P&G May Want to Boost Spend on Piggly Wiggly

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
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I posted another comment/response for another Ad Age article. By the time you read this, it may be unavailable to nonsubscribers. The article title is "This Upfront, P&G May Want to Boost Spend on Piggly Wiggly" Research Study Finds That the Store Trumps TV for Making Consumers Aware of Package Goods. By Jack Neff
The URL is http://adage.com/article?article_id=143643

Because of the volume of comments, Advertising Age (adage.com) limits comments to a maximum of 500 words. I haven't needed to limit comments that much in my blog.

My comments here are longer than what I submitted to Adage.com.
I've included a few quotations from the article to supply some context. Note – "the store" refers to stores in general, not a specific store. It's like people talking about "going to the dentist" as if only 1 dentist exists.

"Over the past decade, the store has become the single leading driver of awareness of new package-goods products, significantly surpassing TV.

"More than half of consumers in six developed markets cite stores as their source of new-product awareness in data compiled across multiple products and categories, according to Nielsen Bases, which vets the vast majority of package-goods product launches that get tested in the concept stage.

"In the two years since those findings have made the rounds of package-goods marketers, more companies have started to pay attention to what is going on in the aisles, with estimates now pegging in-store marketing spending at $542 billion.

"Numerous surveys have shown consumers are more value-conscious and have spent more time making lists, and vowing to stick to them, since the recession began. But along with all that planning, shoppers also have become more aware of what they're doing in the store, said Mike Twitty, director-shopper insights at Unilever Americas."

Rodney Mason added this in his comments: "Smart phone shopper assistance is on the rise."

Mike Lauber contributed, "The point of purchase has always been the key point of influence: 70% of purchase decisions - brand switching, SKU switching within a brand or impulse - happen in-aisle."

A contributor who uses massmediamobile as a screen name wrote, "Why is it that the retail circular in my mailbox is invasive and completely ignored but that same circular in-store is something I look for? That's right, because when I'm shopping I actually care to see what's available! Just in case you were wondering, I'm not getting off the couch to go buy your products."

This article & comments relate to what I've written in other posts about setting the context in marketing.

It's a matter of relevance. A grocery store circular is more relevant just before & during a shopping errand. At other times, some consumers don't want to see circulars because they don't want to think about shopping.

Marketers already know relevance is vital. A relevant message will trigger better results than what doesn't matter to consumers. But determining what matters (is relevant) to people is more than checking demographics, sociographics & psychographics.

Relevance depends on constant (absolute) & variable (situational) priorities. Example- Food- in general - is a high constant priority for me. Bananas (specific food) are variable priorities.

To some extent, variable priorities can be delayed as long as constant priorities are fulfilled. Example- Hunger is a constant priority. I may crave bananas, but if bananas aren't available I eat other fruit. I can quench my hunger & get nutrition without bananas.

Variable priorities can also be felt-needs. Constant priorities are actual needs that can be fulfilled permanently or temporarily. Shelter can be (long-term) permanently fulfilled & not seem like a problem until it's lost. Thirst is a troublesome beast & demands frequent gratification.

Ads sent to mobile phones can arrive when somebody is close to a store, wants a high priority product/service & need/desire fulfillment is proximate.

Marketers won't always know what each consumer is doing & what the context is when messages are received. Is a newspaper reader commuting in a bus, at home or taking a break at a work?

In any current context, can s/he buy from a particular marketer? Will buying decisions be made, postponed until later & possibly forgotten?

When you know what consumers' priorities are at various times & in various places, you can design your offers & deliver them at the best times & in the best places.

You can use out of home advertising, radio plus Guerrilla Marketing methods described by Jay Conrad Levinson. You can bring your sales & profits to higher levels even with low tech methods.

You should record & track results so you can make the best adjustments. Whether you use pens & paper or a computer, it's vital to develop ways to get data you need.

Some parents & bosses have "Don't do as I do, do as I say" as a policy. When you record results & ask consumers for reasons & interpretations, your policy should be - Track what they do more than what they say. They may be sure about what they would buy in a situation, but when the time comes to spend money, it's no longer theoretical. In theory, they would do something. In real life, their priorities are different.

If you base your marketing mostly on what consumers say, your marketing will go astray. To base your marketing on what's true base it mainly on consumers do.

High tech methods can track results & produce useful reports.

In stores that track each purchase, manufacturers can measure which store sold a quantity of specific units (including store location & extrapolate where purchasers live/work), day & time of purchases, how many customers bought a product, etc. By tracking what kind of display each store used effectively, future efforts can be designed.

Depending on potential contract terms with retailers, manufacturers may use this data to improve sales in somebody else's store.

Small store owners may develop lower tech methods to do similar things by working with stores in other cities so they can track & compare results. The compared results won't be definitive but may be indicative.

According to this article, more than 50% of consumers get information about new products from stores. Many big discount stores provide little or no product knowledge. At a minimum, small stores can do better than discounters just by teaching employees about products & having informative point-of-purchase (P-O-P) signs, flip charts, etc. Some manufacturers will supply P-O-P materials for products whether those are high tech electronics, package-goods or something else.

Proactive suppliers train store owners & employees. These suppliers are smart enough to know they benefit from disseminating the right information. When information from store staff is inaccurate, suppliers suffer from lower sales, more returns & less satisfaction. Consumers, store owners & employees are dissatisfied when results of using products aren't what they expected.

Suppliers may be frustrated when their P-O-P materials are rejected.

Manufacturers pay a lot of money for research & development, they should be eager to share what they've learned.

They should also be open to suggestions from retailers & consumers. These suggestions can be their preliminary research &/or confirmation of previous research.

Proactive suppliers may be more valuable (value-added) partners for retailers than less proactive competitors. It's an important criterion when selecting suppliers.

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2010 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
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