As the economy tightens, you’ll want to make sure you are getting the best value out of every dollar you spend on shopper marketing and in-store activity. There will be pressure on budgets, so we need to make sure that every dollar counts. And while evaluating your shopper marketing agency should be a regular activity, we all know that formal agency evaluations don’t always happen as frequently as they should. So now might be a really good time to take a long hard look at your agency partners, and consider whether they are really adding the value that you need them to? So how should you evaluate your shopper marketing agency?
A great shopper marketing agency gets the results you need
I know, this should almost go without saying, but I do feel I need to say it. I spend a lot of time working with client organizations and it is staggering just how many don’t actually know whether their shopper marketing delivers or not. So, it stands to reason that there could well be a lot of shopper marketing agencies out there that aren’t being assessed properly on the results they get – so who knows if they get the results or not?
They ask you for KPIs and objectives
A great shopper marketing agency wouldn’t stand for that. A great shopper marketing agency would insist on clear objectives and KPIs for the activity that they create, knowing that their track record is what makes them stand out from their competition. Any agency that doesn’t ask for KPIs is fearful of objective comparisons.
A great shopper marketing agency will be on top of the metrics. Beyond sales uplift or return on investment, your shopper marketing agency should be considering shopper behavioral metrics such as penetration or frequency, or campaign or media performance metrics.
A great shopper marketing agency understands the difference between consumers and shoppers
If anyone at the agency suggests that shopper marketing is about influencing the consumer as they are making buying decisions, politely show them the door. A great shopper marketing agency understands that your target shopper might not be the same person as the consumer. And even if the consumer is the shopper, that their mindset, influences and behavior can be significantly different as a shopper than as a consumer.
They also understand shopper psychology
Building on the previous point, we can draw on psychology and behavioral economics to better understand how to connect with shoppers as they make purchase decisions. If your shopper marketing agency isn’t able to demonstrate this, then it might be time to review the account.
A great shopper marketing agency understands retail and retailers…
When we run training programs with agencies, it is often the sessions about understanding retailers that get the best response. Why? Because it is so new to so many in the agency world. A great shopper marketing agency will understand the principles of retail, how retailers make money, and the realities of retail implementation as well as retail finance. Further, they should understand each of your priority retailers: their strategies, goals and target shoppers. If they don’t get retail, then they don’t understand the battlefield that you are playing on.
…as well as consumers…
Shopper marketing isn’t all about shoppers and retailers, though. The purpose of shopper marketing isn’t just to drive a purchase (if that was the case, we could all just do more discounts and leave it at that!) The purpose of shopper marketing is to influence shopper behavior, sure, but to do so in a way which drives consumption of our brand and/or the category.
Put it another way, shopping exists to meet perceived future consumer needs: shoppers buy to consume. So, it is impossible to fully understand a shopper and their mindset without also understanding consumers.
…and brands and branding too!
Shopper marketing agencies need to understand consumers, but they also need to understand brands and branding. Yes, shoppers are not the same as consumers, but we are still using the same brand. That brand needs to work for consumers AND shoppers: and a great shopper marketing agency would be able to understand this.
We want our agency to add more value and go beyond just taking the consumer creative and sticking it on in-store media. But to give the agency the freedom to do this, means that the agency needs to deeply understand branding and the brand itself.
A great shopper marketing agency thinks beyond the store
While an awful lot of purchase decisions are made in a store, that isn’t the case for all shopper decisions. A great shopper marketing agency would use a deep understanding of a shopper’s path to purchase to understand where, when and how we should communicate and connect with shoppers.
A great shopper marketing agency demands insight and data
If your shopper marketing agency takes your brief and runs with it, alarm bells should be ringing (unless of course your current brief is 100% perfect and comprehensive!). You really want an agency who comes back and asks questions. Asks about the target shopper, craves the insight and the data that supports it. Asks about the target consumer too and asks to see the data. If your agency is happy with the one-line insight you shared in the brief, then they aren’t going deep enough. How can they create something that really connects with shoppers, if they can’t be bothered to spend the time to really understand the very people they are trying to connect with?
A great shopper marketing agency is a team player
Lastly, shopper marketing cannot be successful in isolation. Consumer and shopper marketing needs to be integrated to be effective. Our shopper work needs to be supported by our sales team and our retail customers. We need shopper marketing agencies who understand the commercial context we work in and are prepared to collaborate across that often complicated environment.
How to improve the performance of your shopper marketing agency
Of course, every business’ requirement will be different, but if you are looking at sharpening your shopper agency’s work, or evaluating a potential new agency, this checklist should prove a good place to start. And if you’d like to improve your shopper marketing agency’s performance, you could start by considering a shopper marketing training workshop: a combined workshop with the client team as well as the agency is a proven way to improve collaboration, the quality of the work and the results achieved. Programs can be developed specifically for you: using your data and working on your upcoming campaigns, so you get great training, better collaboration, and a real business result!
And if you work for an agency, and you recognize that there might be room for improvement in the way your team deliver for your clients, get in touch now: we’ve plenty of experience of training and supporting shopper marketing agencies of all types, from small local agencies to the largest global players. Check out our programs or get in touch now if you’d like to see how we can help.
What is a buyer marketing agency that is considered to be one of the best?
What are some examples of successful marketing campaigns carried out by the agency?