Extracting value from shopper decisions – part 1
By Mark Fletcher, Shopscience
It's a sign of the times when the Group Marketing Operations Director of SABMiller says that they have only just realised that understanding shopper decision making is central to effecting shopper behavioural change (and increasing sales of beer).
This recognition is a radical shift from the traditional marketing 4Ps (or any other number of Ps).
While some marketers may argue that their use of the Ps is built on an understanding of consumer decision making, the reality for most FMCG brands is far different.
Fundamentally, this is because they don't understand how and why shoppers buy their products. If they did, their media placement and spend would be vastly more cost effective, and their products would be able to deliver truly compelling USPs and increased repeat purchasing.
So why don't marketers understand how and why shoppers make purchases, and what does this type of understanding mean in practical terms?
For decades, mass market brand advertising has generated billions in sales. But with new brands grabbing marketshare with little or no above the line marketing, and the direct ROI of marketing campaigns declining rapidly, it’s time for new thinking.
The first step to truly understanding and influence shopper decision making is to appreciate that a shopper’s choice of one product over another always involves weighing up a vast array of factors.
In most cases, the actual weighing up process is largely unconscious, and even when questioned, shoppers may not be able to articulate their decision rationale. For example, recent research has found that the unconscious ‘priming’ of obese grocery store shoppers as they enter the store can significantly reduce their snack purchasing.
The snack purchasing example also highlights another key aspect - that while all of the stimuli that impact a shopper as they are standing in front of the category are important, so are a lot of other things.
Instore point of purchase antecedents ranging from shopper’s state of mind on the day, their past experiences with competing products, intended use of the product, and even their current body image, also play into to their final product selection.
All of these insights can be obtained from detailed and multi-modal (utilising a combination of market research, data analysis and in-situ observation) customer journey mapping.
Typically, good customer journey mapping will reveal two to three common customer journeys, the key influencing factors at each customer decision point, and the current brand touch points along the way. It costs more than a few focus groups, but the ROI can be huge.
Check back next month for Part Two of Mark Fletcher's analysis of understanding shopper decision making and effecting shopper behavioural change, posted here on the POPAI website.
Mark Fletcher is director of Shopscience, which, which uses psychology, human factors, and marketing to create tailored solutions based on research and analysis. Mark can be contacted at mark@shopscience.com.au, or visit the website, www.shopscience.com.au.
