Incentives Motivate Moms to Refer Brands to Friends

Coupons and discounts among most popular

Whether it’s exchanging stories about shopping bargains, offering product reviews or sharing parenting advice, moms love to trade information and engage in online conversations about themselves and their families. But moms say they would be significantly more inclined to refer a brand or product to friends when offered an incentive. Marketers can boost engagement and motivate moms to spread word-of-mouth about products by providing coupons, discounts, deals and other tangible financial rewards.

lucid marketing reported in April that only 34% of moms surveyed in January 2011 said they regularly use tell-a-friend requests when asked by a business or website, while 63% do so occasionally. However, if offered an incentive, nearly 66% of moms said they would be more likely to refer a brand or website to others.

The mom segment is made up of vocal, tech-savvy, price-conscious consumers who are an important purchase influencer for families and more apt to use incentives than the average consumer. According to BabyCenter, smartphone-owning moms found coupons (55%) and ads that featured nearby deals (34%) to be among the most appealing. While general population smartphone owners also found coupons and local deals attractive, the percentages were smaller, at 37% and 29%, respectively.

Moms are highly engaged in brand conversations and are keen on finding bargains and additional ways to save. Incentives, including coupons, local deals, discounts and product samples, serve as a powerful marketing tool to drive moms to discuss and pass information about products on to their network of friends. With wide social circles and a high tendency to communicate and share ideas via word-of-mouth marketing, moms are extremely receptive to brand referrals and product recommendations from their peers.