By Charlie Anderson, CEO of Shoptology
We shopper marketers have long prided ourselves on the accountability of our discipline. We drive transactions, get the registers ringing and support this all with solid data and analytics that support our client’s ROI.
While tangible, in-depth results are great for both parties in a client/agency relationship, there is a danger of creating a short-term mindset where “renting the register ring” is more important than creating lasting results. For shopper marketers, the ultimate goal should be to engage shoppers with a brand and create a relationship that drives sustainable, profitable behavior. Or to put it simply: To win new customers and make them stick.
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Bump Versus Bond
At Shoptology, we speak to marketers every day from major brands, across all types of verticals that face the persistent challenge of driving both immediate sales results, and attracting loyal, brand advocates.
We know that most shopper marketing activities either create a bump or a bond. A bump being short-term, driving a momentary lift in a brand’s sales based on quick, often detached, interactions with shoppers. A bond, however, focuses on a higher quality engagement that attaches shoppers to a brand for the long-term, and for the right reasons.
We decided to take it upon ourselves to dig a little deeper into this “bump versus bond” concept and conduct an online ethnography survey, gathering online stories from 1,001 shoppers about the last time they changed brands.
Shopper Marketing For The Long Term
The good news for marketers is that our study showed shoppers to be open, receptive and experimental: 73% reported they had changed brands from something they would normally buy to something new within the last month.
The research also showed the important role of shopper marketing. Half of new brand users first heard about the option in-store and purchased quickly — usually within a week of first contact.
The research also revealed something deeper; that shoppers have two distinctive motives behind their change in brand purchase: 1) An external marketing catalyst such as a display or deal, and 2) An intrinsic motivation, where shoppers identified with a deeper value or benefit in the brand.
Not surprisingly, those that chose the new brand based on intrinsic motivations (personal recommendations and influences or a product’s virtues) were most likely to be exclusive, avid fans, rather than those who made their choice due to external, short-term triggers (coupons, discounts, or offers). In short, brands that built conversion on a bond were more likely to have sustained results than those that built on a marketing bump.
This doesn’t mean that all short-term purchase incentives are bad. What it does suggest is that only using those triggers to create a bump, and not the brand’s merits to create a genuine bond, will impact long-term conversion.
It’s Bonding Time
If you think about marketing tactics that you felt drawn to as a shopper, there were probably key things that piqued your interest. These are what we call “bonding agents” — emotionally charged devices that make you pay more attention and want to take action.
These are six of the most common bonding agents:
Play: Provides an escapism experience of being entertained
Learn: Builds knowledge by interacting with marketing
Explore: Fulfills curiosity around passions or interests
Connect: Reinforces social bonds with those in a user’s circle
Participate: Allows a user to become part of a movement or something bigger
Improve: Builds skills or increases productivity
When developing a shopper marketing campaign, it is these bonding agents that should be baked into your concept and creative messaging, and used as levers to drive increased engagement at every touch point.
My challenge to any marketer is to take a look at your shopper marketing strategy and ask yourself these three questions:
- Are you creating a bump or a bond? The sales-spiking tools can be addictive but the more bond marketing you do, there’s a good chance you’ll realize short-term sales growth and so much more.
- Do you use bonding agents to draw in new customers?Bonding agents are a great way to drive brand growth, as well as capture and hold the attention of your potential users through an increased emotional engagement.
- If you are using or plan to use bonding agents, are they part of your brand equity?The way you connect with shoppers is part of your brand. Be known for how you engage.
Charlie Anderson is the CEO of Shoptology, a new shopper marketing firm launched by Anderson and Project: Worldwide. Anderson joined Project: Worldwide in January 2013 to head up shopper marketing globally. He brings more 15 years of experience leading shopper marketing programs with Procter & Gamble, Diageo, Kroger, Wendy’s and Walmart. Anderson’s strategic insight and passion for breakthrough ideas has led to six Effie awards in 2011 and 2012, Media Magazine’s Agency of the Year for 2011 and being named Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing by Shopper Marketing Magazine in 2012. As an active participant in the transformation of how brands are engaging with shoppers, Anderson is a sought-after speaker around building world-class shopper marketing capabilities.
