Most shopper marketers would agree that they strive to create effective activity. Yet what do we mean by effective? Often the measure of effectiveness will be ‘did it grow my sales?’. Whilst this is an admirable goal, is that single measure truly adequate to ascertain whether an activity was effective? Consumer marketers would (typically) set more than one objective for their activity (build loyalty, share, penetration, etc.) so why is this simplistic view of the world still the norm in the world of shopper marketing? In my experience, the first step to creating more effective shopper marketing activities is to create better quality objectives; and at least three objectives for each activity.
Alice: Would you tell me please which way I ought to go from here?
Cheshire Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t know.
Cheshire Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
The starting point of measuring effectiveness is understanding what it is that we are trying to achieve, as it is against this benchmark that any assessment of effectiveness will be made. Too often however objectives are one dimensional, and not specific. “Grow brand sales” (seen on a brief from a blue chip client very recently) fails on both of these counts. SMART as an acronym has been around the management training classrooms for what seems like forever (although apparently it’s only thirty years), but it appears that sometimes it isn’t carried through into practice. But enough has been written about SMART for me not to need to take that on; so let’s focus on the dimensions of the objective and how this can help to create effective shopper marketing activities.
Set three types of objectives for truly effective shopper marketing activity
Whilst there are many possible dimensions of success for an activity, and therefore there are likewise many possible objectives, typically we find that these fall into three broad areas; and that a complete set of objectives should have at least one objective from each.
Set commercial objectives
Where objectives are set, they typically focus on the commercial objectives of the organization (‘grow brand sales’ as per the example above). That is great: organizations exist to make profits, and therefore there should always be a commercial objective. The shopper marketer may wish to challenge whether growing sales alone is sufficient as a measure of commercial success, and whether there should also be a profit or ROI related objective too.
Set retail customer-centric objectives
On the assumption that this shopper marketing activity will be placed in a retailer’s store, and therefore will require their support, then activities should be challenged by objectives to ensure that the retailer ‘wins’ too. An activity which does not support the retailer’s objectives is unlikely to be repeated many times, no matter how well it hits the brand’s objectives. Objectives which relate to category sales or profitability must therefore be included. Objectives relating to a retailer’s strategic goals may be considered too.
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Set shopper-related objectives to ensure effective shopper marketing activities
The one area that is nearly always missing is any objective relating to changing shopping behavior: which is strange given that this objective cuts to the heart of shopper marketing. As shopper marketers our goal is to change shopping behavior such that it drives profitable growth of our brands. Without creating clarity on the shopper behavior we are trying to create, how are we going to ensure that behavior is created? In other words, how are we going to measure the effectiveness of our activity?
Perhaps the more commercially minded of you may ask ‘but if the commercial objective is met, then what is the problem?’ So let us consider an activity – a display which achieves a five times uplift in sales, and therefore drives profit through the roof. Is that successful? Based on purely commercial measures, yes; but let’s dig a little further by considering two scenarios. In the first, the uplift is driven by existing, planned shoppers of the brand buying five times as much product. In the second, existing shoppers buy exactly the same as they planned, but the uplift is driven by loads of new shoppers tried the product for the first time. Which one is most valuable? It depends on the objective. If the objective was to drive penetration, then the first activity was expensive, and, depending on whether existing consumers used more product or not, potentially a disaster (if those shoppers bought five times as much but didn’t change their consumption behavior, it will be a long time before they buy again). The second drove significant penetration, and therefore would be deemed a success against that objective.
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Setting shopper objectives helps create more effective shopper marketing activities
By setting three types of objectives shopper marketing managers improve the chances of creating truly great activity – activity which changes shoppers’ behavior in a positive way, makes commercial sense to the organization, and is more likely to receive support from retailers. Mechanics and creative can be chosen based on its likelihood of achieving all of these objectives, and by then measuring the impact of the activity against each of these objective sets, it is possible to identify activity which delivers best against all three objectives. Sometimes this might require a bit of trial and error, but without objectives marketers have no idea where their ‘errors’ are. Of course, objectives are nothing unless they are measured, which is the topic of my next blog. To ensure you don’t miss it, please feel free to subscribe now.
