Among young moms, the words do fly

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Research
Among young moms, the words do fly
By Diego Vasquez
Apr 29, 2008 - 1:10:40 AM

From searching for the best crib to tracking down the most reliable stroller, there’s perhaps no one more brand-conscious than a worried new mother. They reach out to discuss these purchase matters more than any other demographic. A new study from BabyCenter, an online hub for new parents, and Keller Fay Group, a market research firm, finds that pregnant and new moms engage in one-third more word of mouth conversations than the average person. Two-thirds of these conversations include brand names. Over the course of a week, a new mom or pregnant woman engages in an average 109 of WOM conversations focused on products, services and brands, most of them with a positive bent. These words carry huge sway: 69 percent of moms engaging in conversations about shopping, retail and apparel are likely to make their purchase based on WOM. Retailers top the list of most-discussed brand, with Target and Wal-Mart at first and second. Lisa Freitag, director of sales development and planning for BabyCenter, and Ed Keller, CEO of the Keller Fay Group, talk to Media Life about why new mothers share so much, why WOM skews positive, and why much of it happens online.

What did you find most interesting or surprising about this study?

Keller: It was interesting to me to see just how incredibly engaged these women are in word of mouth. Pregnant and new moms have one-third more word of mouth conversations per week than women as a whole, and the word of mouth has such impact.

The study shows they ascribe extremely high levels of credibility and believability to what they hear via word of mouth.

Freitag: For me, there are actually two things that surprised me most about this study. The first was that word of mouth conversations among pregnant and new moms span so many different categories.

The percentage of moms engaging in category-specific word of mouth is higher than the population as a whole not only for children’s products, but across all categories including financial services, personal care and beauty, and technology.

The second is that word of mouth conversations, across the board, are overwhelmingly positive.

Why do pregnant women and new moms engage in so many word-of-mouth conversations compared with other people?

Keller: Word of mouth is the No. 1 way people get advice and recommendations about products and services today.

And when you move into a new life stage, you’re particularly interested in learning from others who have already “been there and done that,” and conversely, to share what you already have learned so that someone else can make a smart decision.

Freitag: Through our communication with moms at BabyCenter, we know pregnant and new moms are in a stage of life where word of mouth is particularly important, and once they start talking about one topic, the conversations just flow naturally to other areas.

When you think about it, there are very few other life stages that inspire the same need to reassess everything. In the journey to becoming a mother, women literally reconsider almost every category of goods and services.

Why is there such a strong skew toward positive WOM?

Keller: All of our research about word of mouth finds that positive conversations outweigh the negative by a substantial margin. While many people assume that people like to share negative or bad experiences more than their good experiences, it just isn’t the case.

For example, if you look at ratings and review sites you will generally find that positive reviews outweigh negative ones by a similar margin. I believe that when consumers engage in word of mouth discussions, they want advice and recommendations about what to buy or services to use. The “ask,” if you will, is for a recommendation about a brand or brands that work well and are worth trying.

Why do the recommendations of other moms carry such weight on brand decisions?

Freitag: There’s nothing that can make a woman feel more unprepared and uninformed than pregnancy and motherhood. We see these thoughts and doubts played out across BabyCenter every day.

Keller: Word of mouth has always been important to consumers as they make buying decisions. About a decade or so ago we started seeing a trend where consumers began to lose faith in traditional sources of information and began turning increasingly to word of mouth.

The opportunity for consumers to share and receive advice is far greater today than it has ever been, making word of mouth even more powerful.

Why is the internet such a strong driver of word of mouth? What other media are also strong?

Keller: In my opinion, the internet is a strong driver of word of mouth because it is so easily searched, forwarded, and accessed on demand. If we’re having a face-to-face conversation, I’m able to give you a URL where you can find more information, which I can’t do that as easily with another medium.

Similarly, if I’m searching for something online, I can easily forward the link via email and suggest you take a look. But it really depends on the category. TV, point-of-sale activity, and promotions such as coupons can also stimulate WOM.

Freitag: Moms live online. By the end of this year there will be 35 million U.S. moms online. That’s 18 percent of the internet population. And this number is projected to grow to 40 million by 2012, according to eMarketer.

And today’s mom is constantly connected. She’s managing her life online. Technology is an asset, an enabler that helps her shape her role as a mom.

Web 2.0 affords multiple avenues for mom-to-mom connections making it even easier to compare opinions and notes via blogs, chats, boards and social networks.

You also found that pregnant and new moms are more likely to be WOM influencers. Why?

Keller: Among the key elements that help to determine if people are influencers or not are the degree to which they have the “means, motive and opportunity” to share ideas and information with people on a regular basis: Do they have a large social network that gives them the means to engage actively in conversation? Do they have a “need to know” about things that stimulates them to seek advice and recommendations and share what they know with others? Do they have the opportunity to do so?

In the case of pregnant and new moms, the answer to all these questions is often yes, making them considerably more likely to be influencers than the population as a whole, or other women.

What's the most important thing for media buyers and planners targeting this audience to remember?

Freitag: The most important thing to remember is that brand growth today starts with consumer conversation. Find ways to engage in dialogue with consumers and to create opportunities for consumers to talk with each other. Moms, in particular, like to share, and they trust what they hear from their friends, family members, and peers so use that to your advantage.

Keller: The key take-aways for marketers are to encourage word of mouth within your marketing and media planning objectives; make it easy for consumers to share information with each other; be artful in the way you tell stories, create easy ways for consumers to differentiate your brand when talking to others; and encourage participation, collaboration and contribution.