Live from Shopper Insights in Action 2011: Your Customers Have the Answers
Your Customers Have the Answers: Shopper Insights to Drive Innovation at Retail - Office Max
When retailers begin to innovate they build brands, increase loyalty and make more money! With no manufacturing or R&D, Office Max is creating premiums brands which are increasing consumer loyalty to both Office Max and Office Max's private brands. By creating these brands, they also have lower hurdles that they need to pass - also have guaranteed distribution and no brand advertising investment (unlike national brands).
- The TUL brand of pens, dry eraser markers, other writing instruments and top of desk tools are being marketed as a high end private brand by Office Max.
- Customers, primarily women, wanted style & design, inspiration, organization & effeciency, value, expertise & trust in their office products. Hence, the DiVOGA brand was created - a fashionable, functional line of office products and accessories.
And now these brands are being sold at other retailers than just Office Max.
Innovation within the company, proving the items in their own stores, then selling the brands at other retailers - a formula that has worked for Office Max!
Pam Mullock, PM Market Research
Pam Mullock is an Independent Market Research Consultant and Moderator for PM Market Research LLC. She will be in attendance at the 11th Annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference and will be live blogging from the event.
Live from Shopper Insights in Action 2011: Operation Customer
Special Force Insights Units for Optimal Business Value - Best Buy
Is your insights team aligned to get true consumer insights quickly? Best Buy has developed a way to gain insights from their front end Blue Shirts. They have developed a technology to give corporate employees direct information from the front lines. Not only can customer-facing employees "funnel up" consumer issues, but corporate employees are able to ask hot topic questions to their front line all through a web-based platform. Best Buy is getting more timely and critical information and is raising the voices of employees at the same time.
How do customer-facing employees share information in your organization?
Pam Mullock, PM Market Research
Pam Mullock is an Independent Market Research Consultant and Moderator for PM Market Research LLC. She will be in attendance at the 11th Annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference and will be live blogging from the event.
Live from Shopper Insights in Action 2011: Preparing for a More Digital Future
Key Note: Preparing for a More Digital Future: Loyalty as a Vehicle for Business Transformation - Mike Hogan of GameStop
A little consumer data can go a long way. GameStop started out getting information on their consumers through typical database analysis, but have moved from transactional data to consumer-based data. Initially, the utilized a simple segmentation based on hours played and moved to a more in depth segmentation which included more attitudinal and demographic data.
Then the loyalty program was introduced with two levels – a free program and a $15 pro program. Not only does the program track purchases and offer rewards, but it also gives them a plethra of data. Members are able to add the games they purchased to a library, look at recommendations of new games, create wish lists, and email lists of games they want to those people who purchase games for them. All this is connected through the loyalty program and member interaction.
The result? Members are much more engaged - shopping more frequently and spending more money than non members. Members also visit the loyalty website more often and more games are put into member’s game libraries. GameStop is able to make better decisions on retail store openings and closing and how they manage their real estate. They are able to customize individual experiences and conversations with members who scan their cards in the store based on employees know what type of games they have purchased in the past. They have increased profitability by offering specials, promotions or discounts targeted to specific consumers and have leveraged relationships with major players in the gaming world. Lastly, they are tackling the world of digital game downloads with streaming services, extended game play through ad-ons, online gaming and digital downloads. And all this from a national roll out that is just 9 months along! What more is to come???
Pam Mullock, PM Market Research
Pam Mullock is an Independent Market Research Consultant and Moderator for PM Market Research LLC. She will be in attendance at the 11th Annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference and will be live blogging from the event.
Time to re-think the mobile marketing game plan! (Part 2)
Last week, I posted about my frustrations in the game of mobile shopper marketing. I think marketers are misfiring on mobile with the overuse of coupons. This week is about the upside. The opportunity is to change what mobile can accomplish beyond extending unprofitable price promotions is vast, especially when you consider the insights from a solid research summary as a basis from which think about the shopper.
INSIGHTS: These are indeed facts from the study, but serve as hugely insightful behavioral snapshots into a highly sought-after target shopper: Moms with smartphones! Think about what the facts below as stimulus for commercial innovation in mobile shopper marketing.
Moms with Smartphones:
- Spend 37% of their daily media time with their smartphone, double the time with TV and more than with any other form of media
- 51% say they are “addicted” to their smart phones
- Are using the camera #1, the video #2, and #3 is Apps – 25% of those Apps are for her kids
- 33% have used it for health and wellness activities; top activities are family health tracking and researching conditions
- Are 284% more likely than the average adult to use their smartphones to text their friends rather than call them.
- Are 40% more likely to use their phones for social networking
- 56% rank reading social newsfeeds as top social activity, 48% read and post answers to questions
- Smartphone ad campaigns have 39% effectiveness in capturing customer attention, and are:
- 30% more effective than feature phones in unaided awareness, (17% vs. 13%)
- 25% more effective in purchase intent (15% vs. 12%)
OPPORTUNITIES: I could go on all day with ideas these insights inspired. I’m open to workshopping that any day. But this was my AHA! Moment:
I ask you all, when is the last time a shopper used the word ADDICTED and your brand in the same sentence?
The fact is you may be using mobile to encourage shoppers to become addicted to coupons, instead of a productive, engaged relationship with your brand. It's time to change the mix.
I think it's time for shopper marketers to re-think their mobile objectives and lean toward more solution oriented engagements with Moms and smartphones? Is a coupon really the best you’ve got to offer?
Consider doing these things:
- Conversing (maybe a survey?)
- Socializing (suggestions on how to live better with your brand)
- Inspiring mobile users to share benefits of life with your brand
- Listening (what do you want to learn from shoppers?)
- Solving problems
- Creating solutions WITH shoppers (crowdsourcing ideas)
- Storytelling
- Connecting Moms to each other and to your mission
All of these things are measurable. It’s just not as easy as a TPR (temporary price reduction) or a coupon or a Groupon. Mobile represents a huge opportunity, but as an industry we defaulted to easy and non-profitable.
It’s time to work harder to imagine ways to use mobile in a more inspired manner. And we can if we concentrate on insights and start to add measured activities for the long term. Inches of movement forward add up to fourth downs more often than a perfect pass.
Anne Howe is founder of Anne Howe Associates, LLC, a consultancy that specializes in shopper marketing capability, innovation, positioning and communication strategies. She blogs as ShopperAnnie.
Family Dollar Doesn’t Discount Research
The 
Shopper Insider Podcast Series: The Insight Scoop on Retailer's Research Evolution
By Marc Dresner, IIR USA
Most of what you’ll find on the shelves at your local Family Dollar store won’t cost but a buck or two. Just don’t let the bargain pricing fool you; Family Dollar doesn’t skimp on shopper insights.
With nearly $8 billion in annual revenue, the nation’s second largest dollar chain operates in 44 states spanning dense inner cities to rural markets. And at a couple bucks a pop, that translates to a lot of shoppers with full baskets in an otherwise Wal-Mart world.
Factor in a recession – and an influx of fresh, trade-in customers – and you’ve got the makings for a market-share land grab.
In fact, while discount giant Wal-Mart is sweating out its worst US sales slump ever, Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO) reported a 9.8% Q2 profit uptick in late March.
And the economy is now reportedly on the mend, so what gives?
DORLISA K. FLUR, Executive Vice President & Chief Merchandising Officer, FAMILY DOLLAR STORES
According to Dorlisa Flur, EVP and chief merchandising officer of Family Dollar Stores, both traditional and trade-in shoppers are sticking around and stocking up thanks in no small measure to the chain’s robust shopper insights apparatus – a meld of internal capabilities and strategic partnerships with manufacturers and select research providers.
In an exclusive podcast interview for “The Shopper Insider,” we’ll explore Family Dollar’s shopper insights evolution, including:
• Zero-to-six-fold spending growth
• Creation of an internal function
• Project volume and type
• Key research areas: merchandizing, customer sat, ethnic, concept stores… And much more!
Listen to the insight scoop: Shopper Insider Podcast Series: Interview with Dorlisa K Flur, Family Dollar Stores
Read the insight scoop: here
Author’s note: Dorlisa Flur will present a keynote titled: “Rejuvenating a Franchise: Applying Shopper Insights at Each Stage of the Journey” at the 11th annual Shopper Insights in Action conference taking place July 11-13 in Chicago.
For more information or to register, please visit www.iirusa.com/insights
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
Marc Dresner is an IIR USA communication lead with a background in trade journalism and marketing. He is the former executive editor of Research Business Report, a confidential newsletter for the marketing research and consumer insights industry. He may be reached at mdresner@iirusa.com and on Twitter @mdrezz.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Are we playing the mobile shopper marketing game all wrong? (Part 1 of 2)
I recently read this Moms Love Smartphones article.
And once again, I was all sparked up with ideas. Most were opportunistic, once I got over the frustration I’ve had all along with mobile shopper marketing. Some of the facts in the article further convinced me that many shopper marketers are activating mobile all wrong. This week’s post is about what’s wrong with this scenario, in my humble shopper marketing opinion. Next week I will talk opportunities, and there are many! Feel free to join in via the comments section.
FACTS: Moms with Smartphones:
- Are 18% more likely than women overall to own a smartphone – 53% own one
- 68% use smartphone while shopping
- 62% use shopping apps to compare prices
- 46% take action as a result of a smartphone ad, using coupons, local deals and scanning bar codes for lower prices.
The research data is solid. But guess what? The activation centers on the use of coupons. The actions we're asking Moms to take on their smartphones are further depleting profits for the manufacturers and brands we all know and love. Marketers are continually flocking to the use of mobile to dole out the deals. I say we need to re-think this.
When did we decide it was a good idea to use digital and mobile technology to expand the opportunity to make less money? Why do we use mobile technology to offer more shoppers more products via the “trade promotion” model of (what I bluntly call) “margin-sucking” offers and deals? We already know they don’t do much to enhance brand value. And if our discount offers generate great shopper response, we're in "over redemption" trouble on the marketing budget as well.
If I’m a CMO, I vote NO on taking that money out of my brand budget. If I’m the SVP of Shopper Marketing I vote no to pouring good money after bad. And I don’t want to explain to the CFO why I support a higher percentage of low margin sales. Even the Sales VP avoids that meeting.
As an industry, we may be activating this way because we think it’s more measureable, but why are we still measuring the cases sold on deal instead of the health of our effective relationships with shopper?
The stats for shopper mobile coupon usage will continue to escalate, because we let them. Because we fail to use the insights derived from studies for inspiration and ideation to plan and then actually do things that might be dramatically more meaningful and effective to build our brands with shoppers over time.
The more we default to mobile as a channel to extend the reach and frequency of price promotion behaviors, the more damage we do to the strategic opportunity shopper marketing holds for both brands and retailers.
Join me next Thursday for the discussion about the opportunity side of mobile marketing, where we examine more facts and insights derived from the study and take a look at what marketers might do differently in the future.
Anne Howe is a twenty-year veteran of shopper marketing, and now runs a consulting practice with a focus on commercial innovation in shopper marketing. She is active on Twitter as @ShopperAnnie and on her personal ShopperAnnie Blog at www.annehoweassociates.com
The plastic shopping bag gets upgraded
Back in the late 1970s, the late Gordon Dancy "invented a high-density plastic bag and a dispensing rack." His daughter - Kristen Brown - helped him market this invention. Their goal was "to save trees at a time when plastic was considered the future." It was not an easy sell. "No one wanted them," says Kristen.
The success came once Gordon integrated a dispensing rack which made the bags simple to manage and easy to handle. Now 40 years later this brilliant solution is now a big problem. Our landfills are over flowing with plastic and plastic bags. The EPA states that the amount of bags being thrown away has jumped by more then 3 times since 1980s and that plastic bags are the 2nd most common form of marine litter after cigarette butts - as per Ocean Conservatory group.
How can a plastic bag be revived from such issues - Kristen literally had a dream with the solution. It's called "My Eco Bag".
My Eco Bag is a combination of four color coded bags in one. "The smallest (black) bag holds glass bottles and jars, while the medium (blue) one has an insulated liner for chilled and frozen goods. The large (green) bag holds produce; the extra large (brown) handles other groceries." The bags are made "from the same polypropylene or plastic that’s used for … yogurt containers." Kristen says she designed the bags, which sell for $24.95, to "hold $300 worth of groceries and fit like a jigsaw puzzle into a shopping cart." She’s certain her dad would be proud: "He believed in change and making things better," she says.
In your marketing research do your shoppers insights talk about recycling and reusing plastic bags? Although the price point of a set of reusable bags has a 24.95 MSRP would your shoppers spend on such a purchase?
Shoppers Is Shelf Presence Important?
Is it important? YES! I would say you have only a few seconds to capture the eye of a shopper while they are in the aisles. Their eyes go first to the product and packaging then of course to the price. If either of these are off by the slightest bit, the shopper moves on. Agree or disagree?
Packaging is very important to the sales process. Without a well designed and appealing package your product could be the next best thing after sliced bread, but shoppers will pass it by.
Many are moving to private brands such as Duane Reade's DR Delish. The packaging is clean and inviting.
It looks like it will be a hit, they also tie in New York City into the branding story and shoppers in NYC are sure to notice.
What if you have an unusual product like Swiffer - by Procter & Gamble. Reading a recent article from the Shopper Insights Blog; Tim mentions how Procter & Gamble repackaged the original boxes into a more visually impactful product and also expanded the Swiffer product into a multi-product line taking up lots of shelf space at locations such as Walmart.
This is a great example of how using shopper insights can improve both a product, packaging and the overall experience for the shoppers. Now they need to hold a contest offering free xxxxxxx in exchange for user generated content (UGC) online and they would have millions of testimonials to also support the product.
Where NEXT & BEST Practices are Created.
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Join hundreds of brands, retailers and key industry players to explore the latest techniques, technologies and strategies for activating insights to impact the shopper through their path to purchase. Find out more click here
Are you re-inventing your retail?
I was recently reading an article by DR. ALAN TREADGOLD on the Hub Magazine (here) and he 
made some interesting points which I would like to address.
That shoppers no longer need to go into physical retail stores is incontestable.
True -- even groceries can be ordered online....
What should traditional B&M stores do to compete with their online counter parts?
While the rise of internet retailing tells a lot about how shoppers value the 24/7 and never-leave-home convenience of the web, it also says something about the relative lack of appeal that traditional stores have for a lot of shoppers in a lot of product categories a lot of the time.
Maybe we are evolving into smarter (or lazier) shoppers. Where unless it's convenient; I'm not going to buy it. To be honest; in some cases I'd rather shop online then drag 2 kids to a local B&M store. Why not sit on the couch and order a my groceries online and even pay a little more for the convenience of doing so.
The good news is that, to paraphrase Mark Twain (13,252 results on Amazon.com, incidentally), reports of the death of the retail store have been greatly exaggerated. In a recent survey of 2,200 American shoppers, fully 50 percent agreed that there is still no substitute for going into the store and seeing the product in real life. In high-touch categories, 43 percent still like to touch and feel a product before they feel sufficiently confident to make a purchase.
Ahhh so true, but I would say it really depends on the item. Example: I might check out a iphone 4 from a friend. I am familiar with the phone already since i own a iphone 3, and I know the quality of the iphone by apple. I know the brand and what to expect. So i would "NOT" want to go to my local apple store and wait 1 hour or more just to purchase a phone (I did that once before). I'd rather order it online and get it delivered to my door.
This might not hold true for a pair of shoes. But electronics, certain clothing and I'm sure a handful of other items fit into this category. What about you? What items do you have to absolutely TOUCH & FEEL before buying?
The first is that a substantial minority of American shoppers —around 20 percent in this survey — regard the internet as a good substitute for going into a store. In fact, they would prefer not to go into a store at all.
I guess I fall into that category. I'll be the 1st to admit it.
This raises the important consideration of relative advantage. Physical stores are better placed than the online space to deliver some attributes of the shopping experience. Surely, stores should be capable of being more experiential, more engaging, more stimulating, and more theatrical even than their online counterparts. If they are not able to deliver beyond the web on these experiential elements of retailing, then it is very valid to question just what the relevance of the retail store becomes.
So retailers - you need to engage on a much greater level and ensure the experience is fun and exciting. What is a high priority on your holiday shopping experience? Good Outstanding customer service? A unique product? Or the experience? How will you standout?
Retailers should have no doubt that, for many shoppers, the experience of visiting their stores is indeed a distinctly sub-optimal, unsatisfactory and underwhelming one. Retail businesses are essentially all about momentum — if they’re not cycling forward then they are almost certainly spiraling backwards, but very rarely are they ever standing still.
OUCH! So the current experience is "sub-optimal, unsatisfactory and underwhelming one" sounds like fun! Retailers are you taking note? You should be surveying and setting up focus groups to determine how to make a shift in the current feelings & experiences.
The multi-channel and recession-defined landscape that is the US retail marketplace is certainly no Field of Dreams: If you build it they won’t necessarily come. But they will if you understand how physical stores can win over the web, deliver at least to the expectations of shoppers on the “basics,” and create truly imaginative and inspiring experiences.
Bravo Alan, you hit the nail on the head - create truly imaginative and inspiring experiences!
Thanks for the great article.
Kroger Simplifies Digital Couponing
Brandweek.com reports that Kroger grocery shoppers can load coupons to their loyalty cards prior to their store visits. Kroger, which has been offering some digital coupons for about three years, has rolled out a new service for consumers that puts more than 100 coupons on its Web site for private label and name-brand items. Dubbed the Digital Coupon Center, it's shepherded by San Francisco-based YOU Technology, which has worked with the chain and various packaged goods marketers on previous Kroger digital efforts, and the current "Summer of savings" sweepstakes and promotion.
If this initiative proves to be a success for Kroger, will other grocery stores follow?
Learn more: Kroger Simplifies Digital Couponing