one segment of moms who are actively doing another type of shopping — college shopping. Yes, it’s that time of year when mothers with high school seniors are eagerly awaiting SAT or ACT results, sifting through direct mail pieces from colleges and universities and loading up the car for campus tours. As the mother of four, I have personally experienced the anxiety of college searches while consulting with numerous university admissions offices on a professional basis. Marketing to…

Moms Dish Up Thoughts On Black Friday And Cyber Monday

As we approach Thanksgiving week, I’m gearing up for my annual Black Friday shopping excursion. Yes, I admit it. I am one of those Black Friday shoppers, out the door before sunrise with holiday gift list in hand to shop for my family, friends and team. I knock out the rest of the list on Cyber Monday. I’m calling myself a hybrid shopper, and you’ll read why below. With the enormous growth of Cyber Monday, expected to be the largest online shopping day in history at $91.6 billion this year,…

What’s New For Holiday 2016

It’s that time again when brands are looking for the silver bullet that will drive holiday sales and help them meet their goals for 2016. Unfortunately, many marketing teams set their plans in place back in the spring. I say unfortunately because in a time when social media is constantly changing, it’s nearly impossible to predict what social platform will be popular six months in advance. Ask anyone last February if they would be talking about Facebook Live for live-streaming videos and I will bet they would have told you…

How To Win The Mom Vote

With only a few weeks left until Election Day in a highly contentious presidential contest, Hillary and Donald would do well to heed the timeless advice of listening to their mothers, all 40 million of them. This powerful group of voters will head to the polls in November hoping, as all voters do, to shape the future of the country, and more importantly their children’s futures, through the ballot box. In a recent survey, more than 89% of moms — Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers — plan to vote in…

Marketing to Moms and Their Digital Families

Let’s Celebrate National College Move-In Week! #AtHomeStores

It’s the halfway point in the Great College Move-In Road Trip for At Home stores to mark National College Move-In Week! From Chicago on Sunday through Charlotte and on through Orange Park and Orlando this weekend, we’re celebrating National College Move-In Week as over 130 colleges and universities welcome students back to campus this week. Follow my road trip journey (on Facebook and Twitter) as I meet moms in different cities who will showcase the 50,000 items in At Home stores that make college shopping so easy on your time…

The Story Behind The Numbers On Moms And Millennials

Recently, The New York Times turned its attention to women without children and marketing to this group. If you missed the article on July 10, you can read it here. I was fortunate enough to be a part of Alina Tugend’s article that referenced the lucrative mom market. Tugend worked on this piece for over a month and gathered extensive data on women, both childless and with children. It reminded me of how often we read statistics, census data and research and react to the numbers without knowing the story…