Linda Landers

About Linda Landers

Posts by Linda Landers:

Kenyan Woman Challenging Change Is One of 2013 CNN Heroes

Kakenya Ntaiya is one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013. You can vote for her, or any of the other top 10 Heroes, to be CNN Hero of the Year. That person will receive $250,000 to continue their extraordinary work.

Enoosaen, Kenya (CNN) — When she was 14 years old, Kakenya Ntaiya entered the cow pen behind her home with an elderly woman carrying a rusty knife. As a crowd from her Maasai village looked on, Ntaiya sat down, lifted her skirt and opened her legs. The woman grabbed Ntaiya’s most intimate body parts and, in just moments, cut them out.

“It (was) really painful. I fainted,” recalled Ntaiya, now 34. “You’re not supposed to cry.” For generations, this ceremony was a rite of passage for every Maasai girl, some as young as 10; soon afterward, they would marry and drop out of school.

About 140 million girls and women worldwide have been affected by female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision. The procedure is commonly based on religious and cultural beliefs, including efforts to prevent premarital sex and marital infidelity.

While female circumcision and child marriage are now illegal in Kenya — new laws banning genital mutilation have contributed to a decline in the practice — officials acknowledge that they still go on, especially in rural tribal areas. Despite free primary education being mandated 10 years ago by the Kenyan government, educating girls is still not a priority for the Maasai culture. According to the Kenyan government, only 11% of Maasai girls in Kenya finish primary school.

“It means the end of their dreams of whatever they want to become in life,” Ntaiya said.

But when Ntaiya endured the painful ritual in 1993, she had a plan. She negotiated a deal with her father, threatening to run away unless he promised she could finish high school after the ceremony. “I really liked going to school,” she said. “I knew that once I went through the cutting, I was going to be married off. And my dream of becoming a teacher was going to end.”

Ntaiya’s bold move paid off. She excelled in high school and earned a college scholarship in the United States. Her community held a fundraiser to raise money for her airfare, and in exchange, she promised to return and help the village. Over the next decade, Ntaiya would earn her degree, a job at the United Nations and eventually a doctorate in education. But she never forgot the vow she made to village elders.

In 2009, she opened the first primary school for girls in her village, the Kakenya Center for Excellence. Today, Ntaiya is helping more than 150 girls receive the education and opportunities that she had to sacrifice so much to attain. The Kakenya Center for Excellence started as a traditional day school, but now the students, who range from fourth to eighth grade, live at the school. This spares the girls from having to walk miles back and forth, which puts them at risk of being sexually assaulted, a common problem in rural African communities. It also ensures the girls don’t spend all their free time doing household chores.

“Now, they can focus on their studies — and on being kids,” Ntaiya said. “It’s the only way you can give a girl child a chance to excel.”

Students receive three meals a day as well as uniforms, books and tutoring. There are also extracurricular activities such as student council, debate and soccer. Class sizes are small — many schools in Kenya are extremely overcrowded — and the girls have more chances to participate. With these opportunities and the individual attention they receive, the girls are inspired to start dreaming big.

“They want to become doctors, pilots, lawyers,” Ntaiya said. “It’s exciting to see that.”

As a public school, the Kakenya Center for Excellence receives some financial support from the Kenyan government. But the majority of the school’s expenses are paid for by Ntaiya’s U.S.-based nonprofit. While families are asked to contribute to cover the cost of the girls’ meals, an expense that can be paid in maize or beans, Ntaiya covers the costs of any students who cannot pay.

Each year, more than 100 girls apply for approximately 30 spots available in each new class. Parents who enroll their daughters must agree that they will not be subjected to genital mutilation or early marriage.

Many families are willing to accept Ntaiya’s terms, and that’s the kind of change she was hoping to inspire. It took her years to drum up support for the project, but eventually she persuaded the village elders to donate land for the school.

“It’s still quite challenging to push for change. Men are in charge of everything,” she said. “But nothing good comes on a silver plate. You have to fight hard.”

Who should be CNN Hero of the Year? Cast your vote!

The 10 Commandments for Marketing to Moms

Moms and MarketingHolly Pavilka recently reminded us that the power of today’s social media connected moms is never going to go away.  In fact, it will continue to grow.  Yet despite the spending power of this important demographic, most brands are still not getting it right when it comes to connecting with her. Girlpower Marketing tips its hat to Holly’s 10 Commandments for Marketing to Moms:

The 10 Commandments of Marketing to Moms

1. Work with moms to get it right.  You’re never going to get it right unless you talk to and ideate with moms. You need to solicit their ideas. The beauty of social media is that it’s easy to find them and to connect with them. Research and studies will give you clues, but not the rich real conversation moms will bring.

2. Keep it real. Real is real, inspirational stories. Relatable content. Relevant content. Useful content. Not manufactured, retouched or artificial.

3. Answer her when she’s reaching out. Engage with moms. A study by Acuity Group showed 73% of customer tweets go unanswered. What a missed opportunity. RedBull, a brand more associated with Millennials and daredevils, is terrific at listening and responding. My daughter was mugged for her latte and it blew up Twitter for a few minutes with 100+ tweets but not a word from Starbucks. Two other brands, on the other hand, responded with $5 gift cards because they wanted my daughter to know there were still good people in the world. If you take a look at the brands moms love, they typically are ones who are listening and responding.

4. Follow the moms that follow you back. When it comes to connecting to moms, brands need to follow the moms back. Stop thinking you are a celebrity and get real with your advocates. It’s the first step in the relationship, particularly if you want to grow an audience of moms.

5. Always layer in authentic conversation around your traditional campaigns. The days where brands can just rely on traditional advertising messages are gone. Today, a blog post or tweet a mom writes mentioning your brand is an ad. Organic, authentic real stories and conversation need to be layered in along with your traditional media. These are the messages she trusts.

6. Never market to them as a niche. There’s no one-size-fits-all mom. There are Millennial moms, Boomer moms, second-life moms, Latina moms … moms of every imaginable kind. Don’t stereotype and lump us into a singular “mom” bucket or you’ll miss the mark every time.

7. Remember she’s intelligent. Many stay-at-home moms are educated and have chosen family over career in many cases. With the economy being what it is, many moms are the primary breadwinners in their families. We like to talk about more than diapers, potty training or children. We have interests beyond gardening, cooking and reading books. Look at the types of blogs that are out there–everything from politics, business, women’s health issues and more.

8. Keep it beautifully simple.   Moms are busy, and crave simplicity. Make it complicated, and you’ll lose them every time. One of the reasons Pinterest is popular with women is that, along with its simple design and curation of relevant content, it’s also pleasing to the eye.

9. Balance emotional messaging with pragmatic information. She still wants to be inspired, but she’s also pragmatic. She does her homework before making a purchase. It’s part of the job of being a mom – making informed choices.

10. Remember it’s about story-selling. Place the information within reach, and let her make a decision. Marketing to moms is about telling stories, not selling. Tell how it fits in her life, layer in people’s stories, give the back story on the product – she likes details, showcase testimonials and reviews. Sprinkle in lifestyle photos of the product in use, not just beautifully lit photos of the product. All of these tell her the story she wants to hear.

Tourism Marketing Tip: Women Make Most Travel Decisions

Smart Tourism Marketers Market to Women

In Tourism Marketing, Women Travelers Matter

Certain descriptors are welcome phrases to any hotel:  Aesthetic. Trendy. Modern. Renovated. Fancy.

Why do these words matter? Because these descriptors are the top 5 positive attributes that  draw female travelers to certain properties, based on findings from Brand Karma Analytics.  On the flip side, “dingy,” “stained,” and “outdated,” are the primary negative attributes that repel female guests.

Why do women travelers matter? Because, with 82% of travel decisions made by women, they represent the most important and fastest growing segment in both leisure and business travel markets.

According to the Travel Industry Association, an estimated 32 million American women traveled alone at least once in the past year, with three in ten women traveling five or more times. And that doesn’t take into account travel with family and friends.  Women represent the driving force behind travel decisions, and their social networking behavior has necessitated adaptations by the travel industry and tourism marketing.

For example, women write more online reviews than men. They’re not only writing more reviews, but are also more likely to publicly express their thoughts toward a hotel after a negative experience via their online social communities.

Recognizing the travel power of women, Hilton Hotels is actively marketing to female travelers, with ongoing dialogue targeting women via Facebook and Twitter.

The benefits of such marketing include the unfiltered feedback Hilton has received that provides valuable insights. The hotel shampoo was disappointing; the menu offered only fattening foods; robes and slippers were too large; appreciated additional amenities would include yoga mats, electronics chargers, and better hair dryers.

John Wallis, Hyatt’s global head of marketing and brand strategy, best described the core reason for the travel and hospitality industry’s past omission of women travelers: “Hotels have been created by men for men. Women want and deserve a completely different customer experience.”

The growth of the female customer segment is reflected not merely in their growing reign over social media channels, but also in their travel behaviors: traveling alone, traveling more, traveling based on their individual decisions.

Those targeting women in the travel industry, or any industry, would do well to remember that their decision-making process is heavily based on community recommendations, reviews, and advice.

Dear Miley: Here’s What I Hope You Learned About Adulthood After The VMAs

 

Miley Cyrus at the VMAs

Following is a reprinted Huffington Post article by Lisa Belkin.  But first, my  comment:  Miley, if you feel the need to act this way to prove you’re an adult —  you’re not.

Dear Miley,

So how are you feeling about things this morning? About your career? About the response to your grinding declaration of adulthood on the VMAs last night?

At least I assume that’s what you were aiming to declare. Like everyone who was once a child, you think it is very, very important to announce that you aren’t anymore. You probably started doing that years ago: “Do it by SELF” you demanded, when, ya know, you couldn’t actually yet. And since regular former kids (defined as those who did not spend their entire childhood in front of a camera) feel the need to make that clear, I imagine it’s all the more important to you.

I get it. I see how it might have seemed logical to you. But here’s what you didn’t take into account: As long as you have to insist on it, it’s not true yet, meaning you are just proving exactly the opposite of what you’d intended. That’s as much a fact at 20 as it was at 2, except at 2, it was cute.

Don’t feel too bad. You’re not the first of your age group to make that mistake. It’s practically a rite of passage, this Doing-Grown-Up-Stuff-To-Prove-You-Can-Which-Actually-Proves-You-Can’t thing. And lately there are so many more ways to do that publicly. Facebook arguably would not exist if not for that fact. Nor would reality TV. All this makes it tougher on former child stars like you, because you have to get all the more outrageous just to be heard.

I’m wondering what you think today, reading the criticism from, well, pretty much everyone. Is it what you were going for — it IS, after all, attention? Or does it make you want to crawl under the covers in your childhood bedroom and hide?

I hope it’s neither. I hope you really weren’t trying to create this firestorm, because that would mean you believe too little in your talent and too much in the need for outrage as a marketing tool when you have so much else to sell. And I hope you aren’t crushed. This isn’t the end for you. There’s an upside to the annoying fact that all of us knew you as a child — it also means we think of you as ours, and we are more than willing to forget and move on.

So, let’s start with what you might have learned this morning:

Twerking in plastic undies is not sexy, nor is massaging your nethers with a foam #1 finger.

We are all for feminism, but it is a misuse of feminism to define it as grinding on Robin Thicke amid dancers dressed like species non-specific plush animals.

You have the right to remind us that you have sex, and that you like it. But only when you no longer feel the need to remind us of that, will we actually believe you.

So go out there again, lessons learned, older and wiser. But first, please put on some clothes.

Love,
A Concerned Mom

The Importance of Boomer Women to the U.S. Economy

Eileen Fisher Markets to Boomer Women

Boomer Women and the U.S. Economy

Boomer women control more than half of the nation’s discretionary income and three-fourths of the country’s financial wealth.  The youngest of these super consumers are turning 50 this year, and over the next two decades their ranks will swell with the force of a tsunami. So why do marketers continue to ignore them? 

That is the subject of Boomer Women: The Invisible Goldmine released today by Girlpower Marketing.

Download the free white paper here.

Today’s Boomer women are vibrant and young.  They are much more media savvy and financially independent than their predecessors.  Yet 91 percent of Boomer women surveyed feel that marketers ignore or don’t understand them.The primary problem is that marketers believe these consumers are no longer relevant, and are locked into brands that they fell in love with decades ago. That is simply not true. In fact, research shows that these women are just as likely to switch brands as their children.

In a recent survey of Boomer women conducted by Girlpower Marketing, 64.2 percent admitted to saying goodbye to a product because they felt they were being ignored by the brand.  Brands that respondents felt have done a good job speaking to them include Eileen Fisher, Dove, L’Oreal, Cadillac, Olay, Amazon, Target and Avon.

The days of Boomer women being ignored by marketers are numbered.  More than any generation before, these women know their own power and won’t be marketed to in a disingenuous way. Trillions of dollars are at stake as marketers begin to discover the unexpected consumer gold mine that these women are.

Loving My Moleskines

Moleskine Notebooks

There was a time (not so long ago) when I didn’t know these notebooks existed.  But one day I was talking with my friend and she began raving about her Moleskine.  I was intrigued.  One purchase was all it took – I was in love, and I’ve been using them ever since.  I’ve bought at least a dozen of them in various sizes and colors since that first introduction, experimenting with the way I use them in different facets of my life.

I love using Moleskines for a variety of reasons. They are beautiful to hold and use, and are the perfect combination of form and function. They’re also convenient, fitting easily into a purse or tote. And the design is both minimalist and brilliant.

In this age of everything digital, Moleskine has managed to keep writing not only relevant, but cool.  Give them a try if you haven’t already.

How do you use your Moleskine?

Life Lessons for Mothers With Sons

Son at Beach

For all the mothers of sons out there: I recently came across a couple of these lessons and decided to continue compiling my own list – to give myself an “atta-girl” when I’ve done good, and to remind me where I need to pay attention. Please feel free to suggest other lessons if you have them.

1. Be a cheerleader for his life. As a mom there is no doubt that you are the most passionate person in the stands at his football, hockey or baseball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to stop when you start singing along to the radio when you’re driving with him and his friends. There is no doubt that he will be embarrassed when you start telling his cute childhood stories to his friends.  He will say he’s embarrassed.  But he will know that there is at least one person on this earth that will always unconditionally root for him.

2. Teach him how to do laundry. And clean the bathroom, load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt.  He may not want to learn, and he may never have to do it.  But he will know how.

3. Read to him and with him. Emilie Buchwald said, “Children become readers on the laps of their parents.”  Provide your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books.  Let him see you reading…reading the paper, novels, magazine articles.  Even reading on your iPad. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever.

4. Encourage him to dance freely. Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. He doesn’t have to be good, and he shouldn’t be embarrassed if he’s not.  Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it’s perfectly fine to go ahead and go for it.

5. Provide examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity. The examples of men as superheros will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he also knows about men who kick ass because of their brains (Albert Einstein), their pen Mark Twain, their words (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers).

6. Provide examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity. The examples of traditionally beautiful women will surround your son from birth.  But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Maria Curie), their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), their determination (Annie Sullivan), their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their fearlessness (Ameila Earhart).

7. Teach him manners. Because it’s nice, and it makes him nice. And it makes the world a better place.

8. Give him something to believe in. Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won’t be able to be there.  Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.

9. Let him ruin his clothes. Commit to staying cool about dirty and ruined clothes.  You’ll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing or pair of socks. Don’t waste energy being angry about something inevitable.  Boys tend to learn by jumping, spilling, falling, and making messes that will also make you nuts.

10. Learn how to throw a football. Or how to shoot a hockey puck, or read music, or (in my case) everything there is to know about platypus. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

11. Go outside with him. Turn off the television, unplug the video games, and put your cellphone away.  Go outside with him and watch his face as he explores his world.

12. Let him lose. Losing is not fun, but everybody isn’t always a winner.  Even if you want to say, “You’re a winner because you tried,” don’t.  He doesn’t feel like a winner, he feels sad and disappointed.  And that’s a good thing, because sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we want it, no matter how hard as moms we want to fix it for our kids. Make sure he understands that sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose.  No one ever gets a free pass. But that doesn’t mean to ever give up.

13. Give him opportunities to help others. There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help, and forcing him to help.  Giving the opportunity lights a flame in his heart, and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities.

14.Remind him that practice makes perfect. This doesn’t just apply to performance-based activities, but also applies to everything in life.  You become a better writer by writing.  You become a better listener by listening.  You become better speaker by speaking.  Practice, practice, practice.

15. Answer him when he asks, “Why?” Answer him, or search for the answer together.  Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or internet searches).  Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself.  Someday, when he needs to ask questions he’s too embarrassed to ask you, he’ll know where to go to find the right answers.

16. Let his dad teach him how to do things. Without interrupting about how to do it the ‘right way.’  If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything.  You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers.  And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life.  Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

17. Build forts. Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic.  Throw the couch cushions and a couple blankets on the floor and transform your living room into a magical place.  For the rest of his life, he’ll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

18. Take him to new places. Set aside time for mother/son adventures – just the two of you.  It will open his brain and his heart, and the memories will live forever.

19. Kiss him. Whether he is 2 or 16, kiss him when he’s loving and kind, and kiss him even more when he’s not.

20. Be a safe place for him to fall. You are home to him.  When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you but then come back.  When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile.  When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you’re the only one who will listen that many times.  When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands.  When he is sick, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough but he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious.  Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun.  Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

Marketing to Moms: Is Abercrombie CEO Brash or Brilliant?

Is Abercrombie CEO Marketing to Moms?

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO: “Only Cool Kids Can Shop Here”

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries is in the middle of a social media firestorm with his comments that he doesn’t want plus-sized people shopping there. Jeffries is quoted as having said the following in an earlier interview:

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”

Moms Respond to CEO Jeffries and his Remarks

“As far as Jeffries is concerned,” wrote reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis in Salon, “America’s unattractive, overweight or otherwise undesirable teens can shop elsewhere.” His comments have many moms up in arms, including Andrea Neusner who wrote the letter below:

Dear Mr. Jeffries:

Thank you for clarifying the reason you do not carry sizes larger than a 10 at Abercrombie. Your customer is an “attractive, all-American kid with a great attitude and lots of friends.” I am a mom of 3 daughters, ages 17, 13, and 10. They are all thin, attractive, all-American kids with great attitudes and lots of friends. They shop at Abercrombie. I believe they are your target audience.

Please find the enclosed clothing, purchased at our local Abercrombie/Abercrombie and Fitch stores. My thin, popular, cool kids will not need them anymore.

Not only will I not let my kids shop at Abercrombie again, I will not let them wear what they already have in their closets. Normally I donate our unwanted clothes, but in this case, I wouldn’t want any unsuspecting thin, cool person to send the message that being exclusionary is OK.

Sincerely,

Andrea Neusner 

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Dove Real Beauty Sketches online commercials, in which Dove commissioned a police sketch artist to draw women as they see themselves, and then as others describe them. The women see themselves as less attractive, while others see them far more kindly. The commercials have gone viral with 52 million hits to date. Its mantra: “You are more beautiful than you think!”

It looks like a self-esteem smack-down: Abercrombie vs. Dove. Mean, bully culture (A&F) vs. a self-esteem promoting, compassionate, we-can-make-the-world-a-better-place sensibility (Dove).

Retailers like H&M, Forever 21 and American Eagle do a pretty good job of exciting fashion customers of all ages and sizes. And they’ve been consistently stealing market share from the floundering Abercrombie & Fitch.

And while his version of marketing genius seems to be stoking the anxiety of youngsters who want to be considered cool by their peers, it’s an anxiety that CEO Jeffries, now in his late 60s, doesn’t seem to have outgrown himself. As Salon put it:

“Jeffries wants desperately to look like his target customer (the casually flawless college kid), and in that pursuit he has aggressively transformed himself from a classically handsome man into a cartoonish physical specimen: dyed hair, perfectly white teeth, golden tan, bulging biceps, wrinkle-free face, and big, Angelina Jolie lips.”

Is Jeffries Actually Marketing to Moms?

Here’s the thing: Jeffries is a businessman, and he can certainly market to whomever he wants. But who does he think is paying for all those A&F jeans and tops? That’s right. Moms. And though targeted marketing is done by many brands, the real issue here is that his remarks are just plain mean, and moms see that.  Call me crazy, but it seems that alienating the people who buy his merchandise might not be the smartest thing.

What do you think: Should marketers feel free to market their brands as they see fit? In the end, it’s up to the consumer to decide, even if the concept is outdated.

How Brands Can Celebrate Moms on Mother’s Day and Throughout the Year

Brands and Mother's Day

Mother’s Day.  The day I look forward to each year.  The day when my son and I spend the entire day together – just the two of us.  Whether it’s going to a movie, out for sushi, or on a road trip, that day is what memories are made of.

Though most moms say time spent with their loved ones and homemade cards are what they really cherish, the National Retail Federation says Mother’s Day spending will jump 11 percent this year to $20.7 billion, with consumers spending an average $168.94 on mom.

“It’s clear that Americans want to honor the women with the hardest job in the world this Mother’s Day,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shey.  And for good reason.  Moms are typically the household chef, chauffeur, organizer and primary purchase decision-maker for their families.  But they’re not just buying for themselves; they’re also buying for kids, husbands, friends, sports teams and often their own parents.

Marketers are always looking for ways to reach moms, but it can be a struggle if they don’t understand how best to connect with them.

Tips to Attract and Engage Moms

  • Participate directly with moms.  Brands trying to win over moms must participate directly with them, and develop a credible voice:  one that is engaging, personal, authentic and participatory.
  • Research where she is online. Yes, moms like to shop and read blogs, but they also research health information, conduct online banking, watch videos and play games.  Because patterns vary by life stage and interests, marketers need to understand their audience and how they are using the Internet.
  • Help her connect with your other customers. Moms gravitate toward brands that help them converse and connect with other moms.  Brands can accomplish this through their websites, blogs and other social media sites where moms are connecting.
  • Don’t talk AT moms. Many brands create social media campaigns aimed at engaging moms, but fail because they end up talking “at” moms with self-serving advertising speak.  Create added value for moms by providing them with information that is useful and interesting.  Then provide tools that allow moms to interact not only with the brand, but each other.  Listen to their feedback and make changes accordingly.
  • Respect her. Moms want brands to listen to them and respond to what they’re saying by showing respect and understanding their needs.
  • Don’t stereotype.  Soccer moms. Helicopter moms. Boomer moms.  Gen Y moms.  Stay-at-home moms.  A mom wouldn’t describe herself as such, so why do marketers?  Appreciate the diversity of moms and connect accordingly.
  • Make her laugh. Moms love to laugh.  Women’s humor grows out of identifying with another person in a funny situation, and recognizing their similarities.  Help them find those similarities in humorous situations.
  • Concentrate on customer service. Word-of-mouth is the biggest factor in purchasing decisions for online moms.  They look for recommendations from people they trust, and stay away from businesses if other moms relay bad experiences.  Brands should make sure that word-of-mouth doesn’t work against them by making a commitment to impeccable customer service.  Always go a bit further than needed, and include some form of “thank you.”
  • Remember that moms are not JUST moms.  Moms are not one-dimensional — they have other interests, and don’t want to read just about mom-related topics. Moms also travel, race dirt bikes and collect fine wine as well.
< 1 2 3 4 5 >»