The world of shopper marketing is becoming ever more competitive. Retail stores are littered with deals, discounts and myriad choices for the shopper. And engaging with that shopper has become more of a challenge too. Winning with shoppers is critical, but is becoming a tough battle to fight. If winning with shoppers is becoming more of a battle, then what can shopper marketers learn about winning on the path to purchase from the master of winning battles? What can Napoleon teach the shopper marketer about the path to purchase?
The complex path to purchase
Over the last decade much has changed in the way shoppers behave. Shoppers have many more choices of where to shop and how to shop. The online world, as a place for research, information gathering, and actual purchase has impacted the way shoppers approach many different categories. Path to purchase models used to be simple; now they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In all cases however, the shopper goes on a journey; from a point where a consumption need is identified, to the point where the product is finally purchased. Shoppers typically take an understanding of consumption needs, and overlay these with an understanding of their needs as a shopper. They decide where to shop, then they need to get to the store, navigate the store to find a solution which meets both their needs as a consumer and their needs as a shopper: they need to select a product and, assuming the product is in-stock, they need to buy it.
As they shop they may visit many stores, online and offline: they may source information and advice from peers, social networks, experts and advisors. Each path to purchase has multiple steps and that means multiple points for brands to influence their shopping decisions, or, put another way, multiple points to lose the shopper completely.
All would be well and good if shopper marketers had limitless resources. With a clear understanding of the path to purchase, shopper marketers could hurl funds at every step of the journey to ensure that their brand won every time. But resources are limited, and therefore there is a tough choice to make. And this is where Napoleon comes in.
Where should I deploy my limited resources to greatest effect along the path to purchase?
If Napoleon was in marketing now, he’d make a fabulous shopper marketer! One of Napoleon’s key strategies was to mass his forces at one point in the line of attack. Often his enemies would deploy across the front evenly. Not Napoleon. He strategized to understand which point was the most critical, and masses his armies there. He recognized that if he won at that point, then he’d win the entire battle.
The same is true in shopper marketing. If you work in a category (for example chips and snacks) where many of the shoppers’ shopping decisions are made in the store, then that might be the most important point to deploy your limited resources. But in other categories that might not be true. In categories where showrooming is prevalent, then the brand choice might be made in a retail store; then purchased online. A brand which amasses its forces online (the point of purchase in this case). But if your brand is deselected in the retail store, then you might be out of the game before they even log in at the online site. Alternatively if you work in a category where brand selection is often completed before entering the store, then the must-win battle might be whilst the shopper is inresearch phase, and that might take place online.
Note that Napoleon massed his armies at the ‘decisive point’ – but he didn’t leave the rest of the front empty. That would have been suicidal. In the same way shopper marketers must do ‘just enough’ in the non-critical points to get by.
Understanding the path to purchase requires an investment in insight
In a complex world with real and limited budgets it is impossible to invest in everything, all of the time. Shopper marketers must understand the path to purchase, and understand within that, which are the “must-win” battles. Armed with this knowledge the shopper marketer can deploy his funds strategically along the path to purchase to maximum effect. All of this requires an investment in insight. Without understanding of the path to purchase, then these decisions become arbitrary and the opportunity for advantage in this battle for the shopper is lost. If you’d like a fast start to understanding how to use shopper research to give you that competitive edge, download our free e-book “The Introductory Guide to Great Shopper Research”.
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