Shopper marketing is gaining momentum as consumer and trade marketers recognize the potential to gain sustainable results in terms of profitability, brand value, and customer relationships. And that’s great! We’re thrilled that the industry is waking up to the reality that the old system isn’t working. We’ve been working at shopper marketing long enough to know that, when done correctly, the results are transformational. [Read more…]
The current approach to marketing has broken down.
Driving a car that spews fumes, stalls out, and guzzles gas like a tractor-trailer doesn’t make sense. It’s hazardous to you (and anyone in your path), unreliable, and expensive.
Many of today’s consumer goods companies are driving these vehicles. Well, not literally, but their approach to marketing is just like these broken-down cars that should be scrapped. Handing over money and discounts to retailers just for the privilege of letting them make money is illogical when you, the consumer goods company, receive nothing in return. No profits. No brand loyalty. In fact, quite often, your brand erodes at the hands of marketers who are not fully vested in your brand’s integrity. [Read more…]
The shopper rules. How will you serve them?
Every ad, every commercial, every billboard screams a message to convince consumers why they need to experience, discover, re-discover, or invest in a brand. Your skin will be softer, you’ll be the envy of your neighbors, you’ll look great, you’ll feel great, your kids will like you—there are lots of promises made to influence the consumer.
But what about the shopper? Have all these marketers forgotten who goes to the store, chooses, and pays for these products? Is your marketing message stopping short of the checkout?
Here’s an example. Studies show that 80 percent of the beer that is consumed at home is purchased by women but consumed by men. Does it make sense, therefore, to use life-sized cut-outs of attractive women for the in-store displays to tout these brews? Do you think a woman is going to be impressed by a sexy vixen pushing an alcoholic stimulant at her man?
And yet that’s what one brewery after another continues to do—except the smart ones. These are the brands that recognize that the woman makes the ultimate choice. Sure, she is influenced by the consumer, but she can tell him it wasn’t available, the price was too high, the carton was too heavy, or she couldn’t find it. And you know what? If he is relying on her to stock up the fridge, he’ll drink whatever substitute is there—assuming it’s not foul tasting.
So what are you doing to influence the shopper? Are you making it easy for her to find your products? Are you placing them where she can see, reach, and grab them? Do you even know where she usually purchases the product you are trying to get in front of her?
In today’s shopping culture, the shopper rules. She can choose from countless outlets to get what she wants. If she is in a rush, she might pop into a convenience store. For buying in bulk, the hypermarket is a good fit. In instances when she doesn’t want to take the time to head into a store, she buys online. Shopper marketing will give you the edge you need in a competitive marketplace and connect you with your shopper, as well as consumers and retailers.
Invest in your shopper. Invest as much research into knowing who buys your products as you do in who consumes them.
What are you doing to address the needs of your shoppers?
How are you going to hit your year-end target?
You’re coming up on crunch time. The calendar year is ending soon, and for many businesses, the fiscal year comes to a close at the same time. As a consumer goods manufacturer, even if you’re not on the same time frame as your customers, you still have to align with their year-end activities and needs. [Read more…]
engage
engage support their consumer goods clients with a range of products, covering three areas of activity as folows:
Commercial assessment. We use bespoke technology in the form of engageAssess™ to assess how organizations perform – benchmarking – adn to diagnose the reasons why activities are not performed at a higher standard. This could be a lack of information, business process, communication, capability, organizational structure or motivation.
Strategy. We have developed a unique approach to connecting consumer priorities to the in-store world controlled by retailers, called Purchase Activation™. We work with our clients to develop effective consumer marketing strategies and then use bespoke research methodologies and analysis tools to identify the most appropriate in-store marketing mix to deliver best returns. Our tools enable our clients to calculate returns on in-store marketing investment. Lastly we work with our clients to develop an effective proposition to motivate retail partners to support their brands in-store.
Enabling. We work with our clients to better enable their teams to perform better by implementing new business process, organization structures, roles and responsibilities and competency.