Hello, I’m Katrina McCarter.

As an award-winning international speaker, best-selling author and marketing strategist, I specialise in helping brands drive sales and profit within the Mum market.

I passionately believe there is a new way to communicate and sell to mothers. In Australia, Mums are responsible for $132 billion in spending every year* yet they remain misunderstood, misrepresented and undervalued.  In fact, my Marketing to Mums research of 1800 Australian Mums found that 63% of Mums believe that brands and advertisers don’t understand them. I see there is massive opportunity for brands who get this right. I help businesses improve their sales amongst this powerful consumer segment.

So how did I get into this line of work?

I get asked this question…. a lot.

I have got 18 years sales and marketing experience. I’ve worked across really diverse industries including grocery (FMCG), hardware and online – so I’ve been communicating with Mums for a long time.

Eight years ago, I was playing cards with my girlfriends and they were all talking about these great shopping deals they were getting for massages, towels and more.  The group buying sites had just arrived in Australia (remember Spreets, Scoopon and Deals.com.au?) and I noticed that no one was catering for the family market.  I decided I’d fill this gap in the market. Six months later after capital raising and bringing on board four investors I launched my online shopping website called Bubbler. It was dedicated to helping mums with kids aged under 12 years source the best shopping deals and experiences. I secured great partners, won some awards along the way and grew it to a community of 150,000 Mums across Australia before selling it in 2016.

It was during this time that I really learned about Mums buying behaviour and her communication preferences. It quickly became apparent that brands lacked an expertise around how to attract, engage and convert Mums to a sale.  Coupled with this, I saw a growing distaste Mums held for most branded advertising. They weren’t happy with how they were being communicated with.

I knew I could be doing more to assist them, so in late 2015 I launched my marketing and research consulting business, Marketing to Mums (or Marketing to Moms depending on where you are located).  At Marketing to Mums I focus on helping brands drive sales and profit by:

• Conduct Marketing to Mums Assessments identifying gaps and unrealised opportunities
• Undertake research to identify the most profitable mum segment a brand should focus on
• Upskill marketing teams about the different mum segments, trends and communication preferences so they can improve their campaign execution
• Facilitate Strategy Days
• Project Consulting
• Run Marketing to Mums Masterclasses

I can talk about Mums because I’m a Mum myself. I’ve got three kids aged 15, 13 and 11 years. They ensure I understand the social media platforms our Gen Z mothers of tomorrow will use. They very much help me understand and empathise with mothers’ frustrations, worries and triumphs too.

I am also an author. In 2016 I launched a book called Marketing to Mums: How to sell more to Australia’s most powerful consumer. It was a book I wrote for small business owners to provide them with an eight step framework to improve their sales amongst mothers. I call them the 8 Pillars of Success and they are key foundations I believe every business who sells a product or service needs to have in place to be successful. My book went particularly well. In fact, the book went #1 on Booktopia’s Business Bestseller list outselling the likes of Simon Sinek, Timothy Ferris and Sophia Amoruso.  I’m now on my fifth reprint and sell copies across the world.

I think the book went well because I researched mums extensively and asked them all the questions no one had ever bothered to ask them. In fact, I surveyed more than 1800 Australian Mums about their social media habits and how they wanted to be communicated with, prior to writing. Readers loved the research findings coupled with the tips and case studies along with the step by step guide.

After the book launched I started getting invited to speak at conferences and events. I loved it and it is something I am now committed to doing on a long term basis. It’s a great way to share my message about marketing to Mums on a wider scale. I’ve been lucky enough to speak in Paris, New York and all over Australia. I am described as an engaging speaker who delivers research-based practical recommendations. I speak across all industries from optometry through to automotive. Why? Because Mums influence almost every industry sector.

In 2019, I will continue my love of research and conduct three research projects into Australian mothers.  Late in the year I will look to write my second book which will have more of a big brand focus.  And, I will continue teaching the Digital Marketing Certificate course for the Association of Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) in Melbourne.

If you see me at a conference please come up and introduce yourself.  Or feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-mccarter/