I spent the first 20 years of my life growing up in the small family business and if anyone else had a similar upbringing then you probably had a few extra after school activities! And by extra school ‘activities’, that meant often swinging by my parent’s delicatessen to replenish sugar bowls and wash dishes. Not fun when all your friends were going to the beach!
Fast forward 20 years after working with 400 Mum-centric corporate brands, I reminisce back to this time when I was at uni studying marketing, and I’d watch my old man apply fundamental strategies that moved people to buy, that I thought were genius and still very much valid in today’s world.
Here are 3 evergreen strategies this ‘old man’ taught me, that every mum-centric brand needs in their marketing campaign:
1. Trial is key to conversion: When people walked into the deli looking for something to eat, they weren’t just stopping here. There were several shops to choose from – we all have competitors! My dad would often give them samples and say, “I don’t want you to buy. I just want you to try.” This took the pressure off and the focus was on simply trying – a low risk exercise. His chances they would buy after they tried his slow cooked lamb were pretty high.
The lesson: product trials are a great way to lower resistance and educate a consumer.
2.Prompt people to buy: Every morning at 11.30am, my dad would grill up garlic bread, for the pure reason of spreading a smell that silently proclaimed “Lunch is ready”. In his opinion, it would remind people that they are hungry and encourage them to get something extra or a little earlier than they thought. And they did.
The lesson: Leveraging buying prompts moves people to buy faster
3.Influence the influencer: My dad loved people and pets equally! So, if somebody sat down with their fur-baby he would bring treats out for them too. Even though my dad did this purely to see these pets happy, these pets got so accustomed to my dad’s hospitality that each time the owner walked buy, guess what happened? The dogs would sit down at the front of the shop and the owner would end up grabbing a coffee. Crazy but true.
The lesson here: Look at who is influencing the buyer? For Mum centric brands that can be the partners, children, friends. As a brand, you need to talk with them too.
To recap:
Ultimately, to be a leading brand, what I’ve learnt is that it’s a lot of little steps that collectively move people to choose your brand. And product sampling, leveraging prompts to move people faster and knowing who influences your buyer is your essential starting point.
