But does your marketing mean anything to them?
Here’s why you need to lend them your ear!
David Willey, millennial engagement expert from Growth Tank states: “The harsh reality is that millennial mums are continually misunderstood by brands. They are lumped into one market segment and often fail to relate to marketing that is supposedly aimed at them.” In fact, a recent study by Marketing to Mums found that 63% of these consumers felt that brands do not understand them.
Spend
In Australia, the 6.2 million mums are responsible for spending $132 billion every year, and make more than 80% of consumer spending decisions. Combine this with the fact that 1 in 4 millennials are parents today, it has never been more crucial for brands to connect with the ever-evolving millennial mum.
Emotion
Today’s mums are very different to previous generations of mothers, and marketers need to recognise the changes in parenting and buying habits. They can no longer be merged together as one target audience of simply ‘mums’. Brands really need to connect with them on an emotional level if they want to fully engage with this diverse audience of big-spenders.
Communities
“We have to think much more about how we influence consumers through communities rather than the traditional approach of ‘target audiences’”, says Marketing Director Sarah Lawrence, who believes marketers need to re-evaluate the way they communicate with potential customers. “Consumers now interact and engage with products and services through multichannel, multi-platform searches and ‘real’ influencers”, says Sarah.
Social Media
As millennial mums were born into the technological era, they have grown up digitally-savvy and heavily dependent on social media. A recent survey by Crowdtap revealed that 82% of millennial mums find social media ‘very’ to ‘extremely’ helpful to their parenting needs. With an average of 3.4 social media accounts, each millennial mum spends an average of 17 hours a week on social networking, and check their accounts up to 10 times a day. Marketers not actively using social sites are missing a trick if they want to build lasting relationships with millennial mums.
Get Personal
When utilising social media, brands need to have a deep understanding of millennial mums as consumers, and understand how best to communicate with them. Jeff Fromm, President of marketing consultancy firm Futureproof believes that in order to achieve this, brands must adjust their traditional advertising techniques and adopt a more personalised approach.
“As this group is highly active online, brands have an opportunity to provide resources to help [millennial parents] achieve their goals, and ease the friction and anxieties that come with being a parent”, he says.
Easy Does It
To effectively catch the attention of millennial mums, brand messages should also provide useful advice to make their lives easier. If a brand conveys authenticity and transparency, they are more likely to be rewarded with brand loyalty; an important value when competing with a variety of similar products and services pursued by parents.
Listen Here
Perhaps the most beneficial way to understand millennial mums is to hear what they have to say. Social listening or social media monitoring will allow you to use this knowledge to construct meaningful and authentic messages. The experience will feel personal to the mums as they will truly believe the brand understands their lifestyle and parenting needs.
It’s all about meeeee!
Millennial mums are highly influential individuals with huge spending power. Brands have the capacity to engage with them like never before, building consumer loyalty and fulfilling their parenting needs in a socially fuelled environment. Marketers need to adapt to parenting changes compared to previous generations, and connect with millennial mums on an emotional, social and – most importantly – personal level.
Want more?
To access more articles, the latest research, guest blogs and up to date insights follow Growth Tank on LinkedIn or check out their website growthtank.com.au. Alternatively get in touch: dave@growthtank.com.au we’d love to talk to you.