Helpful Marketing Tactics to Attract Pregnant Women into a Sales Process

• Modern pregnant women in the US ask many questions and purchase a notable amount of baby gear. This fact indicates that brands can fill the needs of pregnant women and introduce them into their sales process by making reliable information about their products readily available.
• According to Belo Media Group's report, about 90% of new moms in the United States are millennials who have a lot of pregnancy-related questions during their pregnancy period. The writer of this report explained that search engines are significant avenues to provide information about a product targeted towards pregnant women in the US, highlighting that during her pregnancy, she sourced different information through Google search.
• Furthermore, the reporter observed that the site, which provided the most valuable information, became a reliable resource, noting that one website that did that significantly was Babylist. This information indicates that pregnant women start their purchase process by looking for information online out of curiosity, revealing how brands can lure them into their sales processes.
• The second most significant place pregnant women in the US turn to for information is other moms, as per Belo Media Group's report, which observed that they usually ask each other for product recommendations. The report showed that incentivizing existing customers is a reliable way to introduce new customers to the sales process of products targeted at pregnant women.
• The writer of Bello Group's report narrated the path she took to purchase a product during pregnancy. It went from learning about a product using an app (Babycenter, The Bump, or What to Expect), searching Pinterest for options, following links on Pinterest to read about the product, narrowing product options down to design or price, and checking Instagram in search of products promoted by relevant influencers.
• According to a report by Chron, there are four significant ways to utilize marketing to draw pregnant women into a product's sales process. They include using beautiful product images, promoting the comfort a product offers, targeting husbands, and using nesting instincts (the urge to have everything in order before their baby's arrival).
• In addition to the four ways to market to pregnant women reported by Chron, Pregnancy Magazine's report added that brands need to represent diversity when marketing to pregnant women.

Research Findings Relevant to How People Find Nausea Products and Belly balms

•  Two significant belly balm products in the US are The Honest Co. Organic Belly Balm and Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter Kit, according to a report by Pregnancy Prep.
• As per the site analysis platform, SimilarWeb, visitors of the website of The Honest Co. Organic Belly Balm come from search engines (45.86%), direct (32.10%), display advertising (10.74%), email (5.03%), social media (3.25%), and referrals (3.02%). This data presents insights into how potential customers come into the product's sales process.
• According to a report by What to Expect, Three Lollies Preggie Pop Drops, Tummydrops Ginger, Ritual Prenatal, and others are among the best nausea products in the US.
• Based on data by SimilarWeb, web visitors on Ritual Prenatal's website come from search engines (39.25%), direct (52.10%), social media (5.05%), referrals (3.00%), display advertising (0.51%), email (0.09%). This data shows how potential customers come into the product's sales process.

Research Strategy:

Helpful Findings

•  77% of pregnant women tend to purchase OTC products such as nausea products by solely relying on "doctors recommendation".
•  70% of pregnant women tend to purchase OTC products such as nausea products based on Facebook Buzz as 29% of the moms liked around 21 or more Facebook brands.
• Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy affect nearly 75% of pregnant women.
•  Best products to subside with pregnancy nausea and morning sickness are Three Lollies Preggie Pop Drops, Tummydrops Ginger, Earth Mama Angel Baby Morning Wellness Tea, B-natal Vitamin Supplement Lollipops, Pink Stork Mist Magnesium Spray, Sea-Band Mama Anti-Nausea Wrist Band, and Psi Bands Acupressure Wrist Bands.

Research Strategy

RELEVANT INSIGHTS

• Belly butter is classified as oil, cream, lotion, butter, bar, and others.
• The key players in the belly butter market include Lilah James, Badger, Nine Naturals, Burt’s Bees, Inc., Palmer’s, The Honest Company, BELLA B, Earth Mama, Mambino Organics, Body Merry, Motherlove, Fairhaven Health, and Erbaviva.
• According to DigitalJournal, people are becoming more health-conscious and this is increasing the demand for belly butters and in turn, is impacting the entire industry.
• The key regions of belly butters market include the United States, China, Europe, and Japan.
• The usage of belly butters is bifurcated as stretch marks preventing, soothing, stretch marks removing, and others.

PAYWALLED REPORTS

• The link to the paywalled report on BusinessDailyMirror is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on MarketWatch is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on Fox34 is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on OrbisResearch is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on OnlineNewsGuru is here 
• The link to the paywalled report on PRNewsGazette is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on AcuteMarketReports is here.
• The link to the paywalled report on DigitalJournal is here.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

1. Genevieve Howland

• Genevieve Howland is a child educator who teaches childbirth education online and is the author of a best-selling book about guide to pregnancy and childbirth. She also features in videos and articles about healthy eating, natural childbirth, and breastfeeding.
• She mainly uses social media handle ‘Mama Natural’ in her blog, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
•  Her blog Mama Natural is visited 1.5 million times monthly.
• Her YouTube account has 343k subscribers.
• She has 56k Instagram followers.
• Her Facebook page has 251k likes and 246k followers.

2. Aspyn Ovard

• Aspyn Ovard is an all-around social media influencer as well as a famous YouTuber who shares topics about pregnancy tips, fashion, and travel. Her Instagram account heavily revolves around her pregnancy journey and life as a mom.
• She uses her name as her social media handles on Instagram and Twitter and Haute Brilliance in her YouTube account.
• Her Instagram account has 2.2 million followers.
• She has 701k followers in her Twitter account.
• Her YouTube account has 3.5 million subscribers.

3. January Harshe

• January Harshe is an author and blogger who supports women's freedom of birth options. She created a Facebook page called Birth Without Fear and a blog by the same name as an outlet for her passion to help expectant women by providing tips and information regarding the journey of womanhood, pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
• She mainly uses social media handle Birth Without Fear.
• Her Facebook page, Birth Without Fear, has 395k likes and 385k followers.
• Her Instagram account has 280k followers.

4. Sarah Stage

• A model and fitness trainer, Sarah Stage gained attention on social media upon her pregnancy. She created a blog that shares her journey through pregnancy and motherhood and released her own fitness and nutrition guide for pregnant women.
• She uses her own name as her social media handle.
• Sarah Stage's Instagram account has 2.1 million followers.
• Her YouTube account has 15.8k subscribers.

5. Melissa Lawrence

• Melissa Lawrence is the woman behind the blog CloudMom which tackles motherhood, babies, kids and expectant mothers including topics on healthy pregnancy and pregnancy to-do list guides. She also features how-to videos and advice, especially on pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Melissa mainly uses CloudMom as her social media handle.
• CloudMom Facebook page has more than 149k likes and 146k followers.
• CloudMom's YouTube account has 78.5k subscribers.
• CloudMom’s Pinterest account has 19.2k followers.

6. Sia Cooper

• Sia Cooper is the person behind Diary of a Fit Mommy who went viral for having a 6 pack during pregnancy. She is a nurse-turned-blogger and became a certified personal trainer offering workouts, meal plan, and pregnancy guides as well as postpartum programs.
• She uses social handle Diary of a Fit Mommy across all her social media accounts.
• Her blog topics include pregnancy, postpartum, little ones, wellness, diet, and lifestyle.
• Her Facebook page has over 233k likes and 235k followers.
• Her Instagram account has 1.2 million followers.
• Her Pinterest page has 70.5k followers.

7. Gabbie Flowers

• Gabrielle Gabe Flowers is the other half of famous YouTube stars GabeBabe which documents their day-to-day lives on YouTube and offers motherhood advice, pregnancy tips, and perspectives on being an interracial family. Many of their videos are dedicated to stories about their kids and what to do during pregnancy.
• Gabe uses social handles GabeBabe on YouTube and gabeflowers on Instagram.
• GabeBabe’s YouTube account has a total of 340k subscribers.
• Gabe’s Instagram account has 106k followers.

Research Strategy:

Prices

•  Thirty-nine percent of newly expecting mothers do not mind the price when buying items they want, and this percentage gradually goes down to 36% during the middle to the late-term of the pregnancy. Once the baby is born, price becomes a bigger factor to consider when shopping as only 25% of the new moms do not mind the prices.

Brand Loyalty

• When it comes to brand loyalty, new moms are more likely to try new brands as they look for new products that will work well with the family's budget. On the other hand, around 40% of expectant mothers prefer to buy the same brand.

Online Groups

• About 40% of new moms are more likely to be a member of an online parenting and buy-and-sell groups, while only 28% of expectant mothers are members of the said online groups.

Social Media

• New moms are more likely to use Facebook on a daily basis. They use the app for in-depth discussions with family, friends, and group members.
•  Fifty percent of the expectant mothers surveyed said they are likely to use Facebook to get recommendations on products and services from family and friends, and this percentage goes as high as 73% among new moms.
• In the early stage of the pregnancy, expectant mothers turn to social media to look for topics and products related to parenting. After the pregnancy, they turn to social media again, but this time, it’s for baby-related products and services.
•  Thirty-seven percent of newly expecting mothers say social media is their preferred source of information for products and services for their babies. During the middle to the late terms of the pregnancy, 42% prefer social media as their source of information for anything related to babies. This percentage even goes higher once the baby is born, with 46% new moms turning to social media for baby-related products and services.

Age

• According to the CDC, the mean age of women when they have their first child is 29.6.
• The average age for a first pregnancy is higher than what it used to be. It used to be 22.7 in the 1980s.
• The average age of pregnant women who have college degrees is 30.3 years.
• In 2017, the number of births to mothers aged 15 to 19 was 194,377. According to the CDC, 18.8 out of every 1,000 live births in the US were to teen mothers.

Race/Ethnicity

• This graph shows the ethnic group of birth mothers in the United States. The number of births are per 1,000 women. 67 were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 59 were Native American, 55 were "other", 55 were Hispanic or Latino, 54 were African American, 51 were Caucasian, and 50 were Asian. This graph can also be viewed in this document.

Marital Status

• The number of live births to unmarried women in 2017 was 1,533,901. This correlates to 39.8% of all births.

Income

• According to this graph, of the number of births per 1,000 women in the US, 66 were to mothers with an annual household income of under $10,000, 60 to mothers with an annual income of $25,000 to $35,000, and 51 to mothers with an annual income of $75,000 to $99,000. The graph can also be viewed here.

Education

• According to this graph, of the number of births per 1,000 women in the US, 36 were born to women who did not graduate high school, 58 to women who graduated from high school (or received a GED), 50 to women who had some college or an Associate's degree, 54 to women who had a Bachelor's degree, and 62 to women who had a graduate or professional degree. The graph can also be viewed here.

Research Strategy

How Pregnant Women Spend Their Time

• Pregnant women in the US spend their time doing some leisure-time physical activities fit for their pregnancy period.

• They have a varied rate of leisure-time physical activities based on their age and trimester period. 

• The most common activities include aerobics, running, walking, and yoga.

• In research published by BMC, it was stated that women with higher leisure-time physical activities have the lowest rates of adverse pregnancy and complications.

• Additionally, while some pregnant women do not have sufficient time to spend with health professionals, they spend time using digital media like pregnancy apps to have their questions answered.

Sources of Information

• In a survey result among pregnant women in the US released in 2018, it was found that their main source of information and social support are: from their current partner (92%), from the internet in general 99%, wherein, 89% use social media sites for questions and advice, 84% seek information from their social media friends and from social support, and 43% use blogs to communicate with other mothers.

• The internet is mostly used by pregnant women to seek health information during their first trimester (81.5%), second trimester (13.5%), and third trimester (5.10%).

• Google searches were considered the most common way to seek information in the US, especially during pregnancy's early stage, because it is easy and instant.

• The wide use of the internet, especially social media is due to its ease of access, having more information, and having the ability to look for women with the same situation.

• The achieved information helps these women reduce their fears and concerns, reduce anxiety, gain encouragement and positive energy, and achieve virtual support from others.

•  Support groups are also used to make connections with similarly expecting parents, wherein they can get support from each other.

• The most common topics of interest include complications and symptoms of pregnancy, fetal development, nutrition, activities, and stages of birth and delivery.

• In another 2018 survey, 11% of pregnant women stated that their opinion has changed because of what they saw on social media.

Habits

• In a study of 1,003 pregnant women in the US, it was found that 69.8% uses dietary supplements, where 75% uses "prenatal" dietary supplements. 

•  Physical and vigorous activities tend to be on their lower levels.

• Improved habits of less alcohol consumption and less smoking are also seen from the subjects of the study.

• When it comes to eating habits, dietary changes are seen among pregnant women in the US, based on a study published by NCBI.

•  50% of the pregnant women interviewed increased their milk consumption, 26% had a dislike of meats, and 36% craved for sweet foods.

• The top reason for decreasing or eliminating certain food intake (like alcohol, coffee, and raw food) of 64.9% pregnant women is for the "baby's health."

Hobbies

• Indulging and enjoying a woman's hobby during pregnancy is the right time to do so since when the baby arrives, it might absorb every moment of the mother's time.

• A lot of concerns about pregnancy would cause stress. Pregnant women need to unwind to make them feel good, and hobbies are great options.

•  Scrapbooking is one hobby, which records their pregnancy journey along with photos and timelines. It makes the mother feel calm and grounded while saving precious moments in an intimate way.

•  Reading is another hobby that is usually enjoyed during pregnancy. Additionally, reading aloud can also be helpful so the baby can also listen.

• Cooking or baking, as a hobby, keeps a mother's mind calm, creative, and focused.

Values

• In a 2018 survey on health behavior and personal values published by NCBI, it was stated that among pregnant women, the highest-rated personal value was having "a successful family life" and the symbol of happiness that is most appreciated was "love and friendship." 

•  Healthy behaviors about their "health" is also one of the important personal values considered by this group, which in turn would indicate a reduction of adverse pregnancy outcomes due to having positive changes in their health attitudes.

• Most American pregnant women value their babies' health in the early part of their pregnancy.

•  77.1% of women seek prenatal care during their first trimester. Of these women, 61% of <20-year-old mothers sought prenatal care, while 82% do so when they are in their 30s. However, it becomes less prevalent to women in their fourth or higher order of pregnancy.

• Aside from physical health, pregnant women also consider their mental health and wellbeing since this entails many emotional, hormonal, and physical changes.

• The consideration prevents antenatal anxiety, which is experienced by 10% of women during their pregnancy (and 5% of their partners). This is done by seeking help from their partner, anyone they trust, health professionals, and support services.

Spending Patterns

• Expecting parents are considered to be more likely to change their purchasing habits.

• The time during pregnancy is when pregnant consumers decide on how to handle baby-related expenses and the time of figuring out where to make cuts.

• During this time, some changes on household expenses are checked, spending only on those that need to be prioritized. This is because there are a lot of considerations when it comes to spendings, such as doctor's visits, prenatal consultations, tests, medications, delivery expenses, and the baby's soon-to-be daily necessities, and changing needs.

• For advertisers in the US, if marketing spends for an average person would be worth $0.10, that for a pregnant woman would be $1.50.

• These statistics mean that marketing to expectant mothers is very important because their purchasing habits, when done during pregnancy, are very crucial and dealt which much importance and consideration.