If you do one thing this year to increase your numbers, what will be the top priority?

Here is the leading answer, with an article excerpt, and a note from me at the end.

I will say this: You will need to Prioritize –

1. Knowledge

2. Influence

You need to really know the minds, and spending PATTERNS of your customers, and your in store traffic (yes, that includes physical stores and web store/sites)

Author: Bill Gerba on 2006-11-17 07:45:47

The good folks at Reveries Magazine have once again conducted a survey that highlights some of the prevailing opinions about in-store marketing. Their Shopper-Centricity Questionnaire looks at the recent phenomenon of “Shopper Marketing” and tries to determine whether it’s a powerful new strategy or (as some suggest) simply a re-badging of existing, common practices for informing customers. Given that nearly 70% of the 170 respondents listed shopper marketing as either an “important” or “extremely important” part of their 2007 marketing strategy, there’s clearly a renewed interest in how to focus marketing activities on the shopper. With this in mind, I was quite eager to look through the results and see if everybody really is on the same page.

What is shopper marketing?

Oddly enough, the Reveries survey doesn’t actually define the term “shopper marketing,” instead preferring to let the respondents decide if it’s something they engage in, and if so, how important it really is. A Google search for the term and a trip to all of the usual marketing resources on the web also don’t turn up much. But if we apply some common sense, “shopper marketing” can be in-store marketing, loyalty marketing, or even customer relationship management — basically anything that eschews broadcasting ads to the masses in favor of systems that narrowcast relevant, targeted ideas and messages to the individuals who will value them most, thereby improving the overall shopping “experience.” There’s a key distinction between “customers” and “shoppers,” and this is key to the entire idea of shopper marketing: a customer is someone who has purchased something from you before (and who may or may not do so again in the future). A shopper, on the other hand, is someone who is actually engaged in the action of shopping, whether by looking through your catalog, browsing your website, or roaming the aisles of your brick-and-mortar store. Ideally, the right messaging helps convert shoppers into (repeat) customers.

What do marketers think about it?

Many (myself, at times, included) have romanticized shopping into an exciting, social quasi-sport that’s about as far as you can get from your typical 7 pm quick top-off trip at the local supermarket — and there are arguably millions of people who enjoy shopping as a pastime. However, for every shopaholic sitting outside of a department store at 5 am on Black Friday, there are thousands of others who shop out of necessity, and that means millions upon millions of opportunities for retailers and CPGs to deliver a pleasurable experience, whether through innovative product selection and placement, an exceptional in-store environment, or a conversation with a knowledgeable store employee. And if you look at the statistic that I mentioned in the opening paragraph, retailers and product marketers clearly seem to understand just how important those opportunities are: about 70% of the 170 respondents listed shopper marketing as either an “important” or “extremely important” part of their 2007 marketing strategy. But add in those who consider it “moderately important” and we’re up at nearly 90% of respondents, which indicates a pretty significant trend to me.

Why isn’t everyone using shopper marketing?

Barriers to adopting shopper marketing as a major part of an overall program or campaign included all of the usual suspects, including lack of budget/resources, lack of management commitment and the like. However, almost equal to those was a “Lack of a commonly understood Shopper Marketing definition within your company (or client),” which was reported as a problem by 41% of respondents. That’s interesting to me for two reasons: first, it says that shopper marketing is a discipline that doesn’t have clear, uniform boundaries (or perhaps it’s an amalgam of existing marketing practices whose new moniker hasn’t yet caught on). Second, the idea that shopper marketing could be different for every company says that one marketer’s idea of what it entails could be completely different from another’s. That makes the job of putting together a shopper marketing program a tough one, but it also suggests that the demand for such services should be high. When asked which factors are most important to becoming an effective shopper-centric organization, an overwhelming 73.9% responded that having a clear idea of why “understanding one’s target consumers as ’shoppers’ — as opposed to just ‘consumers’ — is important,” and right now, it would seem that there’s a strong need to find marketing experts that can understand this critical distinction.

What are the benefits (sales, loyalty, ROI, etc)?

In terms of the perceived benefits of implementing a shopper marketing program, 42.7% of respondents believed (or hoped) that it would yield increased sales, while others predicted improved customer loyalty or overall ROI. In terms of soft benefits, respondents also expected effective shopper marketing to yield improved relationships with customers (30.2%) and a better understanding of the shopper’s needs (31.5%). That last one is a bit puzzling, since I don’t quite understand how you’d effectively market to your shoppers without knowing what their needs were in the first place, though as one of many tools in the analytics toolbox, responses to existing marketing programs can certainly be used to improve future marketing programs. On the topic of ROI, most respondents believed the ROI of a shopper marketing program to be 50-74% better (45.3%), 75-99% better (14%), 100-124% better (4%) or even more than 125% better (3.3%) than traditional trade spending, though a quick read through the write-in responses for this question shows that a lot of people think it’s too early to tell. Despite this, it’s pretty amazing that two-thirds of respondents find that shopper marketing yields a higher ROI than traditional practices, and with improved methodology (as time goes on and marketers have a chance to refine their techniques) the results should only improve.

Caveat emptor

While the findings from the Reveries survey are certainly interesting, there’s one big problem with taking them at face value: only about 5% of respondents said they worked directly in retail — the bulk were from agencies or related service industries. Now, I know there’s been a lot of buzz lately about major retailers hiring agencies to improve the store experience, but for the vast majority of retailers most in-store decisions are still made by corporate, not an outside agency. Thus, the results from the survey may have been somewhat self-selecting: those agencies and service companies that have experience with shopper marketing (or want to turn it into a revenue stream) were more likely to respond, potentially skewing the results.

Still, the news looks good for those of us who spend our time thinking about how to improve the store experience. Everything about a store — from layout to lighting to signage — can (and should be) improved to make shopping easier and more fun. These efforts tend to help shoppers find what they want and encourage them to spend more time actually enjoying themselves while shopping. Companies like Apple and Starbucks clearly get it, and even behemoths like Wal-Mart are working hard to catch up. So if you still think your retail firm can get away with offering the same bland experience to your customers, perhaps you might want to reconsider. While making your plans for 2007, leave some room for a few simple shopper marketing experiments, and consult your agency, partners and outside experts to help with your store experience planning. Shopper-centric marketing programs are on the rise, and based on the numbers above, they can not only improve your customers’ relationships with your store and your brand, but also drive increased sales and stronger ROI for your marketing dollar.

Let’s put a new lens on the future of shopper marketing.

I’ve pasted a link below and took some excerpts out of the article

http://www.hubmagazine.com/archives/the_hub/2010/jan_feb/the_hub34_mars.pdf

We propose a new diagram as a better way to depict the current landscape of shopper marketing relative to reality only a few short years ago (see chart one). We can use the right column as a checklist of things that require action in today’s version of shopper marketing; full engagement in the discipline means actually delivering something against each item. The practice of shopper marketing is evolving rapidly, with sophisticated retailers expecting manufacturers to bring solutions that drive trips, leverage the potential of the total store and grow basket size. Use this diagram to help make the transition from yesterday’s way of thinking to tomorrow’s action plan simpler and more effective.

We can use the right column as a checklist of things that require action in today’s version of shopper marketing; full engagement in the discipline means actually delivering something against each item

The new shopper-marketing landscape has changed from CPG to Retail

Yesterday

Today

Consumer

Shopper

Top Down

Bottom Up

Brand Management

Shopper Solutions

Category Share

Shopper Share

Transactional Data

Shopper Insights

How They Shop

Why They Buy

Talk To

Talk With

Media Silos

Everywhere Messages

Creative Isolation

Integrated Campaign

Isolated Innovation

Collaborative Innovation

Snapshot of a solution. To win where the shopper’s decision is really made, marketers should move beyond home-based demand/consumption thinking to full path-to purchase understanding and messaging. We’ve coined the progressive path to planning all marketing activity as “shopper-designed” planning. This planning rigor has been in place for years within many progressive agencies and manufacturing companies, and may well be the defining principle of a retailer-specific view on shopper marketing processes for the future. When the initiative works as a solution for the shopper and builds traffic/basket size for the retailer, and grows a brand without undermining the category, it makes the cut. When an approach or concept supports a strategy that both the manufacturer and multiple retailers have in common, it should ladder up to be considered by the manufacturer as an integrated national program that marketing dollars can support across a range of timeframes that make sense for multiple retailers

Get started, with a great snapshot of customers and traffic, there are innovative ways to gain insight and influence, you need to know for 2010.

Fascinating commentary from Economics News Site – Mish Shedlock

Deflation Pressures Intact

This may be one reason why government bonds refuse to sell off despite the surge in the equity market. The Wall Street Journal reports that companies like Clorox is keeping prices stable on items like its new and improved trash bags. Campbell’s Soup is cutting prices on select beverages (like V8). Burger King is selling double cheeseburgers for a buck. And, what’s this about RIM starting up a smartphone price war? According to a new holiday season poll taken by Deloitte, 74% of respondents intend to only buy items on sale or with discount coupons. The same survey indicates that holiday shopping will be flat year-over-year this year, which at one point would have been amazingly bullish but at this stage is likely a setback for the stock market. Keep in mind that Wal-Mart is now expecting 1.0%-2.0% sales growth into January 2010 whereas a year ago that expectation was in a 5.0%-7.0% range.

If there is some good news for retailers, it is that they are heading into the shopping season with fairly lean inventories — that won’t prevent but should help limit ultra-steep markdowns this year.

Martin Comments:

United States retail will very tight excepting niche markets, we are finding that understanding the patterns and behavior behind the analytic sales numbers is critical to success.

Retailers have a better grasp than ever of the retail scene through a variety of analytic tools, what they do not know, is:

WHY DO CUSTOMERS DO WHAT THEY DO AND HOW DO I MOST EFFECTIVELY INFLUENCE THAT BEHAVIOR IN MY FAVOR?

This is working very well for our retail partners,

Employ strategies and tactics that effectively alter the shopping behavior of your customers – the primary shopper, and those who shop with them and their circle of influence.

You will see what increases revenue in the store today.

Patterns caused by underlying behavior, make your sales numbers what they are, you really need help understanding the underlying thinking of your customers and market.

I think of you, when I walk through your retail stores and the malls you have built…

You and I both know, what customers say, and think, and actually do, when it comes time to spend, can be quite different, this research below may be helpful to you.

The question that I would pose:

“How do you get a granular fix on your changing customer and market, and how do you use that knowledge to take fast effective actions where it will count the most?”

I sincerely hope this is helpful to you, ps what will your customers and potential market be doing this year? My experience suggests that we can help.

Martin

(from retail wire)
Turbulent Times, Reexamined
Actual Behavior vs. Expectations

About the research:
The objective of the 2008 Unilever Trip Management Report was to uncover unique insights into the shopping tactics that would emerge under the stresses of the recessionary economy. Research, conducted in March of 2008, covered 47,000 U.S. households and 36 key categories.

Later in the year, Unilever used cluster analysis to understand the patterns of change in actual buying behavior that had occurred across 120+ Nielsen categories.
When Unilever reported the results of its Trip Management Report last April, the threat of recession had consumers worried but, for most, the reality hadn’t yet hit. Unilever felt that the rich insights derived from that study warranted a deep dive into the data later in the year to see how CPG categories were actually shopped in 2008.

Highlighted “key takeaways” from April’s original Trip Management Report prior to sharing results and recommendations from the follow-up research. Of course, even in March of ‘08, consumers expected that economic circumstances and rising prices would change the way they would live and shop. Shoppers recognized that “quick trips” were uneconomical and hoped to do more planned, stock-up shopping to save money. Also, retailers were advised, given the results, that top and bottom tier positions would do best, while consumer propositions that appealed to the mid-tier would have to struggle more in order to maintain market share. And since both high and low income shoppers were in many cases “swapping habits,” it would be essential that operators looked at the effect of changes category-by-category.

That was then, this is now…
In order to get a handle on what shoppers were actually doing in 2008, vs. what they assumed they’d do, Unilever turned to cluster analysis – simultaneously considering the shoppers’ savings tactics across 120+ Nielsen categories. What was revealed were seven distinct patterns of CPG shopping in 2008. For retailers and manufacturers, a look at these macro-trends can help determine which categories shoppers are abandoning, cutting back on, and which are continuing to prosper.

Six Shopper Strategies During Tough Economic Times

1. Dropping Out of the Category

Of 122 categories examined (essentially a view of the whole store), a staggering 87 experienced penetration declines. But at the same time that most categories were losing buyers, the buying rate appears to have increased – indicating that most leaving the category were the lighter users.

2. Trading to Private Label

A good deal of the switching came in “commodity” food categories, such as dairy, where there is an absence of dominant manufacturer’s brands and which, not coincidentally, experienced the highest rise in retail prices.

3. Buying Less of the Category

Some in this group, such as soda, candy and gum, could be considered “indulgences” and therefore understandably among the first to go when times get tough – whereas declines in pet food and baby food may reflect shoppers narrowing their purchases to bare essentials within the categories.

4. Stocking-Up and Buying On Deal

Non-perishable categories, such as hair care, household supplies, tea, and sugar/sweeteners, are good candidates for pantry stockpiling when the price is right.

5. HBA Essentials Competing on Deal

These are categories in which shoppers may wait for deals, buy “whatever is on sale” or leverage coupons, that tend to be the higher priced non-food categories. Examples are: medications, cough/cold remedies, batteries and cosmetics.

6. Consumer Staples That Grow in Turbulent Times

This is, obviously, an important group to watch, as penetration is not declining, plus trip frequency and buying rates are increasing. Fresh produce, cereal, detergents, beer, soup, coffee, frozen vegetables… these categories are benefiting from the reduction in eating-out, less dry cleaning and, yes, fewer visits to Starbucks.

The new research revealed that there is certainly “trading down” going on, but it is the penetration declines that are most troubling to CPG categories. Retailers should

• Find SIMPLE ways to increase their value to shoppers and make sure that these are communicated clearly and often;
• Come to understand the types of sacrifices their shoppers are making and find ways to help them cope and feel better. Shoppers need to feel that you understand their pain and want to work with them in these difficult times;
• Understand how shoppers are treating important categories to help determine retail strategies;
• Leverage “Categories That Grow in Turbulent Times”;
• Drive buying rates in other categories.

Time to get a real handle on the real thoughts that link to purchase actions of your market

The radical new shopper is getting ready for a very different Christmas. First, here is an excerpt from the International Council of Shopping Centers:

This year, retailers are expected to see a 1% increase in same-store sales in November and December, according to trade group International Council of Shopping Centers. Factoring in January, sales may rise 1.5%, their best performance in three years, ICSC said.

Last year, they dropped 5.8% in November and December and declined 5.4% including January, marking their worst performance on record by both measures, ICSC said.

After trending downward for the past two years, U.S. average weekly earnings have risen, which may translate to “a positive omen” this holiday season, ICSC said.

At the same time, some signs of improvement in the job picture are emerging, with initial jobless claims declining to below 550,000 in September. In March, they reached their highest level in more than 26 years. The recession, which began in the 2007 holiday season, ended this past July, ICSC’s chief economist Michael Niemira said in an email.

“Retailers will experience their first non-recession holiday season in three years, and economic growth is fundamentally on the mend, even though there will be lingering pockets of weakness,” Niemira said. “The wear and tear of the recession and financial crisis on the consumer psyche [are] slowly giving way to renewed hope, optimism and most likely gift buying.”

In the wake of this year’s nascent economic recovery, shares of department stores and upscale retailers like Macy’s Inc. , Saks Inc. , Nordstrom Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. have outperformed the broader retail index and discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. .

As a case in point, at the recent Coterie trade show, which showcased designers’ spring collections to retail buyers, there was a steady flow of traffic, with retail buyers and designers seeing improved sentiment and orders. See full story.

The recession and record-high unemployment have led retailers across the board to lower inventory, which likely means they won’t have to offer the steep profit-eroding discounts of last holiday season in response to a sharp fall-off in demand, Niemira said.

The recession has forced some retailers out of business, but those that remain will be stronger as a whole during the upcoming holiday season, he said. Retailers from Circuit City to Linens ‘n Things have shut their stores.

While the trend of consumers buying items for themselves may be “at risk,” spending on gifts will likely improve this year, he said.

“One of the only positive factors that the retail industry can uniformly agree upon is that the year-over-year arithmetic is more favorable compared with the dismal 2008 holiday season,” Niemira said.

Ok, nice spin, but with only the government and interested “spin” partners like the mainstream media, screaming into an empty room, I have news that you know in your gut is true

– THE RECESSION IS NOT OVER-

We are noticing that shoppers are way more careful, and they are far more likely to “shop around” than ever before, before they make a deal.

If you want to survive this season, you better make sure that you understand your competition very well.

Do you really know why your shoppers, and in store browsers go to selected competition?

Do you know what they are thinking and most of all

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT TRIGGERS THEIR BUYING DECISION?

Does your completion know better than you?

We notice that along with buying patterns, buying “triggers” are changing fast.

Price, perception of value, store display and the quality of display “communication and connection” are now critical.

Staff interactions are changing, and selling styles that create a “buy decision” are radically different now.

Buying is triggered by the right combination of store, environment, engagement, experience and value perception….

These factors are changing at a faster rate than ever before, and you need to be able to read the signs as they change, not weeks later in your sales data.

Get ready for a very brutal and competitive season, perhaps if you are ready, and proactive:

Season’s Greetings, and if you are not…Season’s beatings indeed…

Here is a useful article and my comments after the article:

Simon Houpt

Toronto — With files from Reuters Last updated on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 07:49AM EDT

For a moment, you could almost hear the sighs of relief. When a trio of big U.S.-based retailers reported second-quarter earnings on Tuesday that beat analysts’ expectations, the markets responded with a little spring in their step.

Were consumers finally stripping off their recession-era duds to come to the rescue of the world economy?

Alas, a closer look at the numbers reported by Home Depot Inc., (HD-N26.76-0.17-0.63%) Target Corp., (TGT-N45.090.771.74%) and Saks Inc. (SKS-N5.64-0.08-1.40%) suggests none of the conventional approaches for targeting consumers are having an effect. The news from all three retailing powerhouses was only good because it wasn’t as bad as everyone expected, and consumers are still window-shopping instead of heading to the cash.

Home Depot’s second-quarter profit was down 7.2 per cent to $1.12-billion (U.S.) from $1.2-billion, while the high-end retailer Saks had to choke down a loss of $54.5-million. Meanwhile, Target, which has ridden a whimsical image of smart and fashionable fun to its position as the No. 2 U.S. discount chain, reported profit of $1.064-billion in the quarter, down 3.1 per cent from a year earlier. That followed last week’s news that even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had suffered a 1.4-per-cent drop in revenue.

The U.S. consumer who is supposed to drive the economic recovery has yet to relax behind the wheel and stop shaking with anxiety. Penny-pinching has cut across a broad swath of the retail landscape, as shoppers steer clear of luxe goods at the likes of Saks, but also cut down on the more downmarket but still chic offerings of Target, and even the household staples at Wal-Mart.

Instead, consumers are looking to the lower rung of the retail ladder: the discounters. TJX Cos. Inc., which owns T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, reported a 4-per-cent rise in sales, and attributed it to “extraordinary increases” in customer traffic.

To try to lure back the most cost-conscious shoppers from the discounters’ aisles, retailers such as Target have responded by retooling their advertising campaigns to focus more heavily on price. In television ads this season, the red-and-white bull’s-eye marketer has heavily sprinkled its message with prices for inexpensive goods like summer clothing for the whole family.

“They’re trying to reposition themselves with a bit more of a price story, where previously they really avoided that aspect,” said Scott Smith, a senior vice-president with the brand consulting company Interbrand. “Target has definitely struggled in this economy.”

Once at the mall, shoppers are reminded by in-store displays that Target regularly checks its competitors’ prices.

But even the new marketing focus on price may not be enough.

Consumers, while more confident in their own financial security than they were during the dark days of last winter, still have legitimate reasons to be nervous: Unemployment is projected to remain high for the next year, consumers perceive that their paycheques are not keeping pace with inflation, and many workers remain concerned they’ll be laid off, said Ken Goldstein, a labour economist with the New York-based Conference Board.

The recession, now more than halfway through its second year in the United States, is still holding on tight. “To be blunt about it, [consumers] are wondering how goddamned long this is going to go on,” he said.

With U.S. students returning to the classroom in less than three weeks, early back-to-school sales seem to be a widespread bust. Worse, those sales are a key signal for U.S. marketers and retailers on how to approach the holiday season. If sales remain sluggish this month, the rest of the year will be a washout, too.

Mr. Goldstein noted the increase in the savings rates for U.S. consumers was preventing a speedier recovery. “In some past recessions, consumers were not spending money consumers didn’t have. This time around is different. Consumers are not spending money consumers do have,” he said.

While the increase in the savings rate is a necessary step for the long-term health of the economy, few seem as concerned about the state of affairs 10 years down the road as they do the state of affairs next year. The U.S. consumer, then, isn’t so much a superhero as a cardiac patient that needs a jolt of life now.

“The money is there if consumers decide to spend, but there’s no evidence they’re in any mood right now, or are likely to be through the holiday season, to start to spend some of that money.”

Martin Comments:

One, the money is not there, average savings rates are climbing because consumer debt is being squeezed off, and or paid down or defaulted on.

If a customer has less credit available, does that sound like more money available to you?

So, it will be a brutal fight for market share and every dollar this year.  In addition, your budgets are decreased, and your head count is down.  You will need a very accurate method to climb inside the mind of your customers and marketplace to gain KNOWLEDGE, INSIGHT, AND INFLUENCE.  You will need to assess very accurately, what you can do with minimal resources, that will have MAXIMUM IMPACT ON SALES AND REVENUE.

Are you ready to fight intelligently?  You will have less money less time and less resources, you better be smart and have real time intelligent influence.

Your competitors will.

Retailers are in such a dangerous situation.  With unemployment and debt levels at historic highs, do not smoke the “optimism opium” of the mainstream press.

Retailers will continue to FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL INTO 2012. 

Retailers will be battling for wallet/purse and market share in a shrinking US marketplace.

It will be critical to focus on what matters to consumers and customers.

What drives revenue will be the key knowledge.

Fast intelligent, flexible.

Know your market, consumers, customers and changing market conditions like never before.

Here are some interesting leanings for my retail clients:

New, non traditional competitors are sneaking up on you

Consumers will jump ship in an eye blink

The value price brand equation is changing fast – stay on top

Get an intimate read on real time influencers of REVENUE!!!

Service, is only one small part of the equation.

Increasing Sales for Retail  - I NEED MORE SALES NOW

Companies in the Business to Consumer sector are increasingly aware that consumers are less willing to spend, and far more willing to consider alternatives.

The Challenge:

Customer dissatisfaction persists despite multiple studies

Customer satisfaction scores do not reveal the roots of dissatisfaction or the routes to exceeding expectations

Traditional survey vendors fail to provide execution guidance and action plans

Companies need to be in a position to deliver the right services to the right customers

 

Mapping a solution:

Consumer/Employee Experience and relevance survey execution (customer and employee), analysis and recommendations

Deliver employee communication

Brainstorming and mapping solution with executives

Manager training

Real Time survey development and execution with Realtime + Alerts

Quarterly analysis and recommendations of all process

Continuous  Customer Revenue Action survey and proprietary analysis. Including  development, execution, analysis and recommendations

Continuous   Employee survey development, execution, analysis and recommendations

Delivering the Results:

Prioritized clarity and focus for the organization on the issues that matter to Revenue and the customer

What Drives Revenue?   Focus, Measure and Act on Revenue Driving Goals and improvements .

Measurable increase in customer conversion to purchase

Increase in employee Actions that produce REVENUE

Increased sales per visit with key customers through customer action steps reporting

Increased share of total spend for existing customers (more business from existing customers

Increase effective referral from your customer network

Measure, understand and increase successful monetization of all web traffic, resulting in a purchase action (REVENUE)

Now, with resources being cut in most companies and departments, here is a blog article from Jean-Philippe Diel  CEO at the Ripple hub. 

Because you have less, you need to do more, with what you have, making sure that what you are going to do will have the most impact on sales.

 

 

In these uncertain times, many of us are looking at our businesses and wondering – where to from here? Everyone seems to function slower, in wait of a clear direction. Marketing budgets are down or blocked. Just cut back on everything and try to weather the storm is the mantra of many.

Few are those who are going to see the glass half full. Yet, times like these are an opportunity. And this is how it should be seized:

What is the role of Marketing in an organization?

Depending on the type of business product or service, marketing will be involved at different levels, but if its role were to be summarized in one sentence, I would say that marketing is here to add value to the business proposition.

And what drives Value in the market?

In a word, Uniqueness. I would define this as the sum of tangible benefits and points of difference that make your product or service a better fit for your target market, and trigger consumption / purchase and re-purchase.

So I propose that the role of Marketing is to create and sustain that “Uniqueness”.

I recently ran a survey on Linkedin asking what one should expect of their marketing team in times of recession. The answers I received were showed the mood of the times – ‘make greater direct impact on sales’ was highest on the wish list. While this is an undoubtedly practical expectation, how do we deliver it?

 

 

I think the more visionary amongst the respondents had the right answer when they chose ‘more creativity than ever’ and ‘outside the box innovation’ – as these are the most effective tools for delivering to expectations. I certainly empathize that in the midst of today’s reality it is challenging to maintain a focused strategic vision. Nevertheless, we need to act now in ways that will ensure we come out fighting fit when this climate ends. Times of recessions are a strategic opportunity for those who can avoid myopia – they are a time to leave the competition behind. Let’s not forget that in growth mode everyone finds something to survive on, and gaining the edge is harder.

 

Encouraging creativity and innovation is what everyone should do. R&D is not only for product development. Creativity and Innovation need fostering at all levels of a business. New ways to reach consumers, innovative promotions, smarter trade tools, sharper communications, and better market insights. We need to get businesses in fighting order if they want to preserve their market share and push the weakest out of the market.

 

So by all means review your marketing investments, challenge their efficiency, that but don’t stop all activities or you will suffer deeply from the loss of momentum and will lose Brand equity.

Take this opportunity to explore new avenues of reaching out to your consumers. Drive innovation within your teams. You just have to open the tap and facilitate participation and individual initiatives. You will probably find out that everyone in your business has his own idea on how things could be done better and cheaper.

Good Luck.

More Customers…More Often

 

2009 will be a watershed year and being a retail survivor is going to take a lot more than hard work. 

 

Retail Survivors will grab more customers, and I talked about that in my last post.

 

That means more new visits and traffic to your stores and your website, with higher conversion to purchase actions, whether on the web or at the store or by attracting from the web to a store visit.

 

Now let’s talk about MORE OFTEN.

 

Once you have that increase in new feet, or eyeballs, you will need to engage and excite them  with the value of your offering and the full purchase experience.

 

MORE OFTEN.

 

Our experience with in-depth customer and potential customer engagement demonstrates that MORE OFTEN is a result of:

 

Value Perception

 

How does your customer and your non purchasing traffic perceive value?

 

Have you really asked yourself that, and how good is your understanding of their perception of value?

 

Value Perception consists of a lot more than price, it is a combination of factors, perceived and prioritized by your buying customers and your “almost buying” customers.  Almost Buying Customers were in your store or at your website, but then walked away.  In most environments, these “Browsers”  represent at least 80 percent of traffic.

 

What a lost opportunity for you, because most retailers have no idea who these people are and what they are thinking, and where did they end up buying and…

 

Why?

 

What can you do to change that?

 

You will never know until you take action with a  plan to find out more about these people.  We had one client that we helped to find a whole new group to market to in the stores that they had no idea about.  This group ended up accounting for 32% of profit, once they were identified and understood.

 

As our client said after taking effective action “It’s almost like free money”

 

Value might be price, everyone thinks that, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Value can be the packaging of related products

Value can be discounts on the right combinations of higher purchase values

Value can be better service with knowledgeable staff

Value can be better suggestions and solutions

Value can be better descriptions and value presentations of special features of products (in meaningful language to the prospect

 

Value sometimes means better trained or motivated staff

 

MORE OFTEN MEANS

 

Engagement and Excitement

 

In the changing retail environment, understanding Customers and “Browsers will help you move fast enough to take advantage of the new perceptions of your customers and prospects.  Fashion, excitement, value, and relevance will be changing fast.

 

As the marketplace wakes up to the changing economic climate in 2009, they are going to be different in the wants and desires from last year’s customers.  They will be more fearful, and they will need more in the way of hand holding to the sale.

 

Will your sales environment reflect the needs wants and desires of the new economic climate of 2009 or will you be retail road kill?

 

Getting to know much more about the customer and the market will make the difference in 2009

 

Increasing Retail Sales Now

More Customers…More Often…Buying More…

Lessons from the last recession.

In a time of retail declines, the above line should be your mantra.  It is well worth noting:

A study conducted by McGraw-Hill Research found that 
companies who maintained (or increased) their marketing throughout the 1981-82 recession saw an average sales growth of 275 percent over the next five years!

But those companies who cut their marketing saw paltry sales growth of 19 percent over the next five years.

Today let’s talk about the first of the aforementioned three mantras, once again, drill this into your head and into your team:

More Customers…More Often…Buying More…

So let’s take More Customers, and in the following two entries, I will talk about More Often, and then Buying More.

Day One: More Customers

More Customers will come from 3 key areas

1. Existing Customers

2. New Customers and Conquest of Competitor Customers

3. Conversion of Non Buying Store Traffic (Browsers)

A Magnet - What is it that attracts more customers through your doors?  Promotions, Advertising, Sales and discounts, Value and Excitement.

So, you need to build or enhance the “Magnet” that brings people to your stores and your brand.

Your magnet will need to be extremely targeted, it will need intelligence, imbedded within it, so that you can earn critical selling knowledge from all your new traffic, and you will need to be able to establish a “hook” a relationship that will let your effectively reach out to your new customers and market, in order to use your newly minted knowledge and relationship to bring these people back and sell them more in the future.

Today, there are better ways to harness the internet to generate excitement and Draw.  Retailers on the winning edge are using a new layered strategy to attract, engage and sell more.

A smart retailer will engage a strategically planned and well executed strategy to use intelligent contesting, linked to knowledge generating feedback and engagement tools, linked to rewards incentives and offers.

The result is a much wider exposure to the entire POTENTIAL  Market.  If this is executed effectively, you have:

An amazing, low cost MAGNET that sucks in large numbers of all the groups that could buy from you, and then you move to the:

COMPASS

Once you have attracted this huge new audience, you engage them with knowledge generating feedback and engagement tools, that forms the compass and the magnet that lets you craft the best offers, promotions, values and deals that will motivate purchase action at the most profitable level for each relevant group.

MAP

Once you have the audience and the knowledge and the relationship, you can create a map, that lets you figure out the best way to, clear inventory, fast, because you DO NOT WANT INVENTORY LEFT THIS YEAR.  Keep in mind that weak retailers will be saturating the market through this season and into the coming year.  Next you will want your map to help make sure that you will dominate your market.  THERE WILL BE LESS AND LESS ROOM FOR ALSO RANS.

Yes, there is great danger and risk ahead, but there is also incredible opportunity for those who see the opportunity and run with the right plan.

That is the intro to MORE CUSTOMERS.  NEXT, I WILL COVER MORE OFTEN.