Targeting Moms? Make it Relevant
by Carol Flammer, MIRM, managing partner at mRelevance

Today's mom is juggling a lot. From the pressures of a career, to making it to soccer practice with the right uniform on the correct kid, there is always something going on. More than anything, she craves organization, less clutter, more time to spend with her family and to save money.

A recent study by Burst Media titled "What Mom Likes Online" does a great job of getting into mom's head and helping corporations understand how to effectively market to her. The study shows that moms are not interested in online ads promoting products geared toward family and home. Simply put, they find them irrelevant and distracting. Instead she wants to save! Moms of all ages find product coupons, sales promotion codes and other incentives to be relevant. Here is what they uncovered: 45.2 percent of moms ages 18-34 will click to get coupons, as will 54.8 percent of moms ages 35-54 and 51.5 percent of moms age 55 or older.

After all, it's hip to clip. More and more families have turned to coupons as a way to balance the family budget. Not only can you save money, but there is the thrill of the adrenaline rush when the total at the grocery checkout drops from $250 to a mere $79.99. Moms have been clipping traditional Sunday newspaper ads for years and now, thanks to online resources like Groupon, Scout Mob or Qpon Quties they can clip coupons right from their computer.

Moms are also loyal. Check out any mom's car keys and you will see it's so. In addition to several keys, her keychain will sport at least one grocery store loyalty card. This concept is easily translated into social marketing, which moms love. It's time to embrace the loyalty card of the Internet. It's Facebook. Ok, so it isn't a real card, it's completely virtual. FREE offers are everywhere on Facebook. Corporations including The Home Depot, Outback Steakhouse and Starbucks promise, "Like my page and I'll give you something."

So, how does this relate to homebuilders, remodelers and construction products? Here's an example of how one homebuilder wrapped couponing into their social marketing program. S&A Homes, based in State College, Pa., launched "Operation Organize Simplify" to hone in on what women value. They targeted prospective homebuyers and real estate agents. The campaign originated on their blog where Realtors® were encouraged to design an organization element for any home for a chance to win a $150 Home Depot gift card and an additional $500 on their next closing. It was no surprise that all the entries were from women and involved having better home organization. Most centered on the mudroom or the kitchen.

For the consumer facing part of the Operation Organize Simplify Campaign, S&A Homes posted a series of blog posts on how their homes could help organize life. Topics included charging stations, drop zones, kitchens, laundry rooms and mud rooms. They even included a major man space, the garage. Both moms and dads can certainly appreciate a more organized garage — one that has room to park both cars! All of the blog posts directed prospective homebuyers to a downloadable coupon on the S&A Homes Facebook page. Good for $1,500 off any organization upgrades with the purchase of a home, six coupons were redeemed in just 45 days.

Give mom something on your social media sites, and you give her a reason to come visit. You also fulfill another trait that moms have. They like to share their "finds" with their friends. Your great deal might just give her the reason she needs to send her friends to your page!