SHOPPER MARKETING
SECTION ONE
SECTION TWO
 |
Best Advice for Using Digital to Influence the Shopper's Purchase
Shoppers nowadays may be time-pressed, dollar-squeezed, or both. As a result, they are planning their trips to the store more carefully than ever.
To engage these shoppers fully and communicate with them along the entire path to purchase, today’s savviest brands are recognizing the power of emerging digital technologies. They are relying on these new applications to turn shoppers into loyal repeat buyers and brand enthusiasts.
More specifically, these brands are simplifying interaction with their consumers through digital and mobile strategies that impact and elevate their marketing solutions. The keys to engagement and influence are understanding the shopper’s mindset and delivering the right message in the right place and at the appropriate time.
As technology advances, the opportunities for brand engagements are endless. From in-store digital solutions, to mobile applications, to social channels and even traditional branded websites, the possible ways to reach shoppers are increasing at a rapid pace. But any marketing execution or tactic must be preceded by a bulletproof strategy. Here is some advice:
Understand the Shopper’s Mindset
Marketers need to understand their shopper’s mindset fully to increase sales and brand awareness. Some shoppers plan their trips by making a list of products and deciding what store or channel to make their purchase — like their local grocery versus a club store. Other shoppers are time starved and don’t have that luxury. They buy and get the info they need whenever they want it. They use different technology depending on what they’re doing — using their PC to surf the web, or their mobile when on-the-go, and even an iPad during their commute. “Brands must understand the customer’s mindset and need state, and help guide them along the path-to-purchase or their competitors will,” advises Heather Magnussen, vice president of LAUNCH, a shopper engagement agency in Chicago.
Technology has evolved in ways that fully benefit the on-demand shopper. While understanding the target shopper has been - and always will be - highly important, today’s marketers must also be cognizant of how shoppers are interacting with the brand and what role technology plays in influencing their purchase decisions. This will help brands strategize engagements from the start of the decision-making process to the point-of-purchase.
Engage the Shopper 
Brands can influence and engage shoppers at the pre-store stage through social media, mobile activations, FSIs that push consumers to digital activations, as well as branded websites. At the in-store stage, studies say two of three (66%) purchase decisions are made at shelf. This is a significant opportunity for brands to use mobile bar codes on packaging and POS displays to push digital coupons and specialized information to their target’s cell phones. Once on their shopper’s phone, brands will live on in the pockets of their consumers, and easily be able to follow up with post-store communication.
A shopper’s experience with a brand is no longer one-sided. Social media, websites and mobile applications create brand experiences and two-way brand-to-consumer conversations that far outlive the purchasing cycle. Building and strengthening a consumer database of shoppers that includes emails, mobile phone numbers and even “fans” is of considerable importance.
The consumer database can be gathered at all stages of the purchasing path. Some marketers will push digital coupons to their Facebook fans. Other marketers will use mobile bar codes on marketing collateral or product packaging to seamlessly integrate into consumers’ phones. Online promotions and sweepstakes registrations are ideal for gathering email addresses and mobile numbers, as well as learning sensitive target profile information that would otherwise result from costly focus group testing.
Brands that harness a healthy consumer database can steer their shoppers from discovery to decision, and impact the shopper’s mindset all the way to final transaction. Furthermore, brands open themselves up to greater realization and understanding of the needs of their shoppers. When two-way conversations exist between brands and shoppers, transactions are never truly final.
Make It Mobile
The way shoppers use their mobile and digital devices on a day-to-day basis, as well as during the purchasing cycle, is evolving at breakneck speed. The conversations that exist on mobile phones are nothing like the landlines of the past. Text messaging and SMS-based communication has streamlined conversations and smartphones keep shoppers online and in-the-know.
In the third quarter of this year, Nielsen predicts that smartphone penetration will overtake feature phones. This is a powerful statistic for brands because of the shopping discovery that smartphones make possible. UPC codes and mobile bar codes can be scanned, the web can be surfed, applications can be used, and emails, text messages and, of course calls, can all be sent or received. Smartphones are literally active personal shoppers living in the pockets of consumers. Brands must adapt to this technology now, or they’ll be forced to catch up later.
It is still important to keep feature phones in mind. Every phone, smart or feature, can text. Until everyone has a smart phone, you still need to provide an SMS option. Adopting a text message strategy is ideal for furthering the brand-to-consumer conversation because everyone knows how to do it.
Connect In-Store
Online shopping has severely impacted many retailers, causing a shift toward new strategies to bring shoppers back into stores. Mobile apps with location-based GPS features can reward the shopper with loyalty points, game codes, or instant discounts when they enter the store. In-store digital kiosks can help shoppers navigate complex categories such as health and beauty to choose the appropriate brand or product. Whether by mobile phone, monitor or digital kiosk, what’s on the screens of shoppers is on
their minds.
While many new tactics exist, remember that strategy and insight must always be the first step marketers take before weaving digital and mobile solutions into their creative executions. Through the insights that showcase a shopper’s mindset combined with a strategic message that leverages digital channels, brand marketers are reaching their targets at home, in-store and on-the-go. Digital and mobile touch points are providing an integrated path to purchase that successfully influences the shopper’s mindset and ultimately the buying decision process during the pre-store, in-store and post-store stage.
This article was written with help of LAUNCH, a shopper engagement agency in Chicago.
For more information: visit www.launchcreative.com or contact Heather Magnussen at heather.magnussen@launchcreative.com, or 312-870-9123.
Click on the LinkedIn logo to join the new Shopper Technology Institute Discussion Group
SECTION THREE
