Across retail and consumer goods, we spend a fortune on instore signage. And the store, or even the shelf is where much of the spend hits. We spend on shopper research, on agencies to help us design the perfect point of sales materials, and of course for manufacturers, we pay retailers for the privilege of displaying our materials on their shelves. Yet much of the instore signage we see is ineffective. Our research shows shoppers don’t notice a lot of instore signage, and if they do notice it, often don’t read it, or ignore it. Why is it so hard to get instore signage right, and how can we approach the creation and placement of instore signage so that it is much more effective?
Instore signage is really hard!
The first reason for this situation, is that instore signage is hard! We have a limited amount of space for one thing. And we’re limited by time too: some shoppers will only spend a matter of seconds looking at a shelf. Consumer marketers who complain about the challenges of communicating their message in a fifteen second commercial: imagine doing it in 1.5 seconds! Add to this the fact that retailers often levy design constraints on brands, instore signage isn’t the easiest media to work with. But even beyond these practical limitations, there are a number of other factors that make designing effective instore signage really challenging.
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Instore signage challenge 1 – One message for every shopper
Beyond this, one of the biggest challenges with instore signage is the fact that, in a physical store at least, we only have one execution, one placement, to serve all the shopper who use that store. Just think about it. In most media environments we can segment our audience and put different messages or media in front of different groups. But with instore signage, that is more challenging. Everyone sees the same thing. But each shopper is different. Some might be loyal consumers, some might be new to the brand or the category. Some shoppers might not be consumers at all.
Instore signage challenge 2 – Shoppers filter out the noise (including you!)
And when shoppers reach the shelf they might all be in different mindsets too. Some openly searching for something new, some seeking deals: others just looking for their preferred brand and wanting to grab and go. In the mess of messages and stimulus that is modern retail, shoppers filter out much of the information they see: many shoppers not even noticing that piece of communication that you worked so hard on. Some shoppers won’t easily give you even a few seconds.
The key principles of effective instore signage
Effective shopper communication is a challenge, but that doesn’t mean we can’t deliver excellence. We have trained countless agency and brand teams to create more effective shopper communication, with phenomenal results. So how can we optimize our communication given all these challenges? Here are the key principals.
Understand who your target shopper is
First things first: Instore signage is part of your shopper marketing mix. And like all marketing, focus is everything. You can’t possibly communicate exactly the right thing to every single shopper that walks the aisle. But you do have a hope of getting it right for one cohort of shoppers. Having absolute clarity on which shoppers you are targeting is critical to creating effective shopper communications.
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Understand your target shoppers
Once we know who we are targeting, the next challenge is to understand them. Where do they go in a store? Where do they not go? All shoppers are different. What do they do before they get to the store? What do they know about the category and the brand already?
Set clear shopper behavioral objectives
I’ve covered this before, but its so powerful I’m going to include it here. Usually we set sales objectives, or awareness objectives for our activities. Few of us set clear behavioral objectives, which describe who the target shopper is, what they do currently, and what we’d like them to do. In my experience, this clarity is key to making any shopper marketing activity work, including shopper communication.
Don’t try and do everything in one interaction
With a good understanding of our target shoppers, and a clear shopper behavioral objective, we can now plan our communication approach. And here is where we need to be careful. Given all the limitations I’ve described above, there is typically only so much we can communicate in one ‘bite’ in the store. So we need to be clear on what are our communication priorities: what are the things that are going to make the difference. Let’s not waste time communicating stuff that our target shoppers already know, or stuff that isn’t relevant to this purchase.
Put it this way. By the time the shopper gets to the shelf, you can only do so much. If the shopper still needs five reasons to buy your brand, or to read a lengthy paragraph of text to be convinced, then you’ve lost. Most shoppers won’t read it. You need to do more work BEFORE they get to the shelf.
Consider placement carefully
And while we’re talking about the shelf, don’t assume that the home shelf is the best place to put your instore signage. Not every shopper goes there. And certainly not on every shopping trip. Consider carefully where the shopper goes, and where they might notice this particular instore signage.
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Instore signage – Say less
All of this preparation helps with the piece which seems most challenging to marketers: say less. As marketers we love our brands, and we want to share it with the world. I get it. But shoppers rarely need all of that. And they are very unlikely to want to digest it all there either. We don’t have long, and we don’t want to miss, so we need to be focused. Say less. For a great example of simple, focused messaging – check out this great example from Pampers.
Say one thing
To empathize this, let’s stretch this as much as we can. Aim to say one thing. Challenge yourself to think of the one thing that is going to make the biggest difference to the shopper, that is most likely to convert them to a purchaser at that point. I know that this will be difficult, but give it a go.
Of course sometimes we have more time. Sometimes we have a shopper who is prepared to spend many minutes making this decision. This is where really understanding the behavior of your target shoppers is so critical. But even if you have more time, we’ve found that this focus and discipline is invaluable. Even when buying TVs, fridges, washing machines and phones. Drilling down to the core messages is key. Even if the shopper is spending more time on the decision, it doesn’t mean that they are absorbing everything we are saying. Focused, relevant communication: relevant to exactly where this shopper is on their purchase journey.
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Give the shopper a reason to buy
When we are down to a really focused message, we need to make sure that our communication hits home. Here we need to use benefits as well as features. The example below is a great example of communicating features. “Aluminium capsules” is a feature. What is the benefit to the shopper? And remember, it might be obvious to you, but that doesn’t mean its obvious to the shopper. And it doesn’t mean that they will ‘get it’ at the shelf. It doesn’t mean that their subconscious brain won’t filter it out as irrelevant. Leave nothing to chance: make it clear what is the benefit to the shopper.
Remember your allies on the shelf (everything communicates)
We’ve already discussed the purchase journey, and the fact that our ‘point of purchase’ communication doesn’t need to do all of the work. But even here, we have other tools we can use. As we say in our workshops and online seminars and coaching, everything we do communicates. Remember that our pricing, position on the shelf (which other brands you are next to, for example) all communicates. And of course, don’t forget perhaps the most powerful shopper communication weapon in our armory – packaging! Too often our packaging is designed with consumers in mind, yet it can be really effective at communicating with shoppers too.
Measure the effectiveness of your instore signage
Yes, you should measure the effectiveness of everything you do. It is the only way to really understand what works and what doesn’t. Enough said.
You can’t win them all (but you don’t need to!)
This approach can feel frustrating. That’s OK. There are constraints, and our desire to say more, to more people, is understandable. But you can’t win them all. And the good news is, you don’t need to. If you’ve done the right work up front in terms of identifying and understanding your target shoppers, you’ll win with the important ones.
We cover all this and more, with loads of practical examples in our workshops, seminars and coaching programs. We cover how colors, fonts and images impact shoppers. We discuss how different things can activate the shopper’s brains in different ways. Everything you need to know to make your shopper communication more effective.
If you are involved in planning, briefing, designing or approving shopper communication or in-store materials: if you place advertisement online on e-commerce sites, you and your team should really book one of our shopper communication programs. Whether you work for a brand, a retailer or an agency, it will sharpen your thinking, allowing you to brief, design and critique materials and plans so much better: delivering more powerful shopper communication that really drives your business forward. We have flexible plans to fit any business or budget, so please get in touch now and let’s see if we can help you save money on wasted materials, and deliver real growth with everything you do in-store.