A TripAdvisor for parents-to-be

Baby-oriented websites provide a unique marketing opportunity, since they’re aimed at a highly motivated readership—new parents—who have a strong desire to learn and share their experiences. For advertisers, the value stems from bonding with new customers at a moment when they’re experiencing a major and (mostly) positive life transition. When a new baby arrives, families must make new purchase decisions on everything from diapers to cleaning products and foods. British website Babyfy is hoping to tap into that marketing potential by publishing expert reviews on baby products, giving the complete lowdown on every brand of stroller/pram/pushchair and dozens of other product categories. Babyfy’s real user value could lay with its reviews of hospitals and the services they provide expectant mothers. Besides offering statistics on aspects such as the ratio of Caesarean vs. natural births, the chart-like reviews focus on occasionally overlooked areas such as parking and visiting hours. Visitors can also rate various aspects of their experience at a hospital and provide their own written comments. The site is currently still in beta: some product categories have yet to be reviewed, and advertising isn’t yet up to the site’s potential. Entrepreneurs bent on setting up a new website for parents-to-by in other countries might also want to review services like childbirth classes, paediatric clinics and day care centers. The key thing is to get users to review hospitals and other services, much like travellers review hotels on TripAdvisor. Consumers are feeding more and more of their purchasing decisions with online reviews posted by their peers. (See trendwatching.com’s infolust briefing for more.) Time to bring the power of transparency to every last product and service category! Spotted by: Daniella Finn