Shopper Marketing juxtaposing the concept in the India Retail

scenario
For conference: The Emerging Landscape of Retail and Impact on Economy organised by University of Madras, Chennai in association with FICCI -TNSC. Track: Retail Marketing and Branding Published: Book - The Emerging Landscape of Retail and Impact on Economy, Publisher MJP Publishers Chennai, ISBN 978-81-8094-158-0 Author: Yogesh Kamath Assistant Professor Marketing, Rustomjee Business School, Mumbai Freelance Journalist Point-of-Purchase magazine, V J Media Works Publications E-mail: yogesh.rbs2010@gmail.com

Abstract
If people went into stores only when they needed to buy something and once there they bought only what they needed the economy would collapse. - Paco Underhill in Why We Buy, The Science of Shopping Marketers, by definition, have an inborn need to understand why their products are being purchased. This paper serves as a beginning for understanding marketing from the shoppers purchase-decision point of view and defining Shopper Marketing in the Indian space. It amalgamates the available information present on this topic and juxtaposes it to the Indian scenario, the report forms a platform based on which Indian practitioners can accommodate Shopper Marketing in their Integrated Marketing Communication. Shopper marketers aim to take advantage of the causal connections between shopping and purchase behaviour to create innovative concepts for increasing purchase decisions. The organised retail provides the platform and the environment to this concept of Shopper Marketing, often described as the last mile communication, which was the missing link in the expanse of marketing this along with defining Shopper marketing and placing it in the IMC is dealt with in this paper. Every manufacturer or retailer should design its own flow of the process of Shopper Marketing but should broadly follow the Identify, Implement and Evaluate heads and defining a process becomes inevitable. Then the paper presents a case study to highlight how visionary Indian brands and agencies are building strong grounds to build their Shopper Marketing acts, we analyse how Lowe Lintas conceptualized and worked on an in-store campaign for Knorr Soup a brand of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Shopper Marketing the Missing Link

At home there was the legendry TV, while in transit there was the veteran Print and the Billboards and for the geeks and internet literates there was the contemporary and measurable Internet advertising, may be a dangler here and a display there in the name of in-store advertising; for years these were the bridges available with the marketers to reach to the people they served, the Customers. There will be an unanimous Yes when asked that following the above media mix we felt something was missing somewhere and the cycle didnt seem complete. There was some spill out through a gap that was not accounted for and someone much unexpected filled in. On a lighter note this dilemma of marketers can be juxtaposed to the dilemma of Charles Darwin in the 19th century when he expressed his inability to sight a link between the apes and the modern human and called it The Missing Link. Now lets dissect this somethings and somewheres of this missing link Something there was a change in behaviour when the Target Customer became a Shopper, The customer had his Favourite brands as a top of the mind recall, the shopper didnt follow favouritism while purchasing. The customer had a list she made for purchases before she entered the store, the shopper didnt follow the list, she always exceeded her list by buying products that were not a part of the list and exceeding the quantity mentioned in the list if something of value was offered to her. The customer has her preferred shopping stores, whereas the shopper is much more impulsive. Somewhere the retail store, a place where all the actual action happens notwithstanding the run-up to this event. The moment of truth, where the customer first comes to touch and feel the brand. The last mile of communication takes place here, brands if not present tend waste their investments in other brand building activities. As mentioned in the pages gone by, this comes in the purview of Shopper Marketing, the Missing link that had left marketers perplexed for ages. And if carried on effectively shopper

marketing will do to marketing what Darwinius masillae (name of the species whos fossils were recently found in Germany) did to Darwins Theory of Evolution in the year 2009 announcing that the missing link is no more missing and this species was the link between the apes and humans. Defining Shopper Marketing - The Shopper Marketing research report by GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) and Deloitte comments that there are many definitions that exist, however only one matters, defining Shopper Marketing as Shopper Marketing should be consistently defined from the shoppers point-of-view. It should include all marketing stimuli, developed based on a deep understanding of shopper behavior, designed to build brand equity, engage the shopper (i.e., a consumer in shopping mode), and lead him/her to make a purchase. The report further explains that the two important concepts coming out of this report i.e. Marketing Stimuli and Shopping Mode in the table below

All marketing stimuli, developed based on a deep understanding of shopper behavior, designed to build brand equity, engage the shopper (i.e., consumer in shopping mode), and lead him/her to make a purchase

Shopper Marketing Stimuli Any marketing effort that builds brand equity and has the potential to engage or influence an individual to shop or make a purchase. Some examples of shopper marketing stimuli include:

Product stimuli, such as the size, shape, color, material and packaging of the product, and the messages, graphics and language conveyed on the packaging

Price stimuli, such as price promotions conveyed in circulars, shelf signs, coupon dispensers, and personalized check-out coupons Place stimuli, such as store design, layout, lighting, music, scents, and aisle, shelf, and display locations Promotion stimuli, such as sampling, demonstrations, displays, floor advertisements, kiosks, in-store visual or audio, intelligent shopping carts, and digital signage

Product
Packaging Size Language

Price
Personal Chek-out Coupons Circular Coupon Dispenser

Place
Personal Check-out Coupons Circular Music Lighting Display

Promotion
Sampling Demo In-Store TVs Floor Ads Intelligent Cart Shelf Signs Display

Not everyone agrees that all of these stimuli should be considered shopper marketing. However, from the eyes of a shopper, price discounts, store design and product packaging is marketing to the shopper.

Shopping Mode A person is in shopping mode when he/she is contemplating

buying a product or service whether the person is in-store or outside the store. For example, a person is in shopping mode when he/she is making a shopping list, driving to a store, researching information online, or browsing the aisle in a store. A typical thought process of an individual in shopping mode may include: Do I need this? Where should I buy? How much should I pay? What are the choices?

Primary responsibilities of Shopper Marketing practitioners

So sales and brand building it is, the most important aspects of all your marketing efforts.

The whereabouts of the missing link, where does it fit in the gamut of Marketing IMC, i.e. Consolidating all the mediums through which you reach your customers to speak one language to give out seamless and consistent messages is been used in the broad rooms and marketing classrooms for quite a while now. So as discussed above Shopper Marketing is what completes this journey of information from the manufacturer to the customer.

Source: Is Your Retail Marketing Hitting The Right Customers? By David Sommers | 2008, book Shopper Marketing: How to Increase Purchase Decisions at the Point of Sale edited by Markus Stahlberg, Ville Maila

Shopper Marketing in IMC as a strategic capability - By listening to shoppers and understanding what types of experience they will opt in for we can craft a winning marketing at retail plan. As highlighted in the venn diagram above - consumers are on top and marketers and retailers work together to create the optimal shopper experience and the elusive win winwin. This suggests that shopper marketing should be developed and managed as a strategic marketing capability in a way that fosters better alignment with other demand-generating capabilities such as advertising, relationship marketing, consumer promotions, trade promotions, and in-store merchandising and advertising. And what medium be used should be based on what your customers routine is, where she goes and how she buys to subtly communicate your message as supposed to holding to a misconception that the customer will come to your ad.

IMC - Integrated Media for Communication

At Home
Paid media e.g - TV, Print, Radio etc. Relationship marketing e.g., E-Mail, SMS Search before you buy e.g - coupons, manufacturer websites, online reviews Social Media

On the Go
Mobile e.g - Apps Out-of-Home e.g - Billboards, Bus-Shelter Radio

In-Store
Shelf Signage In-Store TV Displays Product Placements Interactive Kiosks

On the premise of the definition and after placing it in the marketing process we come back to a much evolved human behaviour Shopping and elucidate the process of Shopper Marketing in the next chapter.

Shopper Marketing Process

There are no thumb rules as far as you are satisfying all the stake holders, the satisfaction of shopper being the predominant the process that you follow is right. Broadly there are these 3 steps that marketers have to follow to enjoy the benefits that Shopper Marketing has to offer

Identify This is the most important stage and forms as the base of Shopper Marketing, a process that differentiates Shopper Marketing from the narrow concept of point of purchase advertising. This step can make or break the companys Shopper Marketing programme. Its about finding that insight on which you can build a marketing programme. Here retailers and manufacturers need to ask and answer the question, WHO and WHY? Who is my shopper and why is she shopping. Fundamental to Shopper Marketing is the understanding of shopper behavior and insights. Unlocking shopper insights call for new techniques, as against conventional market research. Shopping is a social human activity and studying shoppers is based on the principles of psychology and sociology. To that end, it is an observational science and art. Store Tracking, Store Observation, Store Intercepts through hidden cameras or field trackers are some of the elaborate, painstaking methods used. There are no short cuts. Studies done globally have managed to classify this complex and heterogeneous activity into four basic types of shopping. They are Recreational Shopping, List Shopping, Item Shopping and Impulse Shopping. This classification is based on two factors: the planned vs. spontaneous nature of the shopping trip and the focused vs. open-ended nature of the purchases made. Every retailer must define the segments that frequent their stores. Internationally Wal-Mart has seven set of Shoppers that it caters to this starts from Brand Aspirationals to Social Shoppers. Similarly the big names in the retail industry have their segments in place to which they service accordingly.

Retailer-Developed Shopper Segmentation Classifications

Wal-Mart Brand Aspirationals Price Value Shoppers Trendy Quality Seekers Price Sensitive Affluents One Stop Shoppers Safeway Value-Seeking Variety-Seeking Brand-Seeking Simplicity-Seeking Discovery-Seeking Sams Office Administrator Business Reseller Institutional Buyer Foodservice Entrepreneur Traditional Club Shopper Demanding/ Experiential Shopper Mom/Family CEO Active Boomer CVS Sophie Older shopper/empty nester Best Buy Jill Soccer Mom Barry Caroline Affluent Professional Young, single working woman Ray

Conscientious Objectors Quality-Seeking Social Shoppers

Family Man Buzz Younger Male BB4B Small Business Source: Whats that sound? White paper - March/April 2007 The Hub; by Chris Hoyt, President, Hoyt & Company Vanessa Married with children

Back home Kishore Biyani of the Future Group in his book It Happened in India broadly divides the country in three parts naming India 1, India 2 and India 3 and goes on to explain how it targeted in the middle class of India 2 understood their shopping behaviour and implemented accordingly.

Implement to Influence
Having understood your shopper, you now need to apply the learning to present your brand / category in the most inspiring and compelling manner to influence her to buy. Your brand instore, must have a powerful idea and story to make her an offer she cant refuse. This is the step where the insights are converted in actions - The brand must be imaginative enough to see the store through the eyes of the shopper and not just as a piece of real estate with shelves and aisles. The trick is to unsuspectingly lead the shopper to the real target- your brand. How are you going to Attract-Arrest-Acquire her from the point she enters the store, to when she is moving around and checking stuff out, till she actually picks up and puts the product in her basket. What are all the Connection opportunities and shopper zones in and around the store that you can innovatively use to engage your shoppers, for example: It is a

well established fact that when men try they buy. So, trial rooms in the Male Apparel section should be easy to locate, abundant, comfortable and inviting! As step 1 acts as the base to this part of the process, it makes sense to design strategies according to the shoppers your retail store or the product invites. Below is a consolidated table of step one and two, a basic framework of indentifying your shoppers and talking to them

Frame work for Identify and Influence Recreational Shopping

Insight Pre-Planned, Open-ended. Shopping for relaxation and socializing

Products Apparel, footwear, jewellery, cosmetics, cell phones, home electronics and furnishing Influence Retailers and brands must encourage recreational shopping, because more often than not it leads to purchase because the more time people spend at a store the more likely they are to buy

List Shopping
Insight Clear focus, accompanied with a shopping list, quick

Products Food and grocery, medicines and home needs

Influence With the advent of modern trade the purchase cycle for grocerrys have gone shorter. So greater opportunity to try/switch to new brands and products, smaller basket sizes, and expectation of constant deals and discounts. Opportunity also lies in the fact that these the kids and the husband accompany the women.

Item Shopping
Insight Driven by a spontaneous trigger to shop for a specific item

Products

Retail categories like Greeting Cards, Gifting, Wedding, Birthdays.

Influence The more occasions we can create and control, the merrier. Its indulgence at its peak.

Impulse Shopping
Insight The most unplanned, spontaneous, open and unpredictable

Products

Confectionery, chocolates, soft drinks and snack foods, food-on-themove.

Influence Placement becomes the key in this scenario - Bins near the cash counter, interesting adjacencies, special offers, are some of the tactics often used to bring method into the madness. However, nothing drives impulse like novelty and variety. Offering new styles, flavors, formats are important and so is sheer variety.
s ource: http://www.ma di s oni ndi a .com/WhyPeopl eShop.pdf

Evaluate
Since scientific Shopper Marketing is a new concept and measuring the effectiveness of an instore campaign quantitatively involves subjectivity and uncertainty, there is little clarity on how to measure the effectiveness of in-store marketing programs. An industry-wide metric is yet to be established to measure impressions; most companies primarily use sales-related metrics to measure shopper marketing performance. The Deloitte and GMA Report on shopper marketing 2007 mentions - 59 percent of respondents reported that lack of performance metrics and/or measurement is a barrier to shopper marketing success. Notwithstanding the lack of matrices available, the book Shopper Marketing: How to Increase Purchase Decisions at the Point of Sale compiled by Markus Stahlberg, Ville Mailathere describes three major buckets of measurement: media value, brand metrics and sales lift.

Media Value Brand Metrics Sales Lift

store traffic x aisle traffic x compliance did it change brand perception? was it effective? Was it purchased?

Case: Lowe Lintas for Knorr Soups

(Point of Purchase magazine archives, V J Media Works Publications.) Dont let retail become just a practical space, a place where you just sell products. Dont forget that it is a touch point where you are still building equity and emotional connection for the brand. Gitanjali Sriram, Channel Planning Director, Lowe Lintas. Below is described Lowe Lintas Shopper Marketing philosophy and how they did it for the popular HUL brand Knoor, a brand that sports products like soup and ready to eat premix.

In-Store Path to Purchase - The In-store Path to Purchase methodology is used to

create engagement and conversation with the consumer. The model involves three phases based on which the brand articulates its communication and drives the consumer towards purchase. The Path to Purchase process begins with the creation of a High Value Idea. The high value idea is a summation of the Brand essence, Consumer Insight and Product USP/Reason to Believe (RTB). Thus in case of Knorr: The Brand Essence Every meal is an opportunity The consumer insight Indian women need convenient meal solutions that are interesting and suitable for occasions, or for just bringing in variety. Indian women are often found stuck in a catch 22 situation like Husbands boss coming over for dinner in a short notice and they need a special, lavish yet quick and convenient meal option Product USP/RTB for Knorr soups for instance Ready to cook, healthy, 100% pure vegetables, 17 variants.

Conclusion
Market leaders have started mobilizing their shopper marketing efforts by restructuring their organizations, investing in technology and resources, and re-evaluating their collaboration efforts with partners and service providers and they are achieving results. Shopper Marketing is not a rocket science its based on the same basic pillars of marketing which says that understand thy Customers and more often than not, it is about discovering little things about shoppers that can make a big difference.

References and reports cited

The following research methods were utilised for this report Secondary research published research internationally and from India, Magazines, Websites and News Paper. Primary research Expert opinion from the people in the industry engaged in Shopper Marketing and related fields. Reports/Articles cited Articles by - Anand Narasimha, ex CEO, MASH-Madsion Shopper Marketing Shopper Marketing capturing a shoppers mind, heart and wallet GMA and Deloitte Consulting LLP Report 2007 McKinsey global Indian Consumer Research 2008 Indian entertainment and media outlook, 2010 PWC SHOPPER MARKETING - How To Increase Purshase Desisions At The Point Of Sale, edited by Markus Stahlberg and Ville Maila. Point of Purchase magazine archives, V J Media Works Publications.

Expert Opinion Sachin Jante, Chief Content Editor, Point of Purchase, V J Media Works. Reena Mehta, Associate Editor, Point of Purchase, V J Media Works. Amit Gupta, category head, fmcg - Aditya Birla retail ltd.