Typically parents of newborns center their lives around their children by joining mommy and me classes and other classes that can put their babies into healthy social situations. Parents of babies also buy the safest cars that can fit all the members (and future members) of the family so they often drive a minivan or an SUV. As one of the oldest siblings of my family, I got to watch my sisters grow and I know better than anyone that all these parents will be able to watch is kid's channels such as Disney Jr for a long time, so that makes for the best place to advertise. Typically parents will buy books made for children so they can read them as bedtime stories and will vote for politicians that protect their children the best, so any politicians concerned with protecting the environment and bettering schools. There is also a growing trend of having your first child at a young age now so this market would be younger, but there are also parents having their fourth child that could be older and still need my product. However, the younger parents are usually more cautious with their first child and will do more research and buy more to help their babies aka my product.
At the end of the day, younger parents will feel more overwhelmed and will want to pay anything to have their old lives back and be able to sleep and watch the TV shows they want again while the baby rests. This means this market will be the most likely to try my product since it will give them the chance to not have to get up to check on the crying baby every hour.I myself am concerned with saving money as are many young parents who take on many expenses when they first have a child. I am also a Millennial as young parents are so I would be able to connect with them in the best ways. Also, as a result of being there as my sister's were raised, I know many of the concerns parents experience when raising children and the hassle that newborns can cause, especially during the middle of the night when they are unable to sleep. I would have a lot of insight on the ways to reach this market and the best TV channels and baby books to have advertise my product.
I do not think it is a coincidence that I have commonalities with my market. I think that because I saw how babies respond to white noise machines and because I saw how my parent's handled things, I got to firsthand observe the lifestyle of my market, and it was seeing this process that gave me the idea for my product in the first place.
Hi Katia.
ReplyDeleteI have some disagreements with your post, but I appreciate the rich detail you put into it.
Actually, the current trend is to have children at older ages, not younger. Many women put off having children until they have graduated college and are getting established in their careers.
“The average age of American women having their first child reached a record high of 26 years old in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics Report.
The average age of first-time mothers is increasing because more women are waiting until their 30s and 40s to start having kids and fewer women are having their first kids in their teens and 20s, the CDC report says.” (Business Insider, June 30, 2015.)
As a parent I can tell you that parents may put the TV on the Disney Jr. channel, but then the parents tend to tune out that “noise” as they attempt to catch up on all the chores busy parents have. You might want to advertise in a medium that parents actually pay attention to.
Also, I question if your product would help babies sleep longer. It depends on the age of the babies and why they are crying. Newborns and very young babies often do not have their schedule synced with that of their parents. These babies are crying because they need attention. Their stomachs are very tiny, so they get hungry faster. That causes them to excrete faster. They are crying because they are hungry or wet/messy, or something else isn’t right. Parents will still be getting up to deal with crying babies often in the night. This usually, but not always, improves with time, as the babies get a little bigger and more used to the schedule of the household. That being said, your product might be very valuable at calming the babies down more quickly back into sleep if it mimics the noise the baby heard in mom’s womb, the noise the baby is used to hearing. That could be very comforting to babies.
Don’t think I’m trying to tear down your post- I just think you are one step removed from your avatar and would understand these issues better if you were a parent. You’ll have much more in common with your market at that time. (But advice from a parent- don’t rush it! Get that degree- get that high paying job-FIRST- because when you are a parent your children are your highest priority and it is very difficult to find time to study and make good grades.)
I do like the picture you included of Dad holding the baby- because the dads are important as well.
Hey Katia,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your post, I think you had a lot of detail included. I do not know a whole lot on the age of having babies, but I am sure all first time mothers have similar views. I will say that one of my best friends recently had a baby, and it had me thinking a lot of how I would raise my own. I would not be able to put a dollar amount on the money that I will put into my child to ensure I raise them to the best of my ability. I know that if you marketed your product correctly, I would most certainly be one of the customers that would be interested in your product.
-Dakota Horlocker