Ruling out catastrophic illness or accidents, discovering lice on their child’s head is a parent’s nightmare.

I teach a lot of marketing classes. Not surprisingly, various theories cross over between classes. In searching for a unique example to demonstrate content marketing, social media, buyer behavior, and selling strategy; I landed upon head lice marketing. Before you’re too grossed out, take a look at my analysis and let me know what you think. The lice ladies at HeadLicetoDeadLice.com perfectly illustrate all these concepts in an easy-to-understand situation. This is a cross-post from one of my private class blogs.

Buyer Behavior

1. Emotional reaction: “Oh no, not my child!,” “Our house is clean!,” “What do I do now?!”
2. Google: Parents turn to the internet and per Google’s “Zero Moment of Truth” search for “How to kill head lice.”
3. Read, watch, listen to the experts or at least those that were on the top of page 1 in a Google search.
4. Follow the prescribed instructions and buy the recommended products (shampoos, creams, nit-picking combs et al).

Marketing Strategy

1. Establish expertise.
2. Be found.
3. Sell product.

Marketing Tactics

1. Establish expertise.
   1. Provide relevant content via informational website and YouTube videos.
   2. Reference experts, such as the Harvard School of Public Health
   3. Appeal to the buyer, in this case providing material in English and Spanish and geared toward all family members.
2. Be found.
   1. Maximize search engine optimization (SEO) to position company at the top of a Google (Bing, etc.) search.
   2. Cross reference media, so that YouTube references the website and vice versa.
3. Sell product
   1. Make online ordering easy, but provide other methods such as a toll-free number
   2. Don’t inundate the consumer with “buy now”messages–instead let your content persuade your consumers to buy your product
   3. Provides thoughtful analysis of market options.

Example

The Lice Ladies at HeadLicetoDeadLice.com

1. Google Search placement:
   1. Search terms: “Killing lice with heat:” 3rd on page one with a soft-sell informational approach
   2. Search terms: “Head lice treatment,” “Natural head lice treatment:” nothing on the first page
2. Website analysis
   1. Easy to navigate
   2. Scientific, believable tone
   3. Addresses parent’s emotional state of panic
   4. Establishes expertise via reference to the Harvard School of Health and Parent’s Guide website accolades
3. Addresses all consumers
   1. Children’s game
   2. Parent language Q and A
   3. Uses humor to mitigate parent panic
4. Educational and helpful video content
   1. Bilingual YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/headlicetodeadlice
   2. Video content ranges from informational, but humorous: Part 1: Head Lice to Dead Lice (English)

to quantitative action plan: Part 2: Head Lice to Dead Lice (English) with its 5-Step Battle Plan

Analysis

The content is excellent–great use of humor, outside qualified experts, and multiple media. However, the website was not found with common search terms. They should concentrate on search engine optimization and explore other integrated marketing communication principles such as partnering with parenting websites and social media used for crowdsourcing (Twitter, blogging).