Download mother`s little helper for the digital age

MOBILE REPORT SERIES 2013
MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPER FOR
THE DIGITAL AGE
APRIL 2013
MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPER FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
Put your marketing message in the palm of her powerful hands
3 out of 4
The saying “mother knows best” has never been more true than it is in the online age.
Today’s digital mom is never far from her smartphone or tablet, meaning the latest product
pricing, reviews and recommendations are always just a click away. An astounding 54% of
moms own smartphones, meaning that their collective $2.4 trillion buying power is being
leveraged in the digital space more than ever.
mobile moms say
marketers
don’t
understand
them.
Therefore, the question is: Are you reaching moms in the most effective and efficient
fashion? Most moms say no.
According to mom-focused marketing consultant “The Mom Complex,” three out of four
moms feel like marketers and advertisers don’t understand what it’s really like to be
them. Mobile Moms feel misunderstood and disconnected despite their constant mobile
connection. This is an alarming issue that marketers need to recognize and fix quickly.
But how?
Why Mobile Moms are important::
INFLUENCE IN THE PALM OF HER HANDS
Mobile Moms are a critical target not only for their astonishing buying power, but because
of the amazing influence they wield over others. When it comes to decisions about where to
spend their money, moms rely heavily on recommendations and reviews from friends, family
and other moms they connect with online. Research conducted by the 360PR MomSquad® in
2011 confirmed that the #1 source that moms check before buying is, in fact, other moms. 1
How Often Moms Recommend Brands,
Products & Services to Other Moms *
Daily
Monthly
51%
of moms say
they are
“addicted”
to their
smartphones.
3
50%
71%
*Survey of 964 US moms with children between ages 0-12. 2
Whether they are shopping, dining out or just catching up with friends, moms are on their
phones, talking about their favorite brands.
They are posting Facebook statuses, pinning inspirations to Pinterest, tweeting photos of
purchases, writing reviews (positive and negative) and contributing to the brand conversation
that, in turn, immediately influences other Mobile Moms to do the same.
2
1
360PR
MomSquad, The
Shopping Mom’s Mindset,
February 2012
2
360PR
& Mom It Forward, Inc.,
The Mom Next Door study,
October 2012
3
360i, Smartphone-Addicted,
App-Happy & Social – How
Should Your Brand Reach
Mobile Moms?, April 2011
And beyond these typical social channels, Mobile Moms are also influencing others through
their roles as bloggers.
WHAT AN EXPERT SAYS
The top 15 mom bloggers influence more people
than The New York Times.
4
Why Mobile Moms love their mobile devices::
CAPTIVATED BY THE SMARTPHONE
What is it about smartphones that so easily captures and holds the attention of busy Mobile
Moms? Evidence shows that there are three factors behind the addiction:
Reasons Moms Use Their Smartphones5
Ease of use
Proximity
67%
66%
(always with me)
Privacy
57%
The first two points are not as surprising, but the last raises some interesting questions.
Moms indicate that they prefer using their smartphones as a private way to obtain information
and share that information with others. Could smartphones eventually replace in-store sales
associates for instant, unbiased recommendations and reviews?
Ultimately, busy, on-the-go Mobile Moms are unable to resist the convenience, connection and
confirmation that’s always within reach.
“Companies have to be
proactive and align their
marketing efforts with the
understanding that the
modern mom is on the go.
This means making websites
mobile friendly, using quick-tounderstand calls to action and
writing copy that is clear and
concise. Brands that excel in
making the buying experience
quick and easy for moms will
stand out and pull away from
the competition that can’t
master this practice.”
Melanie Eyerman
Communications Team Manager
thunder::tech
How Mobile Moms use their devices::
REVIEWS, RATINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Nearly 70% of Mobile Moms consult their mobile devices regularly while shopping. They are
also becoming more aware of tools designed specifically for this use. Alt12 Apps, the developer
of the popular pregnancy app BabyBump, conducted a 2012 survey to discover just how Mobile
Moms were using their mobile devices to shop. They found that when making purchasing
decisions, one in two Mobile Moms use social networking apps on their mobile devices, while
60% of these moms turn to retailer apps.6 This means that a large number of Mobile Moms
continue to trust the retailer as a source of information, but still turn to outside opinions via
other smartphone apps.
3
4
How
Open Conversation
Between Moms, Marketers
Earns Influence, May 2012
5
InMobi,
Building Stronger
Brands With The Most
Influential Consumer
Segment: Mobile Mothers,
August 2012
6
BabyBump
survey, 2012
What Mobile Moms Look For on Their Smartphones
Reviews &
recommendations
Convenient shopping
Product promotions,
sales & coupons
58%
24%
16%
The same survey highlighted the value of location-based advertising. It found that 48%
of Mobile Moms felt that a mobile advertisement helped them find a product or service
close to their current location; while 27% said that the mobile ad influenced an in-store
purchase decision. 7
When Mobile Moms are using their devices::
EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY
WHAT A MOM
BLOGGER SAYS
“I value recommendations from
other moms greatly, especially
if they have children the same
age. There’s nothing like finding
someone who has a similar
situation as you and learning about
products they find that make their
life easier or more fun.
“I will use my smartphone while
shopping to look up reviews of
something I might come across that
I hadn’t researched yet. It helps me
decide whether to buy it and how it
will fit into our family.”
Tésa Nicolanti
The convenience of mobile devices has given even the busiest Mobile Mom access
to social networking, online shopping and reviews whenever and wherever she wants
them. In fact, Mobile Moms spend more time with their mobile devices than they do
watching television.
2 Wired 2 Tired
www.2wired2tired.com
Where Mobile Moms Spend Their Media Time*
7%
Mobile Devices (3.3 hours)
14%
33%
Television (2.8 hours)
Internet (1.9 hours)
Radio (1.4 hours)
19%
28%
Print (.7 hours)
*In hours, based on 10.1 hours per day of media time. 8
7
BabyBump
survey, 2012
8
InMobi, Building Stronger
Brands With The Most
Influential Consumer
Segment: Mobile Mothers,
August 2012
4
However, it is difficult to gauge the true amount of time Mobile Moms use their mobile
devices since they are constantly multi-tasking and even using these devices at
the same time as other media channels like TV or radio. Mobile ad network Inmobi
concluded from a 2012 study that 77% of Mobile Moms use their mobile devices while
watching TV, 80% use them while waiting (allowing moms to take advantage of this
precious and otherwise “wasted time”) and 82% use them while in bed. 9
Interested in learning more about
mobile marketing? Check out
these helpful links::
Mobile Report 2012
http://thundrt.ch/2012MobileReport
The thunder::tech team
did some research to
determine how many top
companies have optimized
their websites for mobile.
Read the surprising results
in this report.
It’s clear from these growing numbers that moms have fully embraced mobile
technology. Smart marketers will take notice and develop their marketing
efforts accordingly.
What Mobile Moms mean for marketers::
MAKE YOURS MOBILE
Good Morning Marketers
http://thundrt.ch/DigitalMomsGMM
Smartphone and tablet use has hit record numbers, especially among Mobile Moms.
This has made it not important, but necessary, for companies to best leverage mobile
marketing practices. If you’re trying to put your best foot forward in the fast-paced
digital marketplace, there are several things your brand should be doing, at
a minimum.
This video highlights the
value of digital moms as a
target consumer audience.
Find out the best ways
to reach out to market to
moms in this episode of
Good Morning Marketers.
Mobile Best Practices
• Mobile Optimization:: A mobile-optimized site or, better yet, a site made with
responsive website design (RWD) makes the shopping experience for your customers
easy and enjoyable on any mobile device.
• Blogger Relations:: If your product or service is targeted at moms, developing a
mutually beneficial relationship with a trusted group of mom bloggers gives you
valuable insight into the audience and a source to drive traffic to your site.
• Social Listening:: For today’s social brands it’s critical to monitor, measure and
mentor the conversations that are occurring about and around your brand every day.
There are many tools that help you keep track of brand mentions, competitor brands,
industry news, user-generated content and more.
• Tools for Brands:: There are several tools brands can use to organize, present and
even collect data from consumers. This could be in the form of a digital product
locator map, a recipe generator that features key products, an interactive catalog or a
product support page for past customers to request replacement parts or download
product manuals.
• Optimization:: When shoppers are looking for your products, make sure they are
easy to find. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps raise the ranking of your site on
organic and paid searches so your brand is always front and center.
BOTTOM LINE: Moms are still the driving force behind the majority of household
purchases. So, if you’re targeting moms, you must target the Mobile Mom. She is
evolving technologically and if you don’t keep up with her, she’ll leave you behind in the
digital dust.
5
9
InMobi, Building Stronger
Brands With The Most
Influential Consumer
Segment: Mobile Mothers,
August 2012