As a parent, you know that your children are the most important people in the world to you. But as a business owner, you also know that your customers are the most important people in the world to you. So how do you market to parents without offending or ignoring their children? Here are 10 tips to get you started.
1. Give them what they want.
What do parents want? They want to give their children everything. Of course, this is impossible; not even the most loving parent could buy enough stuff for their kids. But whether you’re selling bikes or baseballs or beauty products, you can give parents what they want by listening to their children. Let kids help design the product, offer them a discount on it when it’s released, and include them in your marketing efforts (use their names and faces).
2. Know your audience.
If you aren’t already in direct contact with parents, be sure to do your research. Age, income level, and location all play a part in how parents communicate with their children and spend their free time. You should also note that not all marketing efforts will reach everyone equally- think of it as a bell curve. One tactic may reach 70% of the parents within a mile radius, while another will reach 30%.
3. Get through using education.
Though using education in marketing is a seemingly outdated practice, it can be useful for parents and will still be effective in getting their attention. One easy example is to work with schools. You can endorse a charter school open enrollment along with your products or services. But you can also strategically implement educational materials in your products. One way to use this tactic is by having your business partner with a charity that helps kids.
4. Use social media to connect with parents.
Social media marketing is a great way to reach parents and market to them. You can post about your products or services, but you can also use social media as an educational tool — for example, if you’re selling healthy snacks. Facebook gives you the opportunity to target ads according to age and gender, so keep that in mind when creating your plan.
5. Attend parenting events and conferences.
Marketing to parents is a lot easier when you have face-to-face time with them. If your business can support it, consider attending parenting events and conferences in order to get in front of a large number of parents together. This way, you can answer their questions and concerns about your products or services directly instead of relying solely on internet marketing.
6. Focus on the future.
Marketing to parents is all about building a relationship with them and giving them options for their children’s futures. Look ahead at potential needs and provide products or services that will help parents prepare their children accordingly. For example, if you work in childcare, offer book bags and school supplies that will help students start their scholastic journey off on the right foot.
7. Keep it local.
You might be tempted to use national or international marketing tactics when dealing with parents, but don’t do it. Even though you can target your message using social media and geographic data, stay local rather than looking more widely if your product or service is only available in a certain area.
8. Use social responsibility to your advantage.
Since parents care a lot about their children’s futures, you can create a marketing campaign that ties into a social cause or charity related to kids. This will help you reach the hearts of your audience and build goodwill for your brand quickly and efficiently — just be sure you’re partnering with the right people.
9. Create a sense of urgency.
If you want parents to take action immediately, then use a sense of urgency in your marketing efforts. For example, say you’re selling bike helmets and you want to get them into kids’ hands before school starts again — create some kind of giveaway that includes bike helmets for all kids. Parents will rush to take advantage of this offer, which is exactly what you want!
10. Connect with bloggers and other influencers who reach parents.
Blogs and other website sources aimed at parents are good ways to reach them with your marketing. Make a list of influencers in your area who cover topics related to parenting and children, then contact them about working together. You can offer them free products or services if you’re just starting out and need exposure for your company, or you can pay them for a review of what you do. As long as they like your products or services, this tactic is an efficient and successful way to get the word out there.
If you want to increase your customer base and reach more parents, there are a few marketing strategies you can try. The 10 ways we’ve provided should help get the wheels turning in your head so that you can come up with an effective plan for reaching out to this demographic.