• by Kevin Burke , November 22, 2010

What do the mom market and the Internet have in common? They are both expanding and offer endless opportunity.

There's never been a better time to start an online business or expand a business online to tap into the growing mom market. The online medium offers an array of communities and tools such as social media, cloud computing, turnkey shopping technology, global connectivity and mobile apps. All of this provides the means to reach this powerful market of moms and offers the moms themselves valuable solutions in many aspects of their lives.

Of course, tools are not what businesses are built on -- ideas are. An idea is the foundation of any successful business. It could be a new way to buy shoes, a more convenient way to buy diapers, a faster method to find medical information, a new technique to save memories, a better alert service, a more convenient digital coupon, an easier way to organize, and more.

There are many great ideas, but ideas are "a dime a dozen" until someone takes action on them. That's when the work really starts. Somewhere between the idea stage and the implementation stage, though, entrepreneurs often stumble. Other people get involved and add their perspectives. The possibilities of what can be achieved expand. Consumer interest might be overestimated. Ultimately and too often, the focus of the core idea is lost.

This is not to say that all initial ideas are great, or that concepts shouldn't evolve. It is merely to say that by the time an idea reaches implementation, the idea itself is often defused. That can be a fatal mistake when marketing to mothers.

In the movie "City Slickers," Jack Palance tells Billy Crystal that the secret of life is "just one thing." Billy asks, "Well, what's the one thing?" Jack responds, "That's what you need to figure out." That applies to your business, too.

For new online businesses, identifying that one thing, communicating it and delivering on it is the only way to succeed.

There is simply too much competition for a mother's attention, compounded by the fact that moms are busy and don't have time to decipher a mixed message. Moms also are sharp shoppers. They immediately know what works for them.

In a market like this, businesses need to identify what they want to deliver and why it will benefit this market. Next, they need to take advantage of the wealth of available online tools to effectively communicate the value that they are offering. Only then will they win the attention of these savvy buyers.