4 Reasons You Should Be Marketing to Working Daughters

By Liz O’Donnell

This week I had the opportunity to address the Marketing To Moms Conference about a segment of moms that are too often ignored: mothers in the sandwich. Currently there are 44 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States and 60 percent of them are women. With 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the U.S., that number is expected to grow.

These women, many of them mothers as well as daughters, are trying not only to maintain some sense of self while raising kids, not only trying to maintain some sense of self while raising kids and juggling a job, but trying to maintain some sense of self while raising kids, juggling a job, and caring for aging parents. These women are busy, they are savvy (they need to be; they are managing crises, averting crises, and solving problems every day), and they are influential. Mothers in the sandwich are making health care decisions for three generations, managing money for three generations, consuming services for three generations, purchasing products for three generations.

Earlier this year, I wrote an article for The Atlantic about why, as a society, we can’t ignore the challenges many of these women face. Today, I got to talk about why product managers and marketers can’t ignore these drivers of the care economy. Here’s why:

1. They are influencing technology innovation. Long distance caregivers, working caregivers, busy caregivers – they all need practical solutions that address every day challenges. How will I get my mother to take her meds? How do I know if my father has fallen? How do I coordinate care with multiple family members? Isn’t there a better way to interact with the medical team? Talk about an industry ready for disruption!

2. They are seeking reliable, affordable care solutions. They are the driving force behind companies like Care Academy and Care.com.

3. Their lives are on-demand; so their services must be as well. If ever a demographic group needed on-demand services, this is it. Car services that transport seniors safely to medical appointments and children safely to afterschool activities? Needed! Meal services that serve up healthy, easy dinners? Needed! Dependable people to run errands and do chores? Yes, please!

4. They purchase a heck of a lot of consumer goods. For three generations. Listen to them. Solve for them. Respond to them. Earn their loyalty for a lifetime.

At Double Forte, we know women. We can help you reach the mothers in the sandwich.