Deliver deals and discounts

Parents are bargain hunters. Successfully marketing to them, then, requires an attractive value proposition. Two-for-one coupons, deep discounts and anything involving the words “sale” or “clearance” will effectively pique parents’ interest in your business and drive their dollars to your bottom line.

I recommend: It’s not enough to offer a great product. You must offer that product at a great price, too. Learn the ins and outs of coupon planning at CouponInfoNow. Then, create, manage and distribute custom coupons to your customers at CouponBuilder.com.

Keep convenience top of mind

Parents are busy people; business owners who can make their lives easier are the ones who will ultimately win their dollars and earn their loyalty.

I recommend: The best way to find out what parents are looking for in a business is to ask them. Consider conducting a survey with The Survey Company, which specializes in creating customer surveys for marketers. Or, gain further insight into the parent psyche by subscribing to free parent newsletters from sites such as Busy Parents Online, momready or 4Parents Network, or from magazines like Parenting and Parents.

Zero in on moms

Market research shows that mothers control approximately 85 percent of household spending. Still, 70 percent of moms feel companies are doing a poor job marketing to them. Businesses that can successfully reach moms—and make them feel special—can therefore claim an easy share of a $1.7 trillion market.

I recommend: Marketing companies such as BSM Media and Lucid Marketing specialize in reaching the mom market and can help you create and deliver messages that will truly matter to your parent customers. Meanwhile, events like the Marketing-To-Moms Conference will expose you to valuable case studies and research with which to inform and inspire your efforts.

Don’t forget dads

Moms aren’t the only ones staying at home with the kids these days. There are 25.8 million married fathers raising children under 18 in the United States, according to U.S. Census data, and 2 million single fathers doing the same. The result is a growing niche market of fathers to which the savviest companies will market.

I recommend: Study dads’ favorite stores, such as The Home Depot, during holidays like Father’s Day for ideas on reaching male consumers. For further insight into how dads think and purchase, read blogs like Rebel Dad that are written by and for them. Finally, take the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Father Friendly Check-Up for Business, which measures the degree to which your company is helping fathers balance work and family.

Earn word of mouth

Parents like to talk. When you impress them with your products and services, they’ll almost certainly tell their friends—all of them. Embrace positive word of mouth as a low-cost, high-value way to attract new customers and retain old ones.

I recommend: Social networks are making it easier for parents—who sometimes feel isolated from their peers—to interact with one another, and to therefore spread word of mouth for your business. Market within networks such as GotKidsNetwork.com, Maya’s Mom, Minti, MothersClick, Dad Daily and ParentsConnect—all geared toward parents.

Target tech-savvy parents

Parents are no longer bound to dinner tables and soccer practices. Modern-day moms and dads are thoroughly plugged in and spend just as much time at their computers as they do at the grocery store. Smart marketers will sniff them out in both places.

I recommend: A 2005 survey of Internet-savvy mothers found that 69 percent of them subscribe to between one and five retail emails each—86 percent of them in order to get discounts and coupons. Companies like Vertical Response and Bronto can help you create and manage an email marketing program to connect with parents.

Protect children

Even more than cost and convenience, parent consumers are driven by the desire to protect their families. Next to less responsible competitors, kid-friendly businesses that promote children’s health, safety and well-being will always rise to the top of parents’ lists.

I recommend: Build trust with parents by supporting kid-friendly charities such as Save the Children, Toys for Tots, Parents Action for Children or Ronald McDonald House Charities.