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Paging Dr. Mom: marketing healthcare for kids

June 30, 2020

Doctor_Mom_Marketing

In some ways, Millennials have grown up faster than any other generation. It seems like yesterday when they were still living with their parents. Today, half of all Millennials are parents themselves.

What does it mean that the children of the Great Recession are now raising families of their own? It means that parenting has changed. Health and wellness brands need to recognize the extent and substance of that change and evolve accordingly. They can start by focusing on understanding the ways in which Millennial mom makes choices.

Understand how she lives.

One of the key baseline trends among Millennials is that while they are having more kids, they're doing so later in life. From a behavioral standpoint this is important, as many Millennial moms enter parenthood with their consumer habits more fully formed than previous generations. But the distinctions don't end there.

First and foremost, she's probably a working mom. This is a cash-strapped generation, and as such, two-income families are far more common than in years past. According to three years (2018 -2020) of data gathered by Motherly for its annual State of Motherhood Survey, slightly more than half of Millennial moms work full-time. Raising a family while working has left today's Dr. Mom with far less spare time than moms in the past.

Understand how she shops.

Within the household, moms wield significant buying power. Millennial moms make 85 percent of purchasing decisions for their families. Their total annual spending? A whopping $2.4 trillion.

That shopping is currently spread out across brick-and-mortar business and e-commerce sites, with long-term trends favoring mobile-friendly brands. GfK reports that 73 percent of consumers between the ages of 29 and 38 prefer to shop via smartphone. And that smartphone use doesn’t occur only at home. Almost 60 percent of such usage occurs in-store, as shoppers are more and more inclined to comparison shop, hunt down coupons, or consult reviews while browsing the aisles.

Millennial moms are mobile in another sense. They are constantly on the go, and frequently with their children in tow. Consider these factoids provided by The Mom Complex: 

  • Millennial parents spend twice as much time in the presence of their kids than their parents did with them when they were children.
  • One out of every five meals is consumed in the car (or SUV, truck, minivan, etc.).
  • Millennials snack more often than any previous generation, and often treat those snacks as meal replacements.
  • On average, the traditional American family dinner — with everyone seated at a dinner table — lasts all of 12 minutes.

Brands need to remember that, for all their love of organic ingredients, Millennial moms also crave convenience and portability. Offering sore throat formulas in gummy lollipop form, for example, gives these moms desirable options that traditional syrups which must be measured and spooned into a child’s mouth simply can’t.

Put wellness before care.

Kids get sick. Their immune systems are still developing, as are their notions of basic hygiene. Schools, daycare centers, and playgrounds provide multiple opportunities to spread infection. But like no other generation before, Millennials spend more time seeking out solutions that prevent sickness, not simply stocking the cabinet for remedies when the kids actually get sick.

These preferences open new opportunities for health and wellness brands. For example, Pedialyte, the long-trusted rehydration drink for infants, has extended its reach through its AdvancedCare Plus line. Delivered in a variety of flavors and formats and designed to appeal both to kids and adults, the line contains prebiotics to support digestive health. The message Pedialyte is conveying? That their products aren’t just remedies. They’re the ideal supplement for less healthy beverages kids consume on an everyday basis.

Put information before products.

Almost every healthcare consumer journey begins with a search, and it's likely not a product that's being sought out, but knowledge. This is especially true for Millennial moms, who are quite comfortable relying on themselves to use the power of the internet to make informed choices. There's far more knowledge today around preventative healthcare than ever before, and today's young parents have taken the time to educate themselves.

Some of the world's top healthcare brands have taken this to heart, making sure they are front and center at this stage of the journey. It's why Google searches for certain symptoms typically generate results that include content from trusted providers like the Mayo Clinic or John's Hopkins. These providers understand that the more information they provide to people at the start of the search, the more likely they'll be chosen to provide actual care later on.

What's inside matters.

Millennials tend to think holistically. For them, every choice is an expression of their identity and most dearly held beliefs. Millennial moms are no different. For them, treating the “whole child” is paramount.

As a result, Millennial parents are very leery of contraindications and side effects, especially of the emotional and behavioral variety. Chemicals that were once embraced by consumers as space-age wonders are now looked upon with suspicion. Millennials instead attach trust to natural substances as well as to products free from artificial additives, dyes, fragrances, flavorings, and pro-inflammatory ingredients such as added sugars, lactose, and gluten. Healthcare product design and labeling must address these anxieties if it is to compete on drug store shelves.

She seeks alternatives, so be one.

Millennial priorities may be table stakes for big pharmaceutical companies, but they represent a tremendous opportunity for private label brands. Consider players in the dietary supplements market — a booming $120 billion industry.

Millennial parents are already regular users of multivitamins. According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 79 percent of adult females, 70 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 34, and 83 percent of adults with children under the age of 18 take a multivitamin daily. Supplements with added ingredients promoting a child’s ability to focus at school, or formulas to calm frayed nerves are likely to find a home in a Millennial parent's medicine cabinet.

Products containing natural ingredients such as goat milk and honey have become especially popular, with sales increasingly driven by artisanal producers selling locally or on niche online marketplaces such as Esty. But no matter where they're found, it's the "what" that matters most. Brands should explore line extensions or new product development efforts to better position themselves in the alternative space where Millennial mom seeks out solutions.

While change has certainly come to healthcare thanks to Millennials, smart health and wellness marketers should see this change as an opportunity to position themselves for long-term growth. This mobile-friendly and digital-first way of life is here to stay. The providers that embrace it and build their brands around it will be the ones that are most likely stick around as well.

At Slingshot, we're no strangers to connecting health and wellness brands to the moms they need to grow. Reach out today to get started.

Topics:millennialshealthcare

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