Shopper Marketing is a fairly new marketing strategy and those who speak for it say that it’s an important move away from trade marketing; which is sometimes seen as short term and adversarial; and sales promotion tactics, to a more strategic marketing discipline.

In these interesting economic climate, any tool that promises with any certainty to improve your marketing ROI, is something worth investing some time in. Below are a few of the key principles that drive Shopper Marketing as a key strategy for driving sales.

1. Sell to the shopper, not the consumer.

Never before have shopper insights been more available to retailers and manufacturers thanks to the digital revolution. This insight into shopper behavior and motivation is a key principle of Shopper Marketing and the main differentiator over traditional ‘brand push’ strategies. In times as lean at these, shoppers are thinking harder about every item they put in their basket.

Consumers use, shoppers buy. Shopper Marketing complements the ‘passive’ awareness and preference building role of consumer marketing by focusing on the ‘active’ purchase decision making of the shopper.

Understand the barriers to purchase for your brand and category and how they may have changed as a result of economic pressures. Has the consumption changed?  what role does price now play versus other factors such as convenience, wellness or sustainability?

2. Know your brand

Every brand marketer commits significant resource to understanding how their brands are perceived by consumers, but do they have the same understanding of what influences shopper choices?

How can you make yourself essential? Price is undoubtedly a major driver of choice but it is not the only one. How important are trust, quality and familiarity?

What opportunities are created by changes in usage or consumption occasion? How can you re-frame value? Consider how you can ‘Up’ the benefit and ‘Down’ the price to remove or minimize the inevitable trade-offs shoppers will have to make.

3. Offer solutions.

Keep in mind that the final purchase decision is made in favor of the product or selection of products that provides the shopper with the most convenient response to her or his shopping motivation.

What is the purpose of that particular trip and how is it impacted by financial considerations?

4. Collaborate

If shopper insight is a central pillar of Shopper Marketing, so is retailer collaboration. Economic pressures will affect shopper segments in different ways, presenting different challenges and opportunities to each retailer.

Understanding how your retail partners are reacting to these changing times and working with them to meet their own shoppers’ evolved needs can deliver incremental returns for both parties.

5. All shoppers are not the same.

Just like the general population, shoppers are not one homogenous mass. Exciting demographic changes present segmentation opportunities for focusing tailored offerings and messages whether that be based on ethnicity, age, families or singles. All have distinct needs that will be affected by an economic crunch.

6. Think about the path to purchase.

Whilst the ‘first moment of truth’ is undoubtedly when a shopper selects one brand over another, the decision making process does not take place entirely at the shelf. If shoppers are planning or combining their trips more or looking for deals, what role do coupons (and coupon websites) play, is on-line a channel for raising awareness, do retailers loyalty programs influence planning decisions?

7. Align your brand and sales teams

Those organizations that see winning with shoppers as the sole remit of the sales and customer teams will not be as successful as those that realize shoppers’ changing habits need to be addressed by the whole organization.

8. Keep it simple

In times of change and uncertainty, clarity is key. Value messages, especially in-store should be simple and to the point.

Shoppers will also look for familiar cues of trust and re-assurance. Combine relevant value messages with these valuable equities. Be proud and confident and not apologetic. Shoppers are looking for re-assurance that they are making the right choices. Be transparent and don’t sell people what they don’t need – you will lose their trust and loyalty.

9. Innovate wisely

While marketing in a recession is undoubtedly about marketing to the core (brands, consumers and retailers) times of change create new opportunities as consumers and shoppers re-evaluate their needs.

New segments will emerge from changes in consumption and shopping behaviors while digital technologies in and out of store present new engagement opportunities. Whilst all expenditure should be carefully considered, an insight led and integrated planning approach can reveal opportunities for competitive advantage that can last well beyond the current recession.

10. Evaluate constantly

As we move towards a traditionally unstable season for the economy, one thing is certain, Change. Constant evaluation enables you to keep up with the changes if not anticipate them.

It’s important that we stay close to the consumer and the retail partners ensuring that the products and messages are relevant to the consumers needs and that we remain flexible as these needs change.

This article is written by Mutindi Musinba, on behalf of the  International School of Advertising. She can be reached on [email protected] or 0720 432299