Shopper VS Consumers

Shopper VS
Consumers:
Make it person first
Gavin Mackie,
Head of Strategy, Maynard Malone
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The distinction between consumer
and shopper has become a talking
point within marketing circles.
It’s no wonder; we have seen shopper savvy-ness maximising,
even gamifying, promotions, the evolution and possible demise
of the ‘weekly’ shop, and the awareness of just how messy the
consumer purchase funnel can be. There’s good reason for
both the increased distinction and confusion over what makes
a consumer versus a shopper. This is only amplified when
attempting to market to each of them.
A person
centric
approach
It is essential to recognise differing need states when building
a marketing and communications platform, and to respond in a
person-centric way. This puts the person first, connecting with
their life. It recognises that they scroll between consumer and
shopper modes, amongst others in their repertoire. In today’s
connected world, digital becomes a perfect backbone to help
connect with them.
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To start, it’s worth asking a basic question:
Is there a difference between
consumer and shopper?
The debate has split opinion, from warnings that we cannot ignore
the differences, to those that say it is a false distinction. Fern
Grant, SVP Strategic Planning at MARS Advertising leads the false
distinction camp, stating:
It is really getting in our way of understanding
who people are as human beings.
“
“
Dr Christopher Gray, VP of Shopper Psychology at Saatchi &
Saatchi claims shopper and consumer mindsets are different and
need different approaches:
“
“
The objective of consumer advertising is to get in
the shopper’s consideration set. The objective of
shopper marketing is to get into the cart.
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Can we
reconcile
these points
of view?
Looking from a person-centric view and leaning on teachings from
psychology and sociology, we can take the standpoint that we all
switch between different roles and facets of ourselves throughout
the day. This means that I will dip in and out of ‘consumer-me’ and
‘shopper-me’ as I also flip between ‘worker-me’ and ‘runner-me’.
Being a consumer and shopper are only two of many roles people
take on and scroll through seamlessly and effortlessly.
As technologies make it easier for people to access marketing
content and e-commerce functionality, the ability of the modern
UK person to consume and shop at speed at their prerogative can
make for what seems like a confusing jumble.
Embracing ‘Homo - Modernus’
This complexity of modern behaviour is here to stay and continues
to evolve at pace. The question is, do brands and marketers need
to fear or embrace the change in landscape this brings? The quick
answer is yes. While not only is there an essential marketing need
to embrace what ‘Homo - Modernus’ has to offer, there is also a
real strategic and creative opportunity.
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one
Recognise the
multi-facetedness of
people’s lives.
None of us follow linear purchase funnels. We aren’t consumer
robots; we would be a boring bunch if we were. Quite a bit of the
time, we are getting on with other aspects of our lives. Mostly
we’re not in either ‘consumer’ or ‘shopper’ mode; we are doing
other things.
As marketers we must embrace the multi-faceted, multidimensional nature of people’s lives. Our job is to connect within
this, not force people into consumer/shopper models to suit a
marketing laydown plan. Think about the different aspects of your
customers’ lives and how you can connect meaningfully within
this. When are they going to be ‘a consumer’? When would they
be ‘a shopper’ (and think beyond the traditional bricks and mortar
shop)? How is this mixed into the multitude of other modes that
people ‘play’? Where are the opportunities for brands to connect
in a meaningful and welcomed way?
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two
Recognise
that people’s
needs are
different when
in different
modes.
While we are all interchanging between different facets of our
lives, we have specific needs when in certain modes. Considering
brands from awareness, through product consideration, decision,
purchase, and then product experience; what we need to hear
from marketing and communications change. The path through
these is increasingly non-linear, non-predictable, and fast
changing. The functionality and power of mobile devices in
pockets and handbags to instantly allow us to discover, research,
purchase, engage, and review products only highlights how
quickly we are able to switch between modes. This means we
need associated communications and marketing to match.
As marketers we need to understand what drives connection with
brands within each area of the consumer journey, and in other
areas of people’s lives. What will consumers find engaging and
drive brand affinity? What will shoppers need to know to help
them decide to put your product in their basket? How can your
brand connect and help power lifestyles?
Recruitment: Relevancy: Advocacy
Underpinned by Data & Search
Awareness
Consideration
Purchases
Experience
CONNECTIONS = ACTIONS
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three
Give ‘control’
over to your
consumer to
access what
they need,
when they
need it, where
they are at the
moment.
A person-centric approach acknowledges that people will be in
different modes at different times, with expectations to connect
with brands when and where they want (and equally to not
connect when they don’t). With smart phones, internet enabled
TVs and streaming services, people expect to connect on their
own terms. This works as much for ‘shopper’ moments as it does
for ‘consumer’. The UK leads Europe with 32% of people making a
monthly purchase from their smart phones. (econsultancy.com)
Connecting with people on their terms also means not forcing
connections when they’re not wanted. Brands need to be smart
in their communication programmes, being discoverable where
and when people want to connect and initiating connections when
they will be most welcome. Build a marketing and communications
programme that gives the flexibility to both respond to and engage
with people. Targeting engagement at the right time and channel,
through effective use of data and insights can help connect with
the right people in the right moments. This will help drive the
purchase journey forward from awareness to behaviour change
and purchase.
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The person
/ brand
engagement:
A digital heart
Embracing people with these three pillars should make
engagement feel effortless between person and brand. Provide
the ecosystem and framework, make it discoverable and navigable
all the time, interrupt and push at the right moments. Think about
how this works at each stage of the journey; how this gains reach
and awareness through to consideration, purchase and turning
brand experience into advocacy. Digital as a set of channels
becomes a natural platform to activate across.
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There are a number of
attributes that give digital
its power:
The power of functionality: digital allows brands to
engage with and empower people with communication
channels and tools that provide service and add value,
from consideration through purchase and beyond.
The power of data: data not only allows for tracking
of campaign performance, but also gives brands the
opportunity to have more personal and tailored engagement
with people, at every stage of the purchase funnel.
The power of targeting: within digital you can talk to
specific groups of people as easily (and typically at the same
time) as talking to individuals, and target where people are
along a purchase path with specific messaging.
The power of always-on: more than just a social media
idiom, being ‘always-on’ means that digital is always
discoverable, allowing people to connect with your brand
in the moment, whatever the time.
The power of ubiquitous presence: from home, to office,
to shopping aisle, as long as there is data connectivity
digital is there.
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Targeting
engagement
Tailoring the right elements of your digital communications for
consumer and shopper means that you will be able to hone in and
target key moments in the consumer purchase journey. The key is
answering to people’s consumer and shopper needs, not just one
of them.
When people are in a consumer moment, target them with
a broader engagement and brand experience. This is your
opportunity to build the brand salience, difference and
meaningfulness that will translate in aisle. Especially with low
consideration products, think about how connecting and helping
activate a greater brand purpose with your target market’s lifestyle
can work to drive brand consideration.
When people move to shopper mode, their needs change. Think
about what are the key factors that influence that purchase
moment. What are your brand’s barriers to purchase? Singularly
focus on these in your shopper marketing and communications.
It is about pushing the buttons that turn into positive purchase
decisions at the right time. While merchandising, price promotion
and distribution can drive much of this; there is opportunity for
digital to extend the work that other channels such as point of sale
and packaging are doing.
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The important take out is not to
convolute how you address people in
consumer versus shopper modes.
While some assets, such as a product serving suggestion, may
be utilised by both, its presentation and use will be different in
different modes. Knowing this makes it easy to switch between
different modes and easy to move down that funnel to purchase
and beyond. By making it person-centric, it puts them in the
driver’s seat by making communications platforms flexible,
targeted and fit around them.
If you’d like to get in touch about any of the topics raised in this
piece, we’d always be delighted to hear from you.
[email protected]
maynardmalone.com
@maynardmalone
linkedin.com/maynardmalone
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