When Mom's Happy, Everyone's Happy

Last week, the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association released details of its new survey that revealed this stop-the-presses news: Moms like to talk.

Okay, not startling. But the stats behind it were eye-opening and could be very useful to convenience store operators who are trying to reach the busy female demographic.  According to survey, by BIGResearch, women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook (60.3 percent of them do), MySpace (42.4 percent) and Twitter (16.5 percent) than average adults (50.2 percent, 34.4 percent, 15 percent respectively.) An impressive  15.3 percent of moms maintain their own blog.

 "Retailers who aren’t engaging customers through social media could be missing the boat," Mike Gatti,  executive director for RAMA noted when the survey results were released.  “Twitter, Facebook and blogs are becoming increasingly popular with moms as they search for coupons or deals and keep in touch with loved ones. The web provides efficient, convenient ways for brands to stay in front of their most loyal shoppers and attract new ones.”

Another startling fact: Moms like free stuff. Okay, again, not so startling. Then why aren't c-store operators making more use of this knowledge? Given a scale of one to five, when asked what types of promotions most influence their purchases, moms ranked product samples in the store (3.8), product samples delivered to home (3.6), loyalty cards (3.5) and special displays (3.4) as their favorites.

Not surprisingly, women with children frequently share experiences and information, and say other peoples’ opinions influence their purchases. Nine out of 10 mothers surveyed said they regularly or occasionally seek the advice of others before buying a service or product. A whopping 97.2 percent said they give advice to others about the products or services they purchased.

In the last few weeks, I've been asked by other moms via email or Facebook for my non-work-related opinion or I've commented on:  a local tailor, birthday ideas, television shows, a Broadway show,  cookies, cold remedies, the car I drive,  lunch ideas, local restaurants, the local library, a cancer charity walk, eating leftovers, BBQ tips,  the local school system, local and federal politics, McDonald's, the power of chocolate, babysitters, flower deliveries, Costco deals, snacking, coffee houses,  SAT prep courses, Trader Joe's, apple picking --  you get the idea.      

 “Whether they’re having coffee with a friend or updating their Facebook status, these women are eager and willing to share shopping experiences, both good and bad," said Phil Rist,executive vice president, strategic initiatives, BIGresearch. 

Eager and willing? I'd use the word "compelled."

 -- Barbara Grondin Francella