Kids have a massive influence on parental buying decisions. It has been sited that more than 80% of all household purchases are influenced by the children in the home. After a quick inspection of our household items, I wonder if the number might actually be low!
Just about everything I purchase at the grocery store is filtered through the questions, “Will my kids eat this? Will it be healthy for them?” Our car is another example; I never would have bought a mini-van if it wasn’t for my kids. The list of products that are catered to children, either directly or indirectly, is massive.
The Service World is Missing the Powerful Buying Influence of Children
Marketing companies understand the powerful influence children have on sales, and leverage it very effectively. Unfortunately, professional HVAC Techs, Plumbers, and Electricians hardly ever tie the benefits their services offer to children.
This is a shame, because it is really easy to demonstrate how your products can benefit kids. Children based benefits often provide the leverage needed to close the sale.
How to use the powerful buying influence of children
My wife and I have invested over $10,000 in our landscaping because of our kids. We have also purchased high-end IAQ products, water filtering systems, and a tankless heater because of our kids. Each one of these items provided a key benefit for our kids.
Here are the areas of leverage you need to focus on when selling to parents:
- Ease of Use: In the world of plumbing, not all faucets are easy to use. My four year old struggles with the contractor grade faucets that use the pull up flow control. Often she will leave them running, because she can’t push them down fully. Our upgrades have all been faucets that are either lever based, or handle based. Not only are they nicer, but they are easier to use.
- Health Benefits: My little boy has a bad case of eczema. This causes his skin to develop painful rashes. His sister and momma also have it, though not as severe. Because of this, we have a whole house filtering system that removes the chlorine from the water. It’s terrific! Not to exclude our HVAC brothers, we also have 2 high-end UV systems and and an air cleaner. These provide great benefits to this family of asthma and allergy sufferers.
- Safety: My wife worries about electricity. She wants to take zero chances with our kids. As you know, little kids have a tendency to poke metal objects into electrical outlets. As an electrician, this would get you the full upgrades on Ark Fault Protectors and Ground Fault Interrupters.
- Long Lasting: Kids are rough on everything! The abuse they inflict on homes only grows as they become teenagers. Your clients understand this. Your product may be 50% to 100% more than your competition, but it will also last twice as long with fewer repairs. A long lasting product is critical to a parent’s buying decision.
We would be an easy sell for most Plumbers, HVAC Techs, and Electricians. You would just have to tell us how your product will benefit our kids.
