In a recent article I discussed the engage Shopper Activation Wheel™: a powerful process to help teams identify and create more effective shopper marketing activations and in-store activities. I shared three powerful tools and ideas embedded in the Shopper Activation Wheel™ that really help us select the most effective tactics:
In this article I’m going to discuss the concept of the target shopper, why it is so valuable, and how to apply this to your activity development process. On one level, the concept of a target shopper is pretty straightforward. But it does need a little unpacking, so let’s take it step by step. First, let’s make it clear what the ‘target shopper’ is NOT.
The target shopper isn’t the same as your brand’s target consumer
Most brand teams will be able to tell you about their target consumer. They consumer that lies at the heart of their thinking about the brand. They might describe the target consumer in demographic terms (housewives, 35-50 years old, middle income with kids, living in urban areas). They might use attitudinal or psychographic definitions (health conscious, concerned about the environment, open to new ideas) or any combination of factors that might help them ‘paint a picture’ of the target consumer for the brand.
But the brand’s target consumer isn’t necessarily the same as the target shopper for the activity
By ‘target shopper’ we mean the shopper we are targeting for this specific activity. Our brand might target young adults, or ‘first-jobbers’. But perhaps right now we’re trying to drive penetration. Or convince some of these shoppers to switch from a competitor brand to ours and use it while studying. Or maybe we’re trying to get people who use the brand at home, to use it on the go.
In each of these cases the people we are targeting with this activity is a sub-set of our broad marketing target. If we’re trying to drive penetration, it will be consumers that don’t currently use the brand. If we’re trying to drive switching, it will be consumers who currently use our competitor while studying. If we are trying to extend usage beyond at home, then our target might be consumers that currently use the brand at home, but not out of home. In each case the target for this activity should be a sub-set of our broad marketing target.
The target shopper isn’t necessarily the consumer at all
And of course, on top of this, we have to consider the reality that the person doing the shopping isn’t always the consumer. In every category we have every worked, there are some shoppers that aren’t consumers.
So when we are defining the our target shopper we need to challenge this too, and ask the question:
Who is the shopper who will enable the desired change in consumption?
If we want to drive penetration – maybe we want to get teenagers to use our new snack – then someone needs to BUY our new snack. That could be the consumer. Or it could be someone else (mum perhaps?)
The target shopper is the shopper whose behavior we need to change to enable that consumption to take place.
Identifying the target shopper is powerful
Why is this powerful? Because it helps us focus on the strategic value of our activity. If all we need to do is get anyone to buy our product – then that’s quite straightforward. A deal, a discount, a big display, and we’ll drive sales (which is perhaps why our stores are full of discounts and displays; because we haven’t spent enough time focusing on who our target shopper really is!)
The power of identifying the target shopper: understand the strategic value of our activity
Yes, driving sales is straightforward. But the value of those sales depends on who does the buying. Let’s say we run an activity and our sales double. That’s pretty cool right? Well – it depends on what we were trying to achieve. And it depends on who bought those extra packs.
Sales doubling. That could have been driven by getting twice as many people to buy our brand. Or it could have been driven by getting the shoppers that usually buy our brand to buy twice as much. If we don’t have a clear target shopper, this doesn’t matter. But if we want to get a specific shopper to buy our brand, then clearly these two outcomes are very different. If we are targeting new users, then an activity which gets existing users to buy twice as much is a disaster, regardless of how much volume we shifted.
The power of identifying the target shopper: aligning with marketing
The second benefit of identifying the target shopper is integration. To be really effective, we want our shopper activity to be aligned to our consumer strategy and activity. Driving brand growth needs us to change both consumer AND shopper behavior, after all. So a clear statement of who the target consumer is (who will consume differently as a result of this activity) AND who the target shopper is (who will BUY differently) helps us ensure that we are aligned.
By aligning with consumer marketing, we’re able to create a seamless journey that joins consumer and shopper touchpoints into a cohesive journey. It ensures that our shopper communication and activation resonates and magnifies our consumer communications in such a way that makes sense to consumers and shoppers. And that makes both consumer and shopper marketing investment more efficient and more effective.
The power of identifying the target shopper: channel and touchpoint focus
Thirdly, clarity on who is our target shopper allows us to focus on the right channels and the right touchpoints and the right retail environments. Gone are the days where we do basically the same thing everywhere. If we know who the target shopper is, we can understand their purchase journey and invest in the touchpoints and environments where we have the best chances of influencing them. Just because most shoppers buy a certain product at the home shelf in a supermarket, doesn’t mean that our target shopper does. The biggest waste in shopper marketing is putting the right things in front of the wrong shoppers.
The power of identifying the target shopper: selecting the right shopper marketing mix
Beyond touchpoints, channels and retailers, we can use this information to consider what are the right activities to use. The more we understand our target shoppers, the missions that they shop, the stores they use, where they go and what attracts their attention, the more likely it is that we will create activation that will connect with those shoppers and influence them. We can step away from broad generic statements that ‘shoppers like price deals’ or ‘shoppers are looking for solutions’ and focus on what these specific shoppers do and want.
A generic target leads to a generic plan
There are myriad choices of potential tactics that we can choose: and in this omnichannel world there are so many more touchpoints we can use. A clear understanding of the target shopper is key to helping us define the right marketing mix, the right touchpoints: every detail from which stores, which locations, which media, even what the design of the point of sale material should be: it all depends on the target shopper. If we target generic ‘shoppers’ – don’t be surprised if your plan is generic too, and misses!
Identifying the target shopper: a fundamental step in getting better returns from in-store investment
Identifying the target shopper is a fundamental step towards improving the impact and returns of every activity you implement in a store – online or offline. Without this clarity we tend to end up with generic activities that might increase sales but won’t support our strategy at all. If you want better results, better returns and more strategic alignment from your team: If you want your team to transform the way they create in-store activities check out our training programs or get in touch now. We have many programs and solutions which can be tailored to meet your specific needs, industry and market.
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